XXXTentacion discusses at length his relationship with his ex-girlfriend in the transcript of a secretly recorded conversation that prosecuting and defense attorneys reportedly considered to be a confession of the Florida rapper’s domestic abuse charges. The existence and select contents of the recording were first reported this week by Pitchfork and later by The New York Times; Pitchfork published a transcript tonight.
According to the Miami-Dade County state attorney’s office, which released the tape, the conversation took place around the time of XXXTentacion’s arrest on Oct. 8, 2016. He was charged by the office with aggravated battery of a pregnant victim, domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment, and witness tampering. The alleged victim detailed her experience in graphic detail in testimony provided in Jan. 2017. The rapper born Jahseh Onfroy was awaiting trial for these charges, to which he pleaded not guilty and publicly maintained his innocence, when he was fatally shot in June of this year.
The recording reportedly contains the voices of XXXTentacion, one unnamed man, and at least two unnamed women. Pitchfork’s transcript—which redacts names and identifying details of third parties—includes initially reported comments by the rapper in which he discusses, in reference to his ex-girlfriend, “fucking her up” and his feeling that she “is scared for life.” The full conversation details additional context for these comments, admissions by XXXTentacion of separate acts of violence, and discussion of his childhood trauma and suicidal thoughts.
Early in the transcript, XXXTentacion says he believes the alleged victim cheated on him while he was in jail during the summer of 2016 on charges related to an armed robbery. While asking the room how they would react in a similar situation, he says this makes him want to kill his ex-girlfriend:
You get out. The day you get out, you see her, right? She kiss you on your lips, you feel me, feel up on you da da da. “I love you, I would never do anything to hurt you,” da da da. You go, you go to the, you go to the house. And your dog. Before she tell you. Before she tell you. Before he told her to tell you. Make sure you tell me the truth and I’ll forgive you. You tell her to tell you. You go home. Y’all fine, y’all smokin, y’all chillin’, da da da. You order pizza, you making sure everybody straight. [unintelligible] You on the phone. Your dog tell you, your dog tell you that [unintelligible] nigga fucked your bitch. [laughs] Telling you he fucked your bitch. [redacted] I will kill this bitch if she play with me. That’s the real deal. You feel me.
Later in the conversation, XXXTentacion asks to see his ex-girlfriend, saying he wants to ask her again about allegedly cheating on him. A woman in the room repeatedly tells him that he can’t see her:
I pieced together one of her lies, but yeah, she slept in the bed with that nigga. She said they didn’t, but you know this bitch lying. [laughs] You know this bitch lying. You know this bitch is lying. I’ma tell you everything. I’ma tell you every detail and how I finally got to piece this shit together. But [redacted], if you love or respect me, I just want the truth out of this girl, then she can leave.
Woman 1: I can’t give y’all private time.
All criminal charges against XXXTentacion were dropped after his death. Several high-profile posthumous collaborations have been released since June, most recently today’s “Arms Around You,” which also features Lil Pump and Swae Lee. You can read the full transcript at Pitchfork.
