January 23. It’s just a Tuesday or a Thursday most years, but for millions of people, it’s a day that carries a heavy, complicated weight. XXXTentacion's date of birth is January 23, 1998, and even though he’s been gone since that horrific afternoon in 2018, his birthday has basically turned into a digital pilgrimage site.
He was born Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy in Plantation, Florida.
Think about that for a second. 1998. If you’re a Gen Z fan, he’s roughly your age. If you’re older, he was just a kid. He was only 20 when he died, which is a statistic that still feels fake when you look at the sheer volume of music he left behind. Most people at 20 are still trying to figure out how to do laundry or pass a mid-term. Jahseh was already topping the Billboard 200 and shifting the entire tectonic plate of SoundCloud rap.
Why 1998 Matters More Than You Think
There’s something specific about being born in the late 90s. You’re the bridge. You remember the world before it was totally swallowed by the iPhone, but you were young enough to let the internet become your entire personality.
That was X.
When we talk about XXXTentacion's date of birth, we’re talking about the arrival of a disruptor. He grew up in Pompano Beach and Lauderhill, Florida, and his upbringing was... chaotic is a polite way to put it. He was bounced around between his mother, Cleopatra Bernard, and his grandmother. That instability is baked into the DNA of his music. You can’t separate the 1998 birth year from the raw, unfiltered aggression of "Look At Me!" or the hollowed-out sadness of "Jocelyn Flores."
Honestly, his age was his biggest shield and his biggest weapon.
Critics would look at his birth year and say, "He’s just a kid who doesn't know any better." Fans looked at it and saw someone who finally spoke their language. He didn't have the polished, PR-trained exterior of a 30-year-old superstar. He was messy. He was angry. He was 1998 personified.
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The Florida Context
You can't talk about January 23, 1998, without talking about Broward County. South Florida is a pressure cooker. It’s hot, it’s humid, and the wealth disparity is jarring. You’ve got million-dollar yachts miles away from kids struggling to find their next meal.
Onfroy was a product of this environment. His early life was marked by a lack of traditional structure, which led him to find family in the "Members Only" collective. If he had been born in 1988 or 2008, would he have been the same? Probably not. The timing was everything. He hit his stride right when SoundCloud became a viable platform for the voiceless.
A Timeline of a Short, Chaotic Life
Looking back at the years following his 1998 birth, the timeline is dizzying.
By 2014, at just 16, he was uploading "Vice City" to SoundCloud. Most 16-year-olds are worried about their driver's license. He was already experimenting with lo-fi aesthetics that would eventually define a subgenre. Then came the legal troubles, the massive spikes in fame, and the controversial reputation that followed him until his death.
- January 23, 1998: Born in Plantation, Florida.
- 2013: Released "News/Flock" (his first track, later deleted).
- 2015: "Look At Me!" is released, eventually becoming a sleeper hit.
- 2017: Releases 17, an album that dealt heavily with depression and suicide.
- June 18, 2018: His life is cut short in Deerfield Beach.
It's a blink. It’s barely two decades.
The Controversy of the Legacy
Let’s be real. Mentioning XXXTentacion's date of birth often sparks a debate. You have two camps that rarely talk to each other. One side sees a tortured artist who was actively trying to change his life through his "Helping Hand" challenge and his later vlogs about positivity. The other side sees the police reports and the allegations of domestic violence that colored his rise to fame.
Both of these things exist in the same space.
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He was a human being born in 1998 who did terrible things and also did things that saved his fans' lives. He wasn't a caricature. The tragedy of his death at 20 is that we never got to see the "redemption arc" play out to its natural conclusion. We’re left with a frozen image of a young man who was still a work in progress.
What People Get Wrong About His Age
Some people think he was older because of how deep his voice was or how philosophical he tried to be in his Instagram Lives. He wasn't.
He was 20.
When you look at his 1998 birth certificate, it puts everything into perspective. He was a kid navigating global fame while his brain wasn't even fully developed. That doesn't excuse his actions, but it provides a necessary context for the volatility of his career. He was learning in public. Every mistake he made was magnified by millions of views.
How Fans Celebrate January 23 Today
Every year, when XXXTentacion's date of birth rolls around, the internet turns into a memorial. You’ll see "Long Live X" or "LLJ" (Long Live Jahseh) trending on every platform.
His mother, Cleopatra, often uses the date to announce new projects or drops. This has its own controversy, of course. Some fans feel like his estate is milking his legacy, while others are just hungry for any scrap of new content. But regardless of how you feel about the posthumous releases, the energy on January 23 is undeniable. It’s a day for the "cult" following he built—a group of people who felt seen by a kid from 1998 who wasn't afraid to scream into a distorted microphone.
Why the Music Stays Relevant
The reason we still care about a guy born in 1998 is because he tapped into a universal frequency: pain.
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Music usually tries to make pain sound pretty. X made it sound ugly. He made it sound like a basement with bad wiring. That authenticity—or at least the perception of it—is why his streaming numbers are still higher than most active A-list celebrities. People don't listen to him for the production value; they listen because they feel like he's sitting in the room with them.
Actionable Steps for Exploring X’s Legacy
If you're trying to understand the impact of Jahseh Onfroy beyond just a date on a calendar, there are specific ways to engage with the history.
1. Watch the "Look At Me" Documentary
Available on Hulu, this is probably the most balanced look you'll get. It doesn't shy away from the domestic abuse allegations, but it also gives a voice to those who loved him. It puts a face to the 1998 birth date.
2. Listen to "17" vs. "?"
These two albums show the duality of his talent. 17 is acoustic, raw, and depressive. ? is a chaotic mix of Latin pop, nu-metal, and trap. Understanding this range helps explain why he was more than just a "SoundCloud rapper."
3. Research the "Members Only" Collective
To understand X, you have to understand Ski Mask The Slump God and the rest of the crew. They were a movement. Seeing where they started in Florida gives you a sense of the culture that birthed his style.
4. Filter the Social Media Noise
If you go down the rabbit hole of X fan pages, you'll find a lot of conspiracy theories. Stick to verified sources like court documents or interviews with his actual collaborators (like John Cunningham, his producer) to get the real story.
The reality of XXXTentacion's date of birth is that it marks the beginning of one of the most polarizing figures in modern music history. Whether you view him as a villain, a hero, or something in between, you can't deny that the kid born on January 23, 1998, changed the sound of a generation. He was a flash of lightning—bright, destructive, and gone before you could even process the sound of the thunder.