"You stepped up to the plate for him" — XXXTentacion's father thanks Kendrick Lamar for giving his son a platform

The late rapper XXXTentacion's father, Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, posted a video on Instagram on June 24, 2024, appreciating Kendrick Lamar. Onfroy also expressed gratitude towards the rapper for giving his son a platform when he wasn't popular.

In the video, he introduced himself as XXXTentacion's father, and he addressed how Kendrick Lamar co-signed the late rapper's debut album 17. He also went on to call Lamar a "powerful king," thanking the latter for giving his son a platform.

"You stepped up to the plate for him when a lot of people just stood by and stood back," Dwayne said.

Dwayne also stated that Lamar gave his son a "shoutout when his album was released." This was about Kendrick Lamar's tweet dated August 25, 2017, where he asked fans to listen to XXXTentacion's 17 along with a link to the album.

“Listen to this album if you feel anything. Raw thoughts,” Lamar said.

Lamar added another tweet after giving a shoutout to the late rapper, stating that he heard the album five times.

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"Spotify had him under pressure": XXXTentacion's father mentions in gratitude video to Kendrick Lamar

In the Instagram video thanking Kendrick Lamar for all that he had done for XXXTentacion, the late rapper's father mentioned an incident with Spotify. He said that Spotify had XXX "under pressure" and added that the platform wasn't "even attempting to play songs."

"Real king. I’ll always respect you for that, always," Dwayne said about Kendrick.

At the end of his video, Dwayne mentioned that California was his home and that he still loved Cali. It was an expression of love toward Lamar's birthplace since he comes from Compton, California. Dwayne ended the video by saluting Lamar and mentioning that he respects him.

According to Spotify's Hate Content and Hateful Conduct Policy guidelines introduced in 2018, XXX's music was removed from the platform's algorithmic and editorial playlists. This happened because the late rapper had been charged and arrested on multiple counts. These included counts of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, false imprisonment, domestic battery strangulation, and witness tampering charges by his ex-girlfriend Geneva Ayala.

Following this, Kendrick Lamar's team reached out to the CEO of Spotify, Daniel Ek, and the head of artist relations, Troy Carter, threatening to remove Lamar's music from the platform.

In a 2018 interview with Billboard, TDE's label head, Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, added that he had reached out to Spotify and expressed concern over censorship. Anthony also questioned how the artists for content removal were chosen, alleging that the streaming platform was "constantly picking on hip-hop culture."

At the time, TDE (Top Dawg Entertainment) represented Kendrick Lamar, indicating that he must have pulled a few strings to get XXX's music back on Spotify.

Meanwhile, XXXTentacion pleaded not guilty to the charges and was awaiting trial. However, the case became controversial when Pitchfork released an October 2018 that had XXXTentacion confessing to the abuse to his friends. The audio doesn't get into the details of what happened between him and his ex-girlfriend.

However, the charges against the late rapper were dropped after his death. XXXTentacion was shot dead during a robbery in Florida on June 18, 2018, when he was 20.

Three people were accused of killing him and found guilty in March 2023.