Thousands of people gathered Wednesday in South Florida to bid an emotional farewell to slain rapper, XXXTentacion.
A public memorial was held at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, the stadium where the Florida Panthers hockey team plays.
XXXTentacion, whose given name was Jahseh Onfroy, was gunned down on June 18 in an apparent robbery as he left a store Deerfield Beach, Florida, authorities said.
Cameras and cell phones were not allowed inside the memorial, but many in attendance still shared what they could on social media.
“The @xxxtentacion memorial was something special. I’ve never felt such hope and hopelessness at the same time,” one person tweeted. “You’ll never see such a large diverse crowd with so much respect. Everyone was quiet as they entered the room and everyone sang all his songs together.”
Long lines snaked outside as mourners sang XXXTentacion songs, cried and left notes.
Media present also described an emotional scene. Other rap artists, including Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Yachty, were in attendance.
“As lil uzi was standing at the casket, X’s song ‘Hope began’ to play,” Brett Clarkson of the Sun-Sentinel tweeted. “X dedicates the song to the victims of the Parkland shooting. He says Rest In Peace to victims of the Douglas shooting. At that point I saw a high school aged girl with her mom cry.”
The official video for XXXTentacion’s single, “SAD!” released Thursday.
Written by the musician, it shows him attending his own funeral and fighting with his resurrected body.
The song recently became the first posthumous No. 1 for a lead soloist since The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo Money Mo Problems” in 1997, according to Billboard.
XXXTentacion’s death remains under investigation.
