Grammys 2019: XXXTentacion Excluded From 'In Memoriam' Segment

Several musical artists were remembered during the Grammys 'In Memoriam' segment Sunday night, [...]

Several musical artists were remembered during the Grammys "In Memoriam" segment Sunday night, save for rapper XXXTentacion, whose mixed legacy included domestic abuse accusations.

The late rapper died in June when he was shot near a motorcycle dealership in Broward County, Florida. He was 20 years old.

While the Recording Academy did not make a statement regarding XXXTentacion's omission from the segment, it's unclear if it had to do with the abuse allegations against him. However, Joe Jackson, whom Michael Jackson accused of abuse, was included in the package.

Many Grammys viewers took to social media to note that the rapper was not included in the In Memoriam segment.

"XXXTentacion was not included in the #Grammys In Memoriam and, despite all of his terrible actions, that feels very disrespectful. He was a major recording artist whose music meant something to a lot of people, and he was murdered," one Twitter user wrote.

"They really left X out i was stunned by the disrespect," another wrote.

At the time of his death, XXXTentacion was awaiting trial for the abuse allegations against him. His ex-girlfriend reportedly told prosecutors that he threatened to kill her "literally like every day." Among other things, she also accused him of hitting her, strangling her, holding her head under water and threatening to kill their unborn child.

The allegations surrounding XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, led Spotify to announce in May 2018 that it would no longer stream his music. However, after his death a month later, his music returned to the streaming site after much pushback from fans.

The 20-year-old's legal troubles dated back to 2014 when he was sent to a youth detention center for a year for gun possession charges. Two years later he was arrested and charged with robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. In October 2016 while out on bail, he was arrested on charges of false imprisonment, witness tampering and aggravated battery of a pregnant victim.

In 2017, Grammys executive producer Ken Ehrlich told PBS News Hour in 2017 how the show picks out the people they honor.

"There's a committee at the Recording Academy and, in December, when we're getting reasonably close to the show, we will put together a list that goes into the hundreds, 300 to 400 people," he said. "We then go through that list and this committee votes. We all vote and pick our favorites. And from that, we cut it down to a reasonable number."

"The number we kind of have in mind is 50 because 50 goes into three minutes without too much difficulty," which is about how long the tribute lasts for, he explained. "Sometimes, we'll do a little more. Sometimes—very seldom—we'll do less."

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