XXXTentacion cover removed from Spotify by Lukas Graham: 'I had no knowledge of his violent history'

At the time of his death in 2016, the rapper was facing trial for a number of charges including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, and false imprisonment

No longer languishing in a vault: the late rapper XXXTentacion (Getty Images)

Danish band Lukas Graham have removed their cover of late rapper XXXTentacion‘s song “SAD!” after apparently only just learning about his controversial past.

The track was covered as a stripped-down version for Spotify‘s “Spotify Singles” series. However, lead singer Lukas Forchammer later posted on Instagram: “Our cover of ‘SAD!’ will be taken down ASAP. I had no knowledge of his violent history. I’m very sorry for the pain I’ve caused. Again, I’m very sorry.”

XXXTentacion was shot and killed on 18 June, 2018. At the time, he was awaiting trial on charges of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, and false imprisonment.

In a secret recording that was made public after his death, the rapper, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, confessed to “f***ing up” his ex-girlfriend, in addition to a number of other violent crimes.

In 2016, in an interview with the podcast No Jumper, Onfroy also claimed to have near-killed his gay inmate, whom he repeatedly called a “faggot” after the boy allegedly kept staring at him, by placing his head on a concrete block and stamping on him.

“I was going crazy,” he told the interviewer. “I smear his blood on my face, on my hands. I got it, like, in my nails. I got it all over me. I was going f***ing crazy.” During the interview, Onfroy and the interviewer laughed as he recalled the alleged incident, showing no remorse. There are no records of the incident, and he later refused to discuss it.