By Howard Campbell

LAUDERHILL – A Jamaican music producer who worked with slain rapper XXXTentacion plans to release songs he recorded with the troubled artist who was murdered on June 18 by gunmen.

John ‘Jon FX’ Crawford, who produced one of the songs from ?, XXXTentacion’s second album, said he recorded a number of tracks with him including Forever, a collaboration with jailed Jamaican dancehall act Vyb Kartel.

He also plans to release Royalty, an Afrobeat song XXXTentacion did with Ky-Mani Marley. Crawford did not give a timeline of when the songs will be available.

“What I really want to do is show a different side to X, of him singing, doing acoustic stuff. I have to find a way to let the world see his versatility,” said Crawford.

Broward County Police report that XXXtentacion, whose real name was Jahsey Onfroy, was shot and killed by one of two gunmen at a Deerfield Beach auto dealership. The 20-year-old entertainer was gunned down while in the driver’s seat of a BMW sports car.

No arrests have been made.

Crawford was a mentor to the rapper whose parents are Jamaican. They first met six years ago when XXXTentacion was preparing to launch his recording career. One of their initial projects was I’m Yours, a song Crawford produced with he and Sizzla.

?, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 Album Chart in March, includes the song I Don’t Even Speak Spanish LOL which is co-produced and co-written by Crawford.

XXXTentacion had several run-ins with the law including assault and false imprisonment charges stemming from a 2016 incident with his pregnant girlfriend. He pled not guilty to the charges but spent six months in jail.

Crawford said it is a pity XXXTentacion’s dark side overshadowed his music.

“It’s very rare when you meet an artist who knows what they want. He went against music industry standards and did things differently.”

XXXtentacion earned admiration from heavyweight rappers like Kendrick Lamar and Drake for his 2017 album, 17, which contained the hit song Jocelyn Flores.

His other hits include Revenge and Look at Me!