MIAMI (REUTERS) - Up and coming US rapper XXXTentacion was shot dead near Miami on Monday (June 18), celebrity website TMZ reported.

The Broward County Sheriff's office said in statement that an adult male who was shot near Miami, Florida, on Monday afternoon and taken to a hospital was later pronounced dead.

The Sheriff's department did not identify the man but TMZ and Hollywood trade publication Variety reported that it was 20-year-old rapper XXXTentacion.

According to a police dispatch call obtained by TMZ, the rapper was shot in an apparent drive-by incident near a motorcycle dealership in Deerfield Beach, about 40 miles north of Miami.

A representative for XXXTentacion's independent record label could not immediately be reached for comment.

XXXTentacion, whose real name is Jasheh Dwayne Onfroy, released his debut album in August 2017.

His second album "?" debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 album chart when it was released in March.

XXXTentacion was born and raised in Plantation, Florida. According to media reports, he had spent time in jail and youth detention centres and was awaiting trial for domestic violence against his pregnant girlfriend.