XXXTENTACION’s serious legal situation — and consequently precarious freedom — coupled with his non-stop trolling of Drake made more headlines than his actual music. Everything else aside, the 19-year-old artist has quite a lot in common with the Based God, Lil’B. Mainly, that true-blue Hip Hoppers have a difficult time wrapping their minds around the allure the artists seem to possess.
Pigeons And Planes once described his music as having the ability to “make your ears bleed” — which is fair, honestly. His breakout hit “Look At Me” and ‘hits’ like the aptly titled “#sippinteainyohood” feature loud, distorted, blown out lo-fi madness, which is quite jarring upon first listen. But, a deep dive through his catalog reveals a surprising amount of depth, experimentation, and personal demons that are likely the root of the inexplicable draw youth have towards him. In many ways, he resembles a Hip Hop version of Kurt Cobain; a rough around the edges tortured soul going against the grain.
Ride or die Hip Hop heads may not have the patience to sift through his SoundCloud page in search of a sound they can vibe to, so here are five songs that will introduce you to Triple X in a palatable way.
XXXTENTACION f. Kin$oul & Killstation – “Slipknot”
His latest batch of songs included the gem “Slipknot,” a piano-driven, jazzy track. No distortion, just a dose hefty wordplay coated in self-awareness. It’s a reminder that he’s not only well-aware of his situation, but that he suffers from depression — something he explores a lot throughout his music.
“Lost in the pessimistic state of perception, it’s been/ Hard to participate in natural instances, it is/ Due to my history, I Don’t know what’s next for me.”
XXXTENTACION f. Killstation – “Snow”
“Snow” is a drum-less, atmospheric look into the darkness that seems to surround this kid. Again, persistent themes of death, insecurity, sadness. Where Drake’s often criticized and crowned for his emo crooning, XXX’s emotions sound raw and believable.
“I see, black skies, and white lies, I’d rather be/Dead, filling my head with different enemies/Thoughts consuming me, fueling my insecurities/As the ground right under crumbles as if it wasn’t there/It’s too much, my heart’s crushed, I’m not alive.”
XXXTENTACION – “Let’s Pretend We’re Numb”
“Let’s Pretend We’re Numb” is a song about a lost relationship. Although he’s only 19, he — as evidenced by everything he’s put out there — loves hard. The loss of this particular relationship found its way into some his records. This was the most poetic, though. Emotions range from sadness and jealousy to anger as he describes his inability to move on.
“How you feelin with these niggas that you talk to?/Captivated by your mind and your walk too/Can’t replace you with these bitches that I talk to/They say “lust is love” we had trust, what’s good?”
XXXTENTACION – “RIOT”
As the most aggressive record of this bunch, “RIOT” squarely attacks racism in America with an excerpt from a Klan rally, as an outro. It seems to both condemn senseless violence in his community while condoning it against those who perpetuate racial injustice. That’s putting it mildly. Just try to find an anti-police bar harder than “Bath in blood of officers.”
XXXTENTACION – “Vice City”
“I seem depressed, always being bothered never less/Keeping me out of prison and putting me to the test” opens up “Vice City,” which appears to be his first song — on SoundCloud anyways. It’s since gained online notoriety among his fan base, but it’s sound and content, although dope in hindsight, didn’t quite win over the heads off the top.
Perhaps the biggest issues listeners have is that they expect him to sound a specific way. “I do multi-genre, I don’t just rap,” he told Genius in an interview from jail. Right, his catalog of material runs the gambit from Weeknd-esque ambient singing to straight-up alt-rock. Still, the above should demonstrate that he understands what it is the Hip Hop community as a whole expects to hear, he just doesn’t care to be in a box.
Kanye West, J. Cole & More Mourn XXXTENTACION's Death
Check out all four of XXXTENTACION’s new songs he’s released in anticipation of his upcoming mixtape here.
Yo that shit really is dope. I’m gonna have to give his other shit a chance now.
I never heard of him but you shouldnt be dissing Hip Hop fans and claiming he is not Hip Hop. Im a hip Hop head and his songs straight up sound Hip Hop, nothing “new age” about his shit. So he has other songs where he sings and does Alternative Rock? I guess I have to listen to them… His rapping is on point though. No need to compare him to lil B or whoever, he hasnt been relevant for YEARS. Once you call him Based God you know you are stan and dont know shit about Hip Hop.
But why promote a guy who’s only famous for riding Drake’s coat tails??
If he’s really talented as you claim why not making himself known like true artists do?
You do realize drake jacked his flow and xxxtentacion was recieving alot of buzz before he was jailed for close to a year.
dude had a following before that bruh,
All he needs is better recording equipment and proper mixing and he’s set to go. I like the Vice City song, reminds me of the early days where rappers were rapping over soul type beats and telling their story. He is Hip Hop and really needs more exposure. He got lyrics, versatile flow, and you can tell he puts his heart into the songs. Keep’em coming young man!
why is no one on this kid for not dropping any new music yet 3 4 weeks after coming outta jail hes no gucci thats for damn sure when it comes to the music grind
he put out a bunch of new songs this week
not sure ‘purists’ could ever get into tranny hip pop.
Aight, if I waste 3.5 minutes of my life I am coming after you…
I just spent a minute reading your comment, STFU and give me upvotes for being dyselxic
Not one person pointed out he’s an abusive POS.
And HipHopDX you are all shitty humans.
get outta here
Lil homie got some skill..I was surprised after checkin that “Slipknot” track ..Word.. Didn’t expect for him to have any skill at all..
After seeing his drake trolling shit i listened to his Look At Me and it was fuckin awful. Slipknot has somehow changed my mind. Are these even made by the same guy?
No. And enough with this hoodrat already.
He’s not the next best rapper in the world but he’s good enough to have succeeded- there are people with a lot less talent with better careers than him right now. He could have ridden the wave and established himself as an artist in his own right but he chose to run with being an internet troll… but why? Wasted potential
Well now he is xd
HA
I think Rare 2 was fucking Dope. And Im in my 40’s and hate alloooottta shit!
he’s also good at beating women. dude should be in prison.
He was actually proven innocent, and when the alleged victim called the report in he was in another state doing a show.
If Solange hit me in a lift, I would knock her weave off
You’re a fucking idiot. Lots of people can relate to this kid. He doesnt rap about selling drugs. Literally everyones getting pussy who the fuck are you hanging out with? Are you 12? Shut your ass up bro. His wave is literally the OPPOSITE of rejected. He makes music for REJECTS and theres a lot of them. You sound butthurt, you’re probably King Myers lol
Fuck a purist.
Why would a purist be mad at this? It’s that mumble rap we don’t stand for, this young man is good..
Raw as fuck. There is some good music in this young mans catalogue.
Didnt mean to say that to you, meant it for You’re
He was doper than i actually thought check out this blog i read on highendradio.com
Who doper?
How did detention die?
I spelled it wrong
I’m a kid so please don’t say bad things