By Benny
XXXtentacion has become a household name in the world of rap lately for reasons both good and bad. X(Jahseh Onfroy) began on soundcloud, a mass music sharing platform, where he grew a large and loyal fanbase with his gritty, bass heavy music, inspired by the popular trap and lo-fi genres. Not far into his growing soundcloud career, X was incarcerated on account of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, along with false imprisonment, witness tampering, and aggravated battery. Even though he'd spend months behind bars, his following continued to grow and the hashtag #FREEX was all over the internet. Upon his release, he began to work with major artists and even go on tour where more controversy would arise. XXL magazine, a major magazine in the rap world, invited XXXtentacion to their freshman list of 2017 where he received his most recognition. On his Revenge tour, X was knocked out on stage due to ongoing twitter beef with X and rapper Rob Stone; on the same tour X assaulted a fan after an altercation in the crowd, X later apologized publicly. This wouldn't be the end of X’s questionable behavior, and it wouldn't put a damper on his fame. X has proved he has a variety of music skills varying from bass heavy trap tracks like run up on me, to melodic acoustic songs like teeth, to 90s style bangers like riot and vice city. X’s debut album 17 was released on August 25,2017 and surprised all by comprising the album completely of melodic emotional music that no one expected.
17 opens with the track The Explanation, X explains himself and introduces his album to the listener. Jocelyn Flores opens with vocals by Shiloh, an instagram singer no one knows much about that artists frequently sample. X joins in on the singing and tells a story of a friend who took her own life while with him in Florida; he chose to use her name and the song title in her honor. The opening chords of Depression and Obsession begin, and X compares the two feelings. He feels they are opposite and become almost manic for a person experiencing them. Everybody Dies in Their Nightmares is the next song and it describes how people feeling suicidal can feel as though their own heads and on their own in certain settings. X dedicated another song to his friend Jocelyn. Revenge, originally called Garrett's Revenge, follows the advice of Confucius, an ancient philosopher, who says to dig two graves before embarking on a journey of revenge. X seems to reference a Pink Floyd song Comfortably Numb in his song Save Me with the lyrics “Hello?, from the dark side in, Does anybody out there wanna be my friend?” which are similar to Floyd’s “Hello, Is anybody out there?”. While X was in prison for his allegations, he claims in his song Dead Inside that his girlfriend at the time, Geneva, cheated on him and that vivid dreams of it happening would occur when he lie up at night in his cell. The most upbeat of all songs on this album is Fuck Love featuring Trippie Redd, an upcoming emo rap artist, explains his heartbreak after his ex girlfriend accused him of assaulting her and that his mental pain had formed into a physical pain. Yet another song featuring Shiloh, Carry On explains that no matter what you should keep your head up and move on even if the pain weighs you down. X’s use of ‘‘Carry On” is analogous for the pain that holds you down being like carry on luggage. Possibly the saddest song on the album, Orlando expresses how X feels about his pain saying that no matter how he puts it words wont add up to how hurt he is by wasting years with his ex. The final song Alaya speaks directly to Geneva, X’s ex who accused him of assaulting her, telling her she is the cause of the pain and suffering he feels and wishes they had never been together.
No comments:
Post a Comment