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XXXTentaction’s Best Songs: 10 Essential Tracks
It’s been almost seven years since XXXTentacion was tragically shot and killed throughout an armed theft in Deerfield Park, Florida, in June 2018 on the age of 20.
All through his meteoric rise, X — born Jahseh Onfroy — established a deep connection to tens of millions of followers as one of many leaders of the SoundCloud era of rap whereas additionally vulnerably opening up about his psychological well being and battles with melancholy.
X dedicated full-time to rap in 2016 when he moved in with fellow Florida rapper Denzel Curry and exploded onto the mainstream scene in early 2017 with the re-release of his hostile “Look At Me!” single, which blew up on SoundCloud earlier than hitting DSPs.
The Rojas on the Beat and Jimmy Duval-produced hit launched X’s profession into one other stratosphere as his mugshot cowl artwork was seemingly inescapable on social media with “Look At Me!” reaching No. 34 on the Billboard Scorching 100 and was one in every of Billboard‘s Songs That Outlined the Decade for the 2010s.
He even tried to feud with Drake over allegations that the 6 God imitated his “Look At Me!” stream on Extra Life‘s “KMT” monitor in 2017. Earlier than his loss of life, X launched a pair of studio albums with 17 and ?. Within the week following his homicide, “SAD!” rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Scorching 100 to posthumously give X his first chart-topper in June 2018.
Whereas his expertise as a musician is simple, XXXTentacion’s legacy stays a sophisticated one as a result of myriad of mounting authorized expenses towards him together with home violence, assault, witness tampering and theft. On the time of his passing, X confronted 15 felonies initially stemming from an arrest in 2016.
Thursday (Jan. 23) marks what would have been XXXTentacion’s twenty seventh birthday. From the melancholy to the trend, there was no telling how far X was going to push his artistry in his 20s. Try our record of what we really feel are the late rapper’s 10 greatest songs under.
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“Adjustments”
XXXTentacion exhibits off the vary of his artistry as he delivers one in every of his most heartbreaking songs over icy piano keys, whereas singing concerning the ache placing a gap in his chest. “Lady you’re making it onerous for me,” PnB Rock croons in agony to help on the refrain. PnB and X teamed up on many events, nevertheless, the Philly native was additionally tragically murdered 4 years after XXX in 2022.
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“Moonlight”
X takes listeners on a two-minute area expedition all through “Moonlight.” He flips the trippy instrumental in a powerful rap track, which finds him opening up a couple of turbulent relationship with a lady falling sufferer to the toxic mentality of these round them. It’s emotive tracks like this that really feel potent and likewise nonetheless easy from the Florida native.
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“Infinity (888)” (feat. Joey Bada$$)
XXXTentacion and Joey Bada$$ appear to be an unlikely mixture on its face, however the duo put their bars to the check as X tapped extra into his rap aspect whereas teaming up with Brooklyn’s lyrical savant. X was clearly impressed by Joey and introduced his A-game on “Infinity (888)” whereas declaring himself the “realest since Kennedy” over P. Soul’s thumping drums. X and Joey even deliberate to finish a joint mission earlier than this loss of life.
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“Everyone Dies in Their Nightmares”
The psychological warfare X handled made music a cathartic launch for him. “Everyone Dies in Their Nightmares” delves into the depths of Triple X’s psyche. He peels again the layers on his excessive emotional swings. “Solely time I really feel ache, after I’m feelin’ love/ That’s why it’s tatted on my face that I’m rattling numb,” he speedily raps over the ambient manufacturing. The darkish monitor showcases one other weapon in X’s creative repertoire on 17.
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“Jocelyn Flores”
X’s reward was having the ability to flip his ache and feelings into poetry in movement. And he did it in a means that the typical fan couldn’t spell out themselves, which endeared the Florida rapper to tens of millions throughout the globe. A terrific instance of that is “Jocelyn Flores.” The 17 standout — an album that grabbed Kendrick Lamar’s consideration and brought on him to run to Twitter — noticed X look inward and wrestle with romance and horrifying ideas of suicide, which he poured into a robust track.
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“Amy Winehouse”
One other hidden gem from a neophyte XXXTentacion, who launched “Amy Winehouse” to his SoundCloud in 2015. The devilish monitor follows X bragging about having intercourse with one in every of his pal’s girlfriends. X’s muffled stream sounds possessed as he slowly speaks straight into your soul, whereas piano keys play out like a scene from a horror film.
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“SAD!”
“SAD!” was X’s solely high 10 hit whereas he was alive and the week following his passing in June 2018, the poignant monitor launched to No. 1 on the Billboard Scorching 100 as followers celebrated the lifetime of Jahseh Onfroy. It grew to become the primary posthumous chart-topper since The Infamous B.I.G.’s “Mo Cash Mo Issues.”
The John Cunningham-produced track cuts deep, as X grapples with shedding a lover and coping with the depths of melancholy whereas coming to phrases with the severed relationship. “Suicide when you ever attempt to let go, uh/ I’m unhappy, I do know, yeah,” he warbles on the refrain.
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“Vice Metropolis”
A pure look into X’s early inventive course of. “Vice Metropolis” is a crown jewel that followers maintain close to and expensive to their hearts. It was the primary monitor made out there on X’s SoundCloud account in 2014 earlier than finally discovering a house on streaming providers eight years later.
A teenaged XXXTentacion discovered the free “Logic Kind Beat” on-line and sped it up a bit earlier than pouring his feelings out. “For those who said opinions, then bones would start to shatter,” he raps about his outspoken nature. How was a child working at this stage as a 16-year-old?
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“F**ok Love” Feat. Trippie Redd
XXXTentacion and Trippie Redd had been a deadly mixture. “F**ok Love” is the most effective instance of their fruitful chemistry and the see-saw battle with a nauseating romance stays among the most prolific work from both of the duo’s careers. It’s eerie each time listening to that X’s loss of life anniversary can be Trippie’s birthday. The SoundCloud pioneers’ anthem went diamond in 2023, as X helped welcome his shut collaborator into the diamond membership from the afterlife.
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“Have a look at Me!”
The abrasive “Look At Me!” smacks listeners within the face. X’s breakout hit was a lightning rod for dialog and match together with his polarizing nature. Launched in 2015 and rising to SoundCloud fame earlier than being repackaged for streaming providers two years later, “Have a look at Me!” served as a distorted anthem for a rebellious era of rap followers.
The dialog broke down Florida’s regional limitations and have become a nationwide hit that left an indelible mark on the hip-hop panorama whereas cracking the Scorching 100’s high 40. Wanting again, it’s one of many signature tracks that outlined X’s DIY artistry.
“The largest lesson out of that track is to show children you don’t want anyone and you are able to do it your self,” co-producer Rojas on the Beat informed Billboard in 2019. “You don’t want a giant studio, combine, and grasp, or spend massive cash on a mic to make successful.”
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