Right this moment would have been XXXTentacion’s twenty fifth birthday. The quarter-century mark is a milestone that too many artists don’t get to see as a result of kind of gun violence that XXX succumbed to on June 18th, 2018 (the identical day that rapper Jimmy Wopo was shot and killed at age 21). The taking pictures was an abrupt finish to the whirlwind lifetime of one of many rap world’s most polarizing artists. The Florida-raised musician allegedly dedicated abuses that made him a reviled determine in lots of circles, however his legacy isn’t that straightforward for members of Gen Z like rapper Yvngxchris, who dropped “Serenity” at this time in honor of XXXTentacion and different murdered artists like Nipsey Hussle, Juice WRLD, and Pop Smoke.
“[XXXTentacion’s greatness] was his versatility and never simply his music, it was the message he was attempting to place out together with the music,” Yvngxchris says over a Zoom name. “Being constructive, being all one folks, all loving one another. It was the message that went together with the music that resonated with me and hundreds of thousands of different folks.” Many would by no means put XXXTentacion and positivity in the identical realm, however the actuality is that he spoke to a era of teenagers who really feel unheard by way of their psychological well being trials. When dad and mom, friends, and therapists can’t attain them, songs like “Snow” and “WingRiddenAngel” do. A YouTube commenter on the latter music said, “I keep in mind I exploit to play your music n’ folks checked out me bizarre I all the time questioned why as a result of your music was a unique kind of lovely to me due to how a lot I associated to the darkness figuring out not solely me was feeling this kind of ache dwelling this horrid life.”
Even after his loss of life, XXXTentacion’s affect has solely grow to be extra pronounced throughout the cloth of hip-hop, as members of Yvngxchris’ era make waves whereas citing him as an affect. “Serenity” begins with the Virginia rapper’s somber reflection on that tragic June day in 2018. “Don’t you already know the sensation of a cherished one dying? / solely distinction we wasn’t associated he wasn’t even near me,” he raps along with his trademark double-time move, following up by rhyming, “He taught us: distribute positivity / He taught us: to guard our power.”
The two-minute music is a poignant open letter of gratitude to XXXTentacion, which is anchored by Chris’s earnest mantra: “we may by no means cease ‘til we obtained serenity.” The second verse salutes Juice WRLD, Nipsey Hussle, and Pop Smoke as figures who “impressed youngsters to attempt to make some shit.” The music is a doleful meditation on a era of music lovers who maintain shedding their heroes.
“Serenity” is the results of Yvngxchris’ A&R Mont Brown urging him to pay homage to XXXTentacion, one in every of his largest artistic inspirations. The 18-year-old typically rhymes with a dexterous, animated move that reveals remnants of XXXTentacion’s impact, with rollicking songs like “Pink Lyte” and the breakout “Off The Leash” marking him as a beacon of the brand new wave of SoundCloud rappers. Although Yvngxchris has been an XXXTentacion fan since “Look At Me” first went viral, he solely just lately felt compelled to articulate his emotions about him into music. “Again then, I might take heed to the music, take heed to his messages, and not likely get it and be capable to articulate what he’s saying,” he says. “However now as I become old, I perceive it increasingly.” Yvngxchris cites XXXTentacion’s unreleased FADER interview as a very insightful clip that he’s higher absorbed with maturation.
Sadly, XXXTentacion didn’t get to expertise the readability that may include rising older. The FADER interview was aired on Hulu’s Look At Me documentary, which chronicled XXXtentacion’s tumultuous upbringing the place he was uncovered to home violence that will have formed his later actions, particularly towards his ex-girlfriend Geneva Ayala. She says within the documentary that she forgave him for his abuse, and so they had been on good phrases on the time of his loss of life. For a lot of, his untimely loss of life left him unable to do the work essential to earn the redemption of different polarizing public figures who’ve mended their trauma (and fame), however the naked honesty of Look At Me provided the closest we’ll get to a holistic glimpse of the gifted, troubled artist. Look At Me leaves viewers to their very own conclusion, however the totality of his story suggests the futility of easy labels. There are these with unflinching perceptions of him as an abhorrent abuser, however so many younger folks, like Yvngxchris, have fun him.
When requested how he reconciles XXXTentacion’s music along with his violent actions, Yvngxchris says, “That’s his life. I can’t actually converse on what he’s been by way of. I don’t know him as an individual in any respect, I don’t know how one can converse on something he’s been accused of. I simply hear as a fan and I hear for the greatness, truthfully, and for his message.” That’s the mindset of hundreds of thousands of followers who made ? probably the most streamed album in Spotify historical past final 12 months. 5 years after his loss of life, individuals are nonetheless engrossed by XXXTentacion’s music, with many hoping that his spirit has discovered the “Serenity” that Yvngxchris rhymes about.