Myriad Muzik

Trippie Redd

Xxxtentacion’s ‘Bad Vibes Forever’ Album Review. @XXXtentacion

by Leave a Comment

Due to his untimely death Xxxtentacion’s most recent posthumous album Bad Vibes Forever seems both more incomplete and complete than his first posthumous release Skins. Showcasing more of his range over an expansive 25 tracks Bad Vibes Forever is a vast compilation of incomplete sketches. Both posthumous albums cannot be critiqued with any validity as they were never meant to be heard in the form they were released. Over the 25 tracks on this LP most play as demos with the hooks and choruses recorded as most likely references and with barely any finished verses laid down. The first 3 tracks ‘Ex Bitch’, ‘UGLY’ and the title track ‘Bad Vibes Forever’ featuring Pnb Rock and Trippie Redd all display X’s unique versatility with sonic soundscapes very foreign to Trap and Hip-Hop. Acoustic guitar melodies and singing come as easily to Xxxtentacion as his traditional rapping. ‘School Shooters’ boasts his dark aesthetic and Screamo sensibilities. Lil Wayne, like many other big guests on the LP, stops by to pay his respect more than collaborate, perhaps a return of favor for Xxxtentacion’s contributions to his ‘Don’t Cry’ on Tha Carter 5. The incompleteness is felt as X begins his verse screaming only to have it fade out suddenly, a unique glimpse into his creative strategy and recording process. Many tracks apparently were recorded to in segments intended to be revisited later to be fully finished. Xxxtentacion seems as a guest on his own album mostly delivering hooks, the finished aspect of his recording process, only, as the ‘featured’ artists lay down all the complete verses. Rick Ross also stops by to pay his respect and strengthen the Florida connection.

Bad Vibes Forever is a great offering for the fans, a rare glimpse behind the controversial icon’s thought process and constant recording. Having just recently released his album ” ? ” before passing away it is shocking to see how much material he was already working on for his follow up albums. X’s artistic direction was miles beyond his peers, from his eclectic sensibilities and influences to his unorthodox delivery and flows. Xxxtentacion truly is an artist that found his true voice, integrating his surrounding environment -not limited to solely music- and filtering it through his being to produce original art that connected with a diverse and large mass of listeners and fans.

Rating 7.0/10 (rating not true opinion of album as the project is not how the artist intended but instead a version completed for the fans with the best intentions to hold true to his vision.)

ALBUM REVIEWS: XXXTENTACION “17”

by Leave a Comment

“Depression and Obsession don’t mix” this statement plays as more than a lyric, XXXTentacion seems to embody this duality. While previous tracks lean toward ‘screamo Hip-Hop’ his debut album “17” plays as an Alternative Rock album with no resemblance to his breakout single ‘Look At Me’.  As the 19 year old rapper states immediately at the beginning of the album that with this work you are “literally entering his mind” we must first look at the human, or perhaps conversely the music forces us to look at the human. Stereotyped as the ’emo kid’ of Hip-Hop, X ironically shatters the archetypal emo image. As Kurt Cobain, the iconic Grunge rocker of the 90s, embodied the teen angst and aggression of a generation of social outcasts of that day’s youth we saw Kurt as the loser, the nerd and the bullied kid. As the kid physically and emotionally tormented and withdrawn Cobain’s anger seemed obvious. X at both seems to be the bully and the bullied all at once, a quick YouTube search will reveal a kid who has been, before the fame, winning more fistfights on camera than any teenage ‘loser’ ever dreamed of. X’s only L on camera actually comes from a blindside sucker punch. How could a young kid making money on tour (prior to the success of ‘Look At Me’), knocking people out, getting girls, and having access to a level of ‘fame’ most withdrawn kids only wish for be emo? He defies his own identity, a product of the internet generation he, like many musical act’s musical tastes (with access to any genre and any time period), combines polarizing cultures and ideologies.

“Look At Me” is fueled with angst and violent hyperbole but don’t let that sonic sleight-of-hand distract you X’s depression stems from deep roots. The opening track on “17” “Jocelyn Flores” is dedicated to a girl in his life he was involved with who took her own life. Subject matter isn’t the only avenue in which X differentiates himself from his Hip-Hop peers, production on “17” doesn’t reach for the popular producers. There are no club bangers, no lit tracks, no Metro Booming beats, and the only feature is Ohio rapper Trippie Redd. X’s rebellious attitude fits right into his art, he seems to pay no mind to Industry standards. Guitar tracks, some completely acoustic, boom bap drums and dark piano chords are the only sounds the listener will get on this album, and it comes off as pure genius. No 808’s or Hi Hat 32nd note patterns, X keeps his art completely unique and true to self. With the vocals removed some tracks could easily be rider music or, ironically, a forced Drake love song filled with crooning or rehashed Pop rudiments and staples over top experimental production. ‘Everyone Dies In Their Nightmares’ is smooth, excluding the actual content which again is testimony to X’s internal dichotomy, he manages to implement a flow on top of this track that reminds the listener he is still a top tier Hip-Hop artist somewhere in his psyche.

‘Revenge’ plays as half back road blues and half slowed down demonic Pop-Punk. X, consciously or unconsciously, embraces the Punk Rock soundscape keeping “17”‘s entire running time at 22min, songs are rarely even 2 minutes and none ever touch  the 3 minute mark. For the debut of such a troubled and controversial artist he manages to release a truly unique and artistic LP that will surprise many and also convert many listeners who were put off by the polarizing sound and delivery of  tracks like “#ImSippingTeaInYoHood’. ’17’ shows tremendous maturity and growth and also a fearlessness to evolve without hesitation.

Rating 8.9/10