XXXTENTACION
17
5/10
From jail time, outspoken comments, and a short-lived feud with one of the rap biggest figures in Drake, XXXTENTACION has had a controversial past 12 month. However, the Florida rapper comes through with his debut album titled 17 after all the turmoil. Leading up the to the release of the album many notable artists including Lil Yachty, 9th Wonder, and most notably Kendrick Lamar have given promotion on social media outlets such as Twitter. This sparked curiosity in the mind of many listeners such as me especially after seeing one of my favorite musicians co-sign an artist I have never heard before. In the end, it will be the curiosity and the word from a few other in my circle that got the best of me as I would end up giving 17 a listen.
From the start, we get a feeling that the project will deliver a dark and moody tone. This comes as XXX gives the listeners caution leading into the album on the opening track The Explanation. It is here where he seems to let the listener know that he is giving me them an album that shares a collection of nightmares and real life experiences that he had been through in the past. He even goes after some listeners whom may seem to not take a liking to the album going forward or may seem to have some negatives towards it. Funny enough I may be one of the listeners he seems to be talking about.
Jocelyn Flores while depressing does put together a solid blend of vocals from Shiloh Dynasty as he sings during the chorus. Throughout the track, we get good verses from XXX as he raps about one of his fallen friend who in the past suffered from depression. Unfortunately, this person is who the song is titled after and by the end of the track, we get the sense that Jocelyn fell victim to her depression through suicide. While this concept has been done in the past by several rappers I thought personally XXX did a good job at putting together a track that speaks to the tone that his fallen friend Jocelyn was dealing with.
Fuck Love a track that comes later in the album presents a nice beat and hook that gives off some of XXX’s emotions as he shouts out. I just wished the song itself could have been longer or contained a verse from some other artist to carry the track further. XXX and Shiloh Dynasty connect once again on the track Carry Love. On here XXX shows off his rapping skills once more as he delivers a decent verse that speaks of a previous love interest whom he may have referenced on the previous track and later songs throughout the project.
Now while there were some highlights on this album, most of them came from the 3 tracks mentioned above. Sadly, the rest of the album seems to either contain lackluster and basic bars like on the song Everybody Dies in Their Nightmares or horrible singing from XXX himself. It is also important to note that while the album contains an edgy and depressing tone to it, that does not mean that the music is in anyway good but does set itself apart from some of the other sounds going on in the genre now. I just felt that after listening to the first track and hearing XXX speak I thought I would have been in for a record that completely expressed the nightmares and real-life situations such as the important things that went on in the rapper’s past life. Instead, we were left with a short album from a rapper who is crying over a series of failed relationships. Jocelyn Flores and even Ayala to a certain extent seemed to me as the only tracks that offered great content and a collection of nightmares and real life experiences that we were sold on going into the record.
While 17 had its moment, it is things such as poor vocal delivery and disjointed song structure that serves as a detriment to the project as a whole. However, I do think there is a place in rap for guys like XXX who seems to be interesting. If he does continue to improve on the things I mentioned, then he could maybe present some staying power in the game moving forward. Lastly, while I didn’t really care for the project that much I would say that if it wasn’t for the shout outs and words from those around me I would not be on the lookout for what XXX has in store next.