With all of the social and political unrest happening across the nation, many recording artists and labels decided to push back their upcoming releases to allow people to focus on what’s important. Although we were slated for another big drop day in hip-hop and rap, including new music from Smokepurpp, Tekashi 6ix9ine, and others, a minimal number of people actually followed through on their new music plans.
XXXTentacion may not be around to witness what’s happening right now but, during his lifetime, he used his platform to speak on issues surrounding race. In fact, the music video for “Look At Me,” one of his most popular songs, recreated scenes from the racially-charged killings of Emmett Till and Philando Castile.
His estate has released two posthumous albums on his behalf — Skins and Bad Vibes Forever — and they came through this week by re-releasing one of his older songs called “Riot” to streaming services.
Initially released in 2015, the song is back on Spotify, Apple Music, and other services. XXXTentacion speaks on racial tensions at the time and many of his lyrics are relevant today, especially when he speaks of lootings.
“Look in all the stores you wreckin’, n***a, I reckon/Think about the people who own it for ’bout a second/I know you got your problems, but brother, they got theirs/This is not a game, quit violence and grow a pair,” he raps. “But sure, you’d rather hear me say, ‘Fuck the black prejudice/Let’s murder different races, grow hatred, and form irrelevant/Views,’ and etcetera.”
Listen to the track below.
