Ski Mask the Slump God has been through a lot in the last two years. He's had to mourn so many of his loved ones. First, his best friend XXXTentacion passed away as a result of gun violence, being shot in broad daylight outside of a Florida motorsports shop and losing his life. Then, a producer from the Members Only collective, Khaed, lost his life. Finally, Ski had to say goodbye to another one of his close friends, Juice WRLD, who passed away from an accidental drug overdose. 

Ski Mask has lost a lot of people and he has been fighting a silent battle for years. Today, he finally let his fans in on how he's feeling, saying that he sometimes wishes it were him instead of his friends.

"Should Of Been Me Instead Of Jah Or Juice," tweeted the 24-year-old rapper. 

It’s been a curious time for Ski Mask The Slump God fans, who have been essentially left without a captain since the release of 2018’s Stokeley album. And while the project was touted as his best body of work thus far, many have continued to argue that the Slump God has yet to tap into the full extent of his potential. While that’s certainly up for debate, it’s clear that Ski has been working hard behind the scenes, and from the sound of it his new music might be exactly whats the doctor ordered.

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Taking to Instagram to highlight an upcoming banger, Ski made it abundantly clear that comeback season is on the way — though he neglected to specify as to when exactly that might be. The song itself seems to pick up where Stokely left off, with a futuristic-sounding beat fueled by a playful and slightly demonic synth line. The perfect backdrop for Ski’s blend of adults-only content and childlike ear for references. He wastes little time in finding a nice flow-scheme, whipping his bars into a frenzy as he raps “girl give me that point like the hood of a Klu-Klux-Klan / this money I’ma hand to a fan, been too hot my kitchen damn Donald Trump tan.”

Check out the full snippet below, and sound off — are you excited to hear a new album from Ski Mask The Slump God? And if so, do you think this snippet bodes well for the remainder of the project? 

Justin Bieber's new album Changes is officially out now and Lil Dicky is featured on the song "Running Over" but, according to Ski Mask The Slump God's team, that spot was supposed to go to him. There is currently some controversy popping off on Twitter with the Florida rapper's entourage, including DJ Scheme, Gio, and Cole Bennett, who are all suggesting that a version of "Running Over" with Ski was supposed to make the album. Gio even went so far as to upload the version that was reportedly supposed to appear on the tracklist, yet was left off in favor of a verse from LD. With Ski's version of the song leaking online, people aren't quite sure how to process his removal, noting that his verse was solid and worked perfectly with the song. 

"The verse was done in time for the album," confirmed Gio on Twitter, debunking the theory that it was turned in too late. Adding fuel to the fire, the verified account for Rolling Loud also made a joke about the leaked version, tweeting that the new Justin Bieber with Ski Mask slaps. 

Ski Mask the Slump God has not yet commented on the controversy and, as of right now, it's unclear whether or not Lil Dicky or Ski was originally meant for the song. It's possible that Biebs was fielding several rappers for the track, opting for LD on the final cut.

What do you make of this?

The death of a friend is never an easy feeling to adapt to, and unfortunately that seems to be resonating hard as of late for Ski Mask The Slump God when it comes to his friendship with late rapper XXXTentacion.

Photo by HNHH

Jumping on Instagram the other day, Ski shared a photo of the two rapping onstage during Rolling Loud Miami 2018 for what would be their last time performing together. No caption was added to the pic, leaving fans and those who knew the dynamic duo only to comment their own fond memories. “Greatest rap duo of all time,” wrote one commenter, which received over 300 likes, meanwhile others echoed the same sentiment of sorrow, including one person who wrote “miss him everyday” and another simply writing “The best duo ong.” The performance, which happened in May 2018 and saw the two rappers embracing following months of beefing with each other, happen just one month before X was shot and killed in June 2018 following a robbery outside of a motorcycle dealership in Deerfield Beach, Florida. The four suspects in his murder will be heading to court this Spring.

LLJ, forever. Peep Ski Mask The Slump God’s IG tribute post to XXXTentacion below: 

The first-ever iteration of Rolling Loud in Portugal is about to be historic. In the reign of the five-year hip-hop festival, Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif have brought Rolling Loud to Miami, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Australia, and other world destinations over the years. It’s time to bring the brand to the beach now, potentially creating a version of Fyre Festival that’s actually worth attending.

While this isn’t being advertised as a luxury fest, Rolling Loud is worth the price of admission solely for the experience of seeing all your favorite rappers in one spot. If you haven’t been able to grab tickets to the Miami dates coming up — and even if you have… — you’ll want to check out details for the upcoming version of the festival in Portugal, for which the lineup has just been announced.

Tickets for the Portuguese version of Rolling Loud, which is happening at Praia De Rocha Beach, are officially on sale and the line-up is nuts. This is the first-ever iteration in the European country, bringing headliners Wiz Khalifa, Future, and A$AP Rocky to the main stage from July 8 to 10. Further down the card, DaBaby, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Young Thug, Playboi Carti, Meek Mill, Rae Sremmurd, Roddy Ricch, Tyga, Lil Tecca, Lil Baby, Lil Uzi Vert, NLE Choppa, and many more have also been announced.

Check out the full lineup above and let us know if you’re planning on buying a flight out to Portugal this summer.

Were he not murdered in June of 2018, XXXTentacion would have been twenty-two years old today. The complicated rapper never had a chance to continue his path, leaving behind a pair of two studio albums in 17 and ?, the closest thing to a definitive catalog to his moniker. Not to mention countless friends, family, and loyal followers, who continue to paint him as a young legend. 

Bennett Raglin/Getty Images 

As today is his birthday, many took to social media to celebrate his memory. It's no surprise that his close friend Ski Mask The Slump God, with whom he helped develop the Members Only collective, took to Twitter to pen a thoughtful message.  "Happy Birthday Jah," writes Ski Mask. "Saying I Miss You Is A Understatement But I Know I’ll See You Again One Day." Simple but powerful, our thoughts go out to Ski on this difficult day. 

Happy birthday, Triple X. It's unfortunate that we never got to see the trilogy of ?, Skins, and Bad Vibes Forever manifest as he originally planned, though posthumous efforts attempted to bring the vision to life; whether they actually delivered is strictly for the fans to decide. Who knows what the genre-bending rapper might have been capable of achieving on an artistic level?