XXXTentacion Channels His Deepest Thoughts In "17"
When someone is willing to dig into their darkest moments and bring them out for others to find peace with, true art is made. XXXTentacion channels his deepest thoughts in 17, his debut album with a haunting account of depression from his eyes.
17Â is a risky album from a lot of directions. Itâs not something thatâd rise be easily swallowed in a world were autotuned, monotonous trap rap reigns supreme. Itâs heavy messages are also something that really has to hit the right crowd. XXXTentacion opens the record with âThe Explanation,â which is quite literally an explanation of what this album is. He lays everything out there, saying that this album is for those who will understand and that he hopes itâll help ease othersâ pain. It leads into opening track âJocelyn Flores,â immediately bringing the recordâs content to a dark start. The beat is run down and almost tangibly depressed, XXX rapping about a friend who committed suicide, tragically crying out âI know youâre somewhereâ throughout the track.
Everything about 17Â comes from XXXTentacionâs heart. You can feel the fear and the pain in his words, the instrumentals all sounding beaten down and sluggish as if to imitate a heaviness weighing them down. Even the tracks that seem misguidedly poppy, like âFuck Loveâ with Trippie Redd, say a lot. In the case of âFuck Love,â even if the songâs main lyric is repeated over and over, thereâs still a lot of sorrow in âPlease donât throw your love away.â Love goes hand-in-hand with depression, sometimes being the cure and other times being the cause. XXXTentacion battles both scenarios throughout 17, wishing for a past love and time to return in the beautifully composed âDepression & Obsessionâ depressedly singing of how a betrayed love destroyed him from the inside out on âDead Inside.â
The beauty of 17Â is not the fact that itâs an album that captures one manâs depression. Itâs that it captures the very essence of feeling that way. What makes every song so powerful is not the fact that they intrinsically try to be sad and slow, but that those aspects of the song build the tracks to feel heavy. Theyâre weighed down by the emotions, not by purpose. The powerful, resonating piano of âOrlandoâ will resonate through you and youâll feel the strength of emotion in every wavering chord, and the brilliant harmonies and rustic vibe of âRevengeâ will do the same. In the end, the entire album can really find its center in âSave Me,â the beautiful track that simply cries out for help in the heaviness that swallows it whole.
XXXTantacion channels his deepest thoughts in 17, powerfully channeling every aspect of his pain into his art. Itâs not an album about being sad. Itâs an album about feeling heavy and what itâs like to be weighed down by all these problems that build up to create depression. Itâs for those who will understand it and perhaps find comfort in it. Every voice needs a guiding light, and this could very well be the eye opener for many.
Favorite Tracks: Save Me, Orlando, Jocelyn Flores, Dead Inside, Revenge
Least Favorite Track: Fuck Love
Stream or buy 17Â on Apple Music:
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