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Years after his death, there\'s a tendency to think of XXXTENTACION in metaphorical terms. His fatalistic lyrics feel designed for social media ubiquity, and his lithe, emotive vocals emit the longing and exasperation of a teenage outcast. His untimely demise made him a martyr of emo rap—a talented but tragic antihero who died before he could find catharsis. But X\'s legacy is best explored through his work itself, namely his sophomore album, *?*. Released three months before he was shot and killed, the LP sees the 20-year-old stepping into his power as a virtuosic songwriter. What once felt like incomplete sketches become fully realized portraits of a damaged soul. Over the course of 37 minutes, X swerves between emo synth-pop, soul-baring R&B, and boom bap, wielding the varied colors to paint different shades of his emotions. For \"Pain = BESTFRIEND,\" he teams up with Travis Barker for an explosive meditation on the type of sorrow that becomes your roommate; what begins as a sullen murmur crescendos with forceful shouts. Meanwhile, for \"infinity (888),\" he laces a golden-age soundscape with nimble rhyme schemes that match the technical precision of collaborator Joey Bada\$$. It\'s a sonic about-face that only the best stylistic shapeshifters can pull off, and that\'s really just the beginning. Whether it\'s industrial screamo (\"Floor 555\") or twinkling R&B (\"changes\" with PnB Rock), he operates with nuance and surprising adaptability. As a writer, he peaks with \"SAD!,\" a song that eventually became the biggest single of his brief career. Coasting over fluttering banjo, he fuses irony, glib humor, and subtext for a pop song that camouflages emotional sadism in Top 40 infectiousness. It\'s twisted and brilliant—descriptors reserved for artists who find ephemeral serenity at the edge of madness.
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