Lil Pump pays animated homage to the late XXXTentacion in his James Larese-directed video for “Arms Around You,” from his upcoming debut album, Harverd Dropout. The dancehall-influenced, heartbroken song also features Maluma and Swae Lee of Rae Sremmurd, with longing lyrics and a tropical beat worthy of sunny day parties and late nights at the club.
The video’s animation is strangely reminiscent of A-ha’s meme-inspiring video for “Take On Me,” switching from high-definition video to smoothly animated renditions of the performers with an intriguing, animatic effect. XXXTentacion’s sequences are based on paper collages, with bright splashes of color and detailed sketches bringing vibrant life to the animated tribute to the popular, controversial rapper who died in June of this year.
Meanwhile, “Arms Around You” might be considered a departure for anyone whose idea of Lil Pump comes from his sawtooth-jagged anthems “Gucci Gang,” “Eskeetit,” and “I Shyne,” or his Kanye West-produced buzz single “I Love It.” However, the new single — which had accrued 12.8 million global views in 48 hours on Youtube as a lyrics video — proves that the 18-year-old Florida native has a lot more range than anyone previously thought.
Note: Lil Pump is Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music.
