At some point before 2019 is over, there is a new posthumous XXXTentacion album, Bad Vibes Forever, set for release. The exact release date isn’t clear yet, but now, a song from the project has been shared: “Hearteater.”
The song, which clocks in at barely over two minutes, leans much more in the direction of alternative rock than it does hip-hop. On the track, XXXTentacion sings over electric guitar and drums, and there’s even a guitar solo in the middle of the track. This isn’t the first time that XXXTentacion songs have skewed in a more rock direction, though: His Kanye West collaboration “One Minute” is very much an aggressive, heavy rock song.
Although XXXTentacion is a controversial figure, some prominent figures in music have come to his defense in recent months. Billie Eilish said of him this summer, “I remember in the midst of it, at the beginning, when I found him on SoundCloud. I had no idea who he was or anything about his backstory at all. I barely knew what he looked like. I just messed with what he was creating because it wasn’t something I had heard before. […] I think it’s still popular because he was a complete tortured genius.” Earlier this year, J. Cole also defended him against “cancel culture.”
Listen to “Hearteater” above.
