This album is going to be a big factor in deciding XXX’s career path going forward. As with many other viral artists, XXX has struggled to get out of the shadow of his initial hit, the much memed, Mala-sampling undeniable slapper ‘Look At Me!’. While it had been bubbling under for a good six months, the song hit its peak towards the end of 2016 while he was in jail for assault, which should have greatly inhibited his ability to capitalise on the song’s success. But, the fact that the Spotify and Apple Music album cover was his mugshot built something of a myth around this 18 year old from South Florida. Add to that an extensive back catalogue for a core fanbase to be built around, with tracks like ‘Vice City’ and ‘I Spoke to the Devil in Miami’ showing his versatility and a darker, more introspective side to XXX.
Once out of prison, XXX managed to stay in the news by either getting punched, punching other people or doing shit like this. He put out a couple of compilations of older material and a couple of loosies like ‘Gospel’ with Rich Chigga and Keith Ape, but nothing that really set the world alight in the same way that ‘Look At Me!’ did. After he was selected to be an XXL Freshman, all eyes were on him to deliver in his freestyle and cypher. The freestyle went well, but his cypher was divisive, with some considering it a chilling manifesto, but the majority cringing at his overly edgy bars and delivery, having the DJ cut the beat and crouching down to deliver his verse acapella. It was clear that XXX couldn’t just ride his meme for much longer without putting out a substantial project that really wowed audiences. Despite an endorsement from Kendrick Lamar, 17 is not that project.
The album begins with ‘The Explanation’, a voice note direct from XXX explaining his concept for the album:
“My collection of nightmares, thoughts, and real life situations I’ve lived…By listening to this album, you are literally, and I cannot stress this enough, literally, Entering my mind,…I put my all into this, In the hopes that it will help cure, Or at least numb your depression, I love you.”
A bold mission statement, but one the album fails to deliver on. The entire album feels half-baked. The tracks feel like sketches rather than full songs. The production is shoddy, and not in an endearingly amateurish Soundcloud way, it just sounds bad. The problem isn’t with the beats which are usually OK, but XXX’s vocals are mixed so weirdly in relation to them, it’s really off putting. This is most evident on the acoustic tracks like ‘Depression and Obsession’ and ‘Revenge’.
The only likeable tracks are ‘Jocelyn Flores’ and especially ‘Carry On’, which play to XXX’s strengths in a similar way to ‘Vice City’, both with lo-fi, pretty beats which XXX can just lyrically spill his guts on with no unnecessary gimmicks. XXX’s morbid emotional honesty has always been the core of his appeal and these tracks show that he still has that in abundance, but he seems intent on spreading himself too thin by trying out too many genres at once and not getting particularly good at any of them.
It’s unclear whether this is going to be XXX’s falling off point. A few tracks off 17 are already making appearances in Spotify and Apple Music’s Top 100 charts, but whether this is first week curiosity or something about the album’s murkiness and lyrical honesty is striking a chord with new fans. Only time will tell, but as a complete project, 17 has far too few hits to make up for the misses.
Words by Jack Hollis