According to Chart Data, the ultimate source for sales figures in the Digital Age, XXXTentacion's "SAD!" has broken the single-day record for Spotify streams with 10.4 million yesterday. Fans and curious individuals alike, flocked to streaming services to listen to XXXTentacion's fairly diverse catalog, his latest release ? a particular point of interest.
"SAD!" describes feelings of abandonment which became associated with XXX's battle with depression and his music, one in the same. Incidentally, his untimely death looks to have been an armed robbery gone wrong. XXX has never the less left the hip hop landscape with a legacy of pain and pride, as communicated by his music. Of all the rappers using emotional release as a storytelling technique, XXX was in some ways several steps ahead of his peers, because of the vastness he explores. "SAD!" tells a story of heartbreak made palatable by his own admission of guilt in the song.
Spotify has inevitably reversed their decision to pull XXX from their curated playlists. They will now pay homage to the rapper with his very own "This Is XXXTentacion" playlist, admitting their were wrong to rush their decision several weeks ago: "While we believe our intentions were good, the language was too vague, we created confusion and concern, and didn’t spend enough time getting input from our own team and key partners before sharing new guidelines," Spotify wrote in a statement.