Two months after XXXTentacion's death, rappers are still claiming close ties to him in order to gain some type of cred (Kanye, Travis Scott). But, there are some who were genuinely close to the late rapper who just want to show their affection. One of these people is Ski Mask The Slump God, who posted a clip of X freestyling over the then-unreleased "Hope." The caption could be seen as those who purport to have known the late Florida rapper while he was alive:"If You Listen Closely You’ll Hear Jahseh Free styling To Hope Before It Dropped And You’ll Hear Why No One Will Ever Understand The Friendship We Had , I Love You Vrother I’ll Remember To Remember Always."The clip itself has X rapping the lines "call Ski up" and "you the best friend that I ever had."
The legacy of XXXtentacion is a troubled one. He's worshipped as a larger-than-life figure who pioneered a new type of rap (which is true), but the abuse and violence he inflicted while alive is largely glossed over. As the Guardian describes it, "he stomped a gay juvenile hall cellmate to near-death in a homophobic attack and, before his murder, was awaiting trial for allegedly beating, torturing and imprisoning his pregnant ex-girlfriend." With the huge amount of criticism that's being levelled at Nicki Minaj for working with Tekashi 6ix9ine, it's strange that critics turn a blind eye whenever someone pays tribute to X.