XXXTENTACION's "Arms Around You" Excludes Rio Santana For Big Features

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Rapper XXXTentacion attends the BET Hip Hop Awards 2017 at The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater on October 6, 2017 in Miami Beach, Florida.
Singer Rio Santana's has been teasing the collaboration with XXXTENTACION since 2017.

We've received a lot more posthumous singles from XXXTENTACION over the past few months. Although his collaboration with Lil Wayne on "Don't Cry" is the highest charting track that his estate has released, the collaborative effort with Lil Pump, Swae Lee, and Maluma, "Arms Around You" has been receiving praise since it's release yesterday. However, it appears as if the song was originally a collaboration with X's friend whose verse may have been excluded in order to include the high-profile features.

As Rap Genius pointed out, Rio Santana, a friend, and collaborator of XXXTENTACION, began teasing the joint effort with the late rapper in 2017, but apparently, his verse was left off in favor of Lil Pump, Swae Lee and Maluma's contributions. Earlier this month, Santana shared a text message conversation he had with X in 2017, praising the "SAD!" artist for exhibiting diversity on the song. He also shared footage of the studio session he had with X as they listened to the song.

After the song's release, Santana was seemingly disappointed in his omission. He alluded to his feelings about the song in two cryptic tweets.

Santana previously worked with XXXTENTACION for the ? track, "i don't even speak spanish lol" alongside Carlos Andrez and Judah.

Lil Pump teased the single a few months after X's death. Numerous publications reported that Rio Santana owned the track and would be featured on it, but that was not the case. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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