Key Takeaways

• XXXTENTACION’s most iconic features span rage rap, emo, and melodic Hip Hop, showing his range across genres.
• Collaborations with artists like Trippie Redd, Joey Bada$$, and Lil Peep helped define key moments in his career.
• His guest verses often revealed emotional depth and vulnerability, adding new dimensions to each track.

XXXTENTACION is best known for pouring out his heart on records like “SAD!” and “Jocelyn Flores,” helping pioneer rage rap with “Look At Me!” and overall being a great addition to other artists’ songs.

After his tragic murder in 2018, many of his collaborations and several posthumous albums that were released, stood as a testament to his artistry and the impact he made. There’s “Take a Step Back,” one of many records he created with Ski Mask the Slump God, the multi-platinum “F**k Love” with Trippie Redd, and later songs like “True Love,” which arrived after his death.

Regardless of when the tracks came out, there’s a good reason his fans and peers speak so highly of his music, even all these years later. With that in mind, REVOLT revisited 11 of XXXTENTACION’s best features and collaborations.

1. “infinity (888)” with Joey Bada$$

“I catch all diseases in the world so the world don't have no more diseases, you feel me?” Joey Bada$$ jokingly opens “infinity (888).” Throughout the track, X and the Brooklyn rapper trade lines about their incarcerated friends being “trapped in cells like salmonella” and being the “realest since Kennedy,” among other references. It’s a shame their joint project never materialized, because if “infinity (888)” is anything to go by, it would’ve been something worth hearing.

2. “True Love” with Kanye West

Released posthumously, “True Love” was previewed at the end of 2022’s Look at Me: XXXTENTACION documentary, then hit streaming platforms the next day. Much like Kanye West and X’s earlier record together, the Chicago artist is the only one with a verse, in which he lays bare about his custodial struggles following his divorce from Kim Kardashian. “True love shouldn't be this complicated / I thought I'd die in your arms, I thought I'd die in your,” the Florida native croons in the chorus.

3. “F**k Love” with Trippie Redd

One of XXXTENTACION’s biggest collaborations is, ironically, an anti-love anthem. Teaming up with Trippie Redd, the two rappers delivered a record about having their hearts metaphorically torn apart on “F**k Love.” Maybe it’s Trippie’s chorus or the clear emotional heaviness X carried when he recorded the lone verse, but the 17 cut has gone platinum several times over — which says plenty.

4. “Take A Step Back” with Ski Mask the Slump God

To no surprise, some of X’s greatest records come from the artists he worked with the most, one of which was Ski Mask the Slump God. “Take A Step Back” is very much a product of its era, with the “Look At Me!” artist screaming throughout the chorus before launching into his verse. Even within the chaos of heaving bass and two relatively quick verses, the duo showed they could take on any creative challenge in front of them.

5. “Hi Wendy!” with Bass Santana, Kin$oul, Kid Trunks, and Flyboy Tarantino

Although Bass Santana, Kin$oul, and the many other artists featured on “Hi Wendy!” may not be as big as some of the other XXXTENTACION collaborators mentioned here, don’t write them off. On the track, X steps back on the chorus so his Florida counterparts can get their bars off one verse at a time. It’s one of the better Members Only posse cuts we’ve gotten over the years.

6. “Falling Down” with Lil Peep

The fact that “Falling Down” is essentially a rework of Lil Peep’s “Sunlight On Your Skin” doesn’t discount how good of a collaboration it is. The original featured ILoveMakonnen on the bridge and both verses, while the Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 2 track brings XXXTENTACION in to take his place. It also includes an interlude where the Florida rapper talks about how they were “so alike” and how he wished he’d watched Peep’s interviews sooner.

7. “changes” with PnB Rock

As simple and short as “changes” is — it clocks in at just two minutes — it’s further proof that XXXTENTACION could hit an emotional nerve with very little. PnB Rock appears on the bridge before they eventually duet on the final chorus: “Mmm, baby, I don't understand this / You're changing, I can't stand it / My heart can't take this damage.” The rappers also worked together on “bad vibes forever” and “Middle Child.”

8. “Ecstasy” with Noah Cyrus

In between Noah Cyrus’ chorus, XXXTENTACION raps about the mental warfare happening in his head and how badly he wants a special someone to return by his side. That person is basically his “ecstasy,” someone he’s hooked on and can’t seem to shake, just like the title implies.

9. “Scared of the Dark” with Lil Wayne and Ty Dolla $ign

Working with posthumous material always presents challenges, especially when so much of an artist’s catalog has leaked or fans hold out hope for whatever unreleased tracks might remain. With “Scared of the Dark,” XXXTENTACION’s estate did what they could with what was available, and the end result came together pretty nicely. He came through with a show-stopping verse over one of the most thematic instrumentals, courtesy of the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack.

10. “NorthStar” with Joyner Lucas

“At your front door like Jehovah Witness / I'm too kind so I'ma spare the witness,” XXXTENTACION dishes out in the opening verse of “NorthStar,” his very first collaboration with Joyner Lucas. The Revenge artist fired off bars about Finding Nemo and Rick from “The Walking Dead,” while Lucas name-dropped the legendary Spike Lee and Kid Rock. It was pretty exciting to hear them feed off each other’s energy, in our humble opinion. Not to mention, Triple X’s “I'm a soul eater like Black Star, huh” line might be one of the more memorable anime references in Hip Hop.

11. “Roll in Peace” with Kodak Black

XXXTENTACION was a polarizing figure both before and after his passing. On Kodak Black’s “Roll in Peace,” he responded to the domestic violence accusations brought by his ex: “Last time I wifed a b**ch, she told the world I beat her, huh / And when they locked lil' Kodak up, my n**ga, I couldn't believe it, huh." Despite the circumstances, the record brought together two of Florida’s biggest names with London On Da Track handling production.