I liked this annotation I made so I'mma post it here

"His name will live, brother
No, I got—, I feel hella shitty because it's like, yo'
Like, if I would have known he was so cool
And it's like, yo', if I would have watched interviews sooner, bro', we were so alike
It's unfortunate because it's like, yo', when people die, that's when you're there, you know?
'Cause your remorse kinda makes you check 'em out"


These words ring haunting on several levels.

1: XXXTentacion recorded his verse for “Falling Down” after Lil Peep’s passing. In this audio clip of one of X’s last studio sessions, he is heard reflecting on Peep’s passing. He is first heard celebrating and admitting the impact Peep left on Hip-Hop, engraving himself in Hip-Hop history forever. X further goes on to admit that he never knew him personally, and he never made the opportunity to look into him deeper until after his passing.

Here, X confesses that he admits regret for not diving deeper into Peep’s persona earlier. It was only after Peep’s death that X realized the two were much more alike than he had anticipated. He mourns for the relationship that could’ve been, and while their relationship was unclear, after Peep’s death X was able to relate to and understand Peep’s demons and mindset, as they were similar to his. Both rappers' music revolved around themes of love, mental health, and fighting inner darknesses.


2: In a sense, this can be applied to the casual hip-hop fan / music listener. After XXXTentacion’s passing on June 18, 2018, the late rapper’s music broke several records. Genius has reported on all of these: From reaching a #1 hit on Billboard Top 100 with “SAD!”, to setting a global Spotify record with the same song, it’s safe to say X garnered a much larger following after his death.

These words are symbolic as they can be perceived from the listener’s perspective. Because so many people discovered X after his death, many people see it as unfortunate that they were only able to listen to and appreciate his music after he had passed away. X’s words say it all – so many people looked into his music because he had died, out of an act of remorse.

While not as many cared for the two during their time here, it’s without question that the artists gained plenty of support and love by the music community, and their posthumous collaboration in “Falling Down” will only continue to validate their legacy in the Hip-Hop world.