XXXTentacion Drops New Song “Hope” Dedicated to Florida School Shooting Victims
Early this morning (Feb. 21), XXXTentacion debuted a new song on SoundCloud titled "Hope," which he has dedicated the final lyrics to the victims and survivors of the Douglas High School shooting last week in Parkland, Fla.
The track is brief, at just 1:45, but is a slow ballad featuring X singing in a mournful tone and he prefaces his lyrics by saying "Rest in peace to all the kids that lost their lives in the fucking shooting."
X, who frequently shows his vulnerability and emotional side in his music, also used a personal letter to the survivors of the shooting as the artwork for the song.
The letter reads, "I could never say I understand how you all are feeling, nor can I find the right words to say to you, but I do want you all to know, you are not alone. The words at the end of this song are dedicated to you, Douglas High. Sincerely, XXX."
It's no surprise that the 2017 XXL Freshman was impacted by the tragedy—he is from Broward County, where the shooting took place, and was among one of the first rappers to address it.
In one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern American history, 17 students were killed at the south Florida high school on Feb. 14 by former student Nicolas Cruz. Survivors of the shooting recently announced that they plan to host a demonstration in Washington D.C., "March for Our Lives," on March 24.
X said that he dedicated the final words of his song "Hope" to the shooting survivors, singing, "Outside of my misery, I think I'll find/ A way of envisioning a better life/ for the rest of us."
In the song's SoundCloud post, X also wrote an additional note to listeners and survivors, which reads, "follow your dreams, and know that even though you have lost, you have guardian angels watching over you , day in and day out, the last thing they want is for their lives to be lost in vein, make them proud! live full, healthy, genius lives!"
Check out "Hope" for yourself below.
See Behind-the-Scenes Photos of XXXTentacion at the 2017 XXL Freshman Shoot