Two albums arrived on December 6, 2019, at opposite points in their artists’ careers. Compton’s Roddy Ricch was making his studio-album debut. In South Florida, the team behind XXXTentacion was assembling a second posthumous album from recordings he left behind.
2019 – Roddy Ricch releases Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial
After two Feed Tha Streets mixtapes, Roddy Ricch had enough momentum to open his debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album gave him room to do more than extend the sound of the tapes. On “Intro,” he lets a piano-led arrangement build beneath an account of how far he’s come. On “Prayers to the Trap God,” he puts survival and faith in the same verse.
“The Box” puts a squeak in the space where another record might pile on drums. Roddy leaves room for it, then changes the pitch and pace of his delivery until his voice becomes the busiest thing in the mix. That economy is part of what made the song so easy to recognize and so hard to copy.
Atlantic’s album listing and listening preview · XXL’s coverage of the No. 1 debut
2019 – XXXTentacion’s posthumous Bad Vibes Forever is released
Bad Vibes Forever followed Skins as the second posthumous studio album credited to XXXTentacion. Its 25 tracks span acoustic pop, rap and dancehall. The title track places his melody alongside PnB Rock and Trippie Redd, while “Royalty” moves into dancehall with Ky-Mani Marley, Stefflon Don and Vybz Kartel.
Those shifts recall how readily XXXTentacion moved between styles during his lifetime. They also make the limits of a posthumous album audible. An unfinished vocal can suggest a direction, but the people completing the track decide how far to follow it. That distinction matters when listening to a record assembled after the artist’s death.
Bad Vibes Forever / EMPIRE album listing and listening preview
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Chad is an Atlanta-based music journalist with a deep passion for hip-hop culture and the stories behind the music. Inspired by the city’s influential sound and creative community, he brings an authentic perspective to artist interviews, music coverage, and cultural commentary. Through his work, Chad champions emerging talent, honors hip-hop’s legacy, and documents the artists shaping its future.
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