Today, Bad Vibes Forever and EMPIRE launches an animated video contest for XXXTentacion’s latest single “BAD.” At 5pm PT, fans may visit his official site to choose one of seven animators to bring the music video to life. As XXXTentacion was a lifelong animation fanatic, the contest holds a special significance to the estate and his memory.
Speaking to that passion, seven animators—some of whom the artist professed his fandom for—contributed 15-second clips of which fans may view and cast votes in support of. Voting goes live on the site at 5pm PT. Watch the clips and vote now!
At the close of polling on November 19, the winner will receive $10,000 to deliver the full-length animated visual hosted on the official XXXTentacion YouTube page. Speaking to his global renown, these animators—Gabriel Chaignon, Darin Vartanian, Jay Kzapa, Anhia Santana, Ayan Issin, Dugan Warmoth, and Tristan Zammit—represent nearly every corner of the globe, ranging from Ohio to Kazakhstan.
These artists have notably worked on projects for everyone from alt-J, Wiz Khalifa, and Famous Dex to French Montana, A$AP Rocky, Waka Flocka Flame, and more. They were honored to contribute to “BAD” and X’s legacy and addressed his mysterious and metaphysical leanings by crafting dark, thought-provoking, and pure art.
You can find detailed statements from the respective artists about their clips enclosed below.
“Bad” heralds the release of his anxiously awaited first official posthumous album, SKINS—arriving Friday, December 7 via the newly erupted partnership between his own imprint Bad Vibes Forever and EMPIRE. Notably, EMPIRE—headed by Ghazi Shami—ignited the explosion of his 2017 debut 17, which bowed at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 and went RIAA platinum. Pre-order the album here and receive a free download of “BAD.”
Upon impacting Friday, “BAD” trended worldwide at #1 and scored over 40 million cumulative streams. It also ignited a flurry of internet chatter and critical praise. XXL claimed, “The brief banger is a snapshot of what we can expect from the rapper’s *Skins* album,” while HotNewHipHop enthused, “X’s syrupy vocals melt over the hypnotic drums.” Billboard highlighted the “crooning in hopes of luring the attention of his love interest.”
There’s no good without bad, or bad without good. Skins marks the next evolution of XXXTentacion and his most powerful, poetic, and personal expression yet
Be prepared for more soon!
XXXTentacion remains the voice of his generation. His second album, ?, bowed at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, went platinum, yielded 5.2 billion global streams, and achieved sales of 3.2 million global equivalent albums. Among its stacked track listing, the record boasted “SAD!” (4x-platinum), “MOONLIGHT” (2x-platinum), and “CHANGES”(2x-platinum). In 2018, the BET Hip Hop Awards crowned him “Best New Hip Hop Artist” as 17 earned “Favorite Album – Soul/R&B” at the American Music Awards. He can count Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Camila Cabello, and Academy® Award winner Jamie Foxx amongst his supporters and admirers as well. His influence and impact only continue to grow.
