A new song titled “Vice City” by later American rapper, singer, and songwriter XXXTENTACION’s is now available on all DSPs for the first time.
“vice city” is the earliest song publicly available on XXXTENTACION’s SoundCloud. The song is a classic to many fans with its melancholy melody, cynical lyrics with the juxtaposition of Laura Mvula’s sample of “Sing to the Moon,” proving the versatility X has with his music, switching from rage rap to deep, pondering music. X has stated that he likes to blend and cross genres and “vice city” only serves to support this point.
It’s one of X’s most well-known compositions from his “SoundCloud Era,” and it was the first song to appear on his SoundCloud page. From sampling Laura Mvula to using a Logic-style rhythm he found on YouTube, the song demonstrates XXXTENTACION’s talent even at the tender age of 16. This piece of work is more than just a song for X fans. It was the first glimpse inside the complicated and at times depressing mind of someone with whom many of his fans could identify. When compared to other artists at the time, it was instantly evident how raw and original X was, and his genre-free approach established a gateway to the music-making environment we take for granted today.
The name “vice city” derives from the famous video game franchise, Grand Theft Auto, most notably from the sixth game in the series, Grand Theft Auto Vice City. Knowing X was born and lived in Florida, it can be interesting to note that the game’s story takes place in a city inspired by Miami. The song’s cover art is also a screenshot from the game.
On January 23, 2022, what would have been X’s 24th birthday, X’s estate announced the official release of “vice city” on all streaming services on the following Friday. The song’s instrumental was made by Canis Major and uploaded to YouTube as a free beat. X slightly sped it up, but the original is still available online.
XXXTentacion became the first artist to posthumously release music as NFTs with five scrapped SoundCloud songs on May 10, 2021, in which News/Flock was slightly re-worked on. In November 2021, Solomon Sobande, Onfroy’s manager, said that a posthumous collaboration between Onfroy and late emo rapper Juice Wrld is in the works.
On January 23, 2022, on what would have been XXXTentacion’s 24th birthday, his estate announced that they would be releasing his 2014 SoundCloud track, “Vice City”, to all streaming services on January 28, 2022. Considered a fan-favorite, the song was his first release on SoundCloud. The release is the first by his estate in efforts to make all his unofficial releases available on main streaming platforms.
It was also confirmed that a documentary about the rapper, tentatively titled Make Out Hill, is in the works; it will feature clips of X performing, and will feature artists such as Trippie Redd, Juice Wrld, and Joey Badass.
Ahead of the release, The Estate of Jahseh Onfroy released an official statement:
We continue to be amazed at the love and support that X’s fans show on a daily basis. We know how much his music means to all of you, and his impact continues to be as powerful as it’s ever been.
It is important to us to continue to honor Jah’s legacy, and in that spirit we are planning an exciting 2022. One of our first initiatives is to get as much of X’s music from his earliest days as an artist up on all DSPs. We have been working diligently to clear as much of it as possible, and we are excited to announce our first release this Friday with “vice city” hitting all streaming services for the first time. We will continue to release music as we clear it, and are making sure we do it in a way that stays true to how X released each song originally.
Visit www.makeouthill.com now to sign up and stay up to date with X-related news, and be the first to be notified as the site evolves. Follow @makeouthill on Twitter for more updates.
Beyond the music, we know X’s fans have been waiting patiently for the documentary and we will be sharing updates on it soon.
Thank you again for your support and for continuing to honor and celebrate the life of Jah.
