If you thought XXXTentacion’s latest posthumous album was emotionally overwhelming, just wait until you see his new music video. The late rapper’s estate has shared a powerful visual for his Lil Wayne collaboration “School Shooters” that pays tribute to the victims of the 2018 Parkland shooting.
“School Shooters” comes from XXXTentacion’s final posthumous album, Bad Vibes Forever, which was released in December. According to the rapper’s former manager Solomon Sobande, XXXTentacion saved “School Shooter” for “this point in his career when he was more established” so that the track would be better received.
“A lot of things he had worked on, almost complete ideas, weren’t finished, maybe [they] only had one verse and a hook or only a beat,” Sobande said of XXXTentacion’s unreleased music. “To fill out those songs, a who’s who of the music industry came out to help us.” Hence when and why Lil Wayne contributed to the track.
As it turns out, Lil Wayne was happy to extend a hand once more, this time for the song’s accompanying music video. In the clip, directed by Eif Rivera, we see a high school student get pushed around and bullied to the point that he eventually goes to his mother, crying, saying he can’t take it anymore. Throughout this, various scenes of youth gun violence and police swarming the building are inter-spliced. Lil Wayne can be seen rapping atop a cop car midway through the school shooting, too. Watch it below.
This would all be tone-deaf if it weren’t for the message that precedes the clip. “This video is dedicated to Anthony Borges and the 17 victims of Stoneman Douglas High School,” it reads. “Feb 14th 2018. Remember to Remember.” The message is followed by a picture of XXXTentacion visiting Borges at his hospital bed mere months before the rapper was shot and killed in South Florida.
Bad Vibes Forever follows his previously released albums SKINS and ? from 2018, and 17 from 2017. Last year, XXXTentacion’s girlfriend gave birth to a baby boy named Gekyume Onfroy.
XXXTentacion and Lil Wayne Pay Tribute to Parkland Victims with “School Shooters” Video: Watch
Nina Corcoran
