Not only is Kanye West not backing down from his support of XXXTentacion, he’s doubling down on it.
West showed up for a surprise performance at the release event for the slain rapper’s posthumous album, “Skins,” in Miami on Thursday night. According to social media, he performed his and XXX’s collaboration, “One Minute,” along with a handful of other songs like, “Black Skinhead,” “Father Stretch My Hands” and, perhaps most notably of all, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.”
During his set, West called for XXX’s mother, Cleopatra Bernard, to come out on stage so he could give her a hug.
This is just the latest show of West’s support for the late rapper. He is the only guest featured on the just-released “Skins.”
On their song, West makes clear exactly how he feels about the stigma attached to the younger rapper at the time of his death, rapping, “Now your name is tainted, by the claims they paintin’/The defendant is guilty, no one blames the plaintiff.”
When the 20-year-old was murdered in south Florida in June, he was awaiting trial for domestic violence against a pregnant ex-girlfriend, along with witness harassment and tampering charges.
In addition to the song, West also released a mini-capsule collection of XXXTentacion-inspired merch through Yeezy, a shirt from which he was wearing during his performance.
In September, he also chastised himself in a since-deleted Instagram post, writing that his failure to speak up for XXXTentacion before his murder was “some p—y s–t.”
Shortly after the younger rapper’s death, West wrote, “”I never told you how much you inspired me when you were here, thank you for existing.”