A harrowing insight into the mind of a deeply polarizing artist

Perhaps the most controversial and polarizing rapper to transition from internet fame to the mainstream spotlight, XXXTENTACION calls his debut LP, 17, “A collection of nightmares, thoughts, and real-life situations I've lived." Sparse guitars and sullen melodies all but replace rap on this startlingly pained look inside the harrowing mind of a person for whom art and artist are impossibly intertwined. “Depression & Obsession,” “Save Me,” and “Dead Inside” are overwhelmingly melancholic, while the piano ballad “Orlando” addresses the Florida rapper’s lowest point head-on.