Photo by Josh Brasted/FilmMagic
Lil Wayne links up with XXXTentacion for his third posthumous collaboration with the late Florida rapper on “School Shooters.” The track appears on X’s newly released album, Bad Vibes Forever, and is produced by Jasper Sheff and John Cunningham. As its title suggests, the song finds Wayne attempting to explain the perspective of a school shooter.
On his verse, Wayne describes the mindset of an outsider:
A school shooter, I just need attention, yeah, uh
Tell the principal, I ain’t got no principles
I don’t need no school, I got internet, yeah
Kids at school calling me different, yeah
So I’m tryna work on my differences, yeah
He continues by implying that mental counseling could have prevented the tragedy:
Intellect mixed with inner stress
That’s a recipe for disaster
If you don’t believe me, go ask any chef
School shooter, I just need mental help
Saved by the bell, I can’t hear the bell
Give me bad grades, I don’t give a F
Get in front of my classmates and kill myself
On the chorus, X questions why children aren’t being protected from shooters:
The innocent, who the fuck’s protecting us?
Boy, you better buckle up ‘cause I got questions for you fucks, I’ve had enough
According to a Complex feature detailing the making of Bad Vibes Forever, “School Shooters” was originally made in response to the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. X recorded the track around the same time as his 2018 song, “Hope,” which he dedicated to the children who lost their lives in the Parkland massacre.
X reportedly planned to release the original version of “School Shooters”—which didn’t feature Wayne—shortly after the shooting, but held onto the song due to increasing scrutiny over his allegations of abuse. His team told Complex that they decide “Hope” was “a more fitting song” to release at the time.
“Follow your dreams, and know that even though you have lost, you have guardian angels watching over you, day in and day out,” X wrote in the SoundCloud description for “Hope.” “The last thing they want is for their lives to be lost in vein [sic], make them proud! Live full, healthy, genius lives! #you are not alone”
Solomon Sobande, X’s manager, explained to Complex why X’s “tremendous supporter” Wayne was chosen to guest on the released version of “School Shooters.”
“Wayne was an icon to a lot of young artists, Jahseh included,” Sobande said. “So he made a lot of sense to put on that record, especially because of him being a parent who understood how important the topic was.”
Wayne previously used X’s vocals for the hook of his Carter V track, “Don’t Cry.” Both rappers also appear on “Scared of the Dark” from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack.
Other guests on the feature-packed Bad Vibes Forever include Rick Ross, Joey Bada$$, Joyner Lucas, Tory Lanez, blink-182, and more.
Listen to the song above, and read all the lyrics to XXXTentacion’s “School Shooters” featuring Lil Wayne on Genius now.
