“Malcolm X.X.X.” by Kodak Black

“Malcolm X.X.X.” by Kodak Black is a song written and performed by Florida-based rapper Kodak Black. The song, which samples the iconic American human rights activist Malcolm X, pays tribute to XXXTentacion. (also known as X) was an American rapper who was murdered in 2018at the age of 20.

In the lyrics of this song, Black raps about the relationship he had with X prior to X’s tragic death in June 2018. He goes onto compare the late X to the legendary Malcolm X. It’s important to take note of the fact that both X and Malcolm X died in a similar way. They were both shot and killed by multiple assassins. XXXTentacion died at 20 in 2018 whereas Malcolm died at 39 in 1965.

Verse 1

In the first verse, Black lets the world know how much he was thinking about X while he was in prison. For those of you wondering, Black was indeed incarcerated when X was shot and killed in June. He was released a few weeks after X’s death.

Verse 2

In verse 2 of this track, among other things, Black takes listeners back to the fateful day of X’s murder. In the first line, Black appears to be taking a jab at the anti gun violence movement, Bikes-Up, Guns-Down Movement. Every year, on the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, this group in question gathers bikers to ride on streets in South Florida. Their sole aim is to bring an end to gun violence in that region.

In the second line, Black goes on to briefly narrate how X was murdered. He raps about X being gunned down while trying to buy himself a bike. And truly XXXTentacion was fatally shot at a motorcycle dealership in Florida.

In the last line above, Black thinks X would have been alive today had he been riding with a “pipe”. It isn’t precisely clear what he means by the term pipe. There are numerous street names for a firearm. And we suspect that the word pipe might just be one of the slang terms given to a gun. If we are right, then what Black is basically trying to say is that had XXXTentacion armed himself with a gun, he could have defended himself from the robbers who gunned him down.

Verse 3

Black begins the final verse by talking about how deceptive some people can be. He goes on to talk about paying a visit to someone’s mother and refers to the mother in question as beautiful. We assume he’s referring to X’s mother. Thereafter he spends virtually the entire lines rapping about the problems associated with fame. He ends the verse by saying even after death peace is hard to find. According to him, in order for one to even rest in peace when one has died, one needs security by one’s grave. He’s probably referring to the bad press X received even after his death.