? is the second studio album by American rapper and singer XXXTentacion and his last studio album to be released before his murder. It was released on March 16, 2018, by Bad Vibes Forever, Caroline Distribution, and Capitol Music Group. It succeeds the release of his debut studio album 17 (2017) and the extended play A Ghetto Christmas Carol (2017). The album was primarily produced by frequent collaborator John Cunningham, and includes guest appearances from PnB Rock, Travis Barker, Joey Badass, Matt Ox, Rio Santana, Judah, and Carlos Andrez.
Featuring more live instrumentation than 17, ? features an array of genres, including acoustic, emo, alternative rock, trap, and cloud rap. XXXTentacion’s vocals on parts the album are less restrained and lo-fi-ish compared to 17, with his vocals on introspective songs over piano and acoustic guitar chords being more projected. On other parts of the album, XXXTentacion’s style resembles his underground sound, with him screaming. The album was supported by three singles: “Sad!“, “Changes“, and “Moonlight“. Following XXXTentacion’s death on June 18, 2018, “Sad!” topped the Billboard Hot 100, where XXXTentacion became the first act to earn a posthumous Hot 100 number-one single as a lead artist since The Notorious B.I.G. with “Mo Money Mo Problems” in 1997.
? received positive reviews from critics, and became XXXTentacion’s first US number-one album, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with 131,000 album-equivalent units earned in its first week. The album has since been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On Spotify, it is the most-streamed rap album of all-time.[4] At the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, ? was nominated for Top Billboard 200 Album, among other nominations. An anniversary deluxe edition of the album was originally going to be released on July 26, 2019, but was pushed back to September 6, 2019, featuring the album’s instrumentals, A Ghetto Christmas Carol, voice memos from the recording sessions of the album, and new material featuring American rapper Rico Nasty and Japanese video game composer Yoko Shimomura.
