Running Head: 17 THE MENTAL STRUGGLE 1

17 The Mental Struggle

Ryan Rivera

Arizona State University

Abstract

Art is a unique way of spreading ideas and emotions without ever having to actually say

anything. The best pieces of art are not only aesthetically appealing but also have underlying

meanings and a purpose. The cover of XXXTentatcion’s album 17 is a unique piece of artwork

that meets this criterion. The displays on the cover are shocking and the colors correlate with the

theme of the art, dark and glum. There is a greater meaning to the cover other than trying to

make album sales, it is to prevent suicide. The cover’s purpose is not only to raise awareness but

to provide comfort. These characteristics make this album cover a uniquely great piece of art.

Keywords: suicide, depression, mental health, feeling

17 The Mental Struggle

XXXTentacion (X), 20-year-old hip-hop and rap

artist from Florida, has always had his actions and

music surrounded by controversy. His music has

recently seen a sudden surge in popularity with sales

going up 1,603% in June of 2018 as people mourned the

young artists recent passing (Caulfield, K. 2018). X’s

music revolved around the topics of loneliness, suicide,

anger, depression, and pain and his approach to

addressing those topics was explosive and upfront

which sparked most of the controversy about him and his music. X’s volatile behavior caused

people to question his character and there was controversy about whether or not X had been an

abusive boyfriend, but none of those claims were ever proven to be true, giving him the benefit

of the doubt that his character was genuine. Despite any claims or accusations about X, his music

was something he claimed to use for the greater good of people and to spread awareness and

comfort about topics he felt needed to be addressed. It was no secret to the public that X had

mental health issues, he had oftentimes taken to Instagram's live stream feature to voice the

struggles in his mind which occasionally lead to him crying live on stream with his fans

watching. X always wanted to connect with his fans, so he often voiced his struggles publicly.

His goal in doing so was that others would feel more comfortable voicing their mental struggles

and that they would have someone to relate to on a topic that he felt had previously not been

talked about frequently enough. The topic of mental health was something X was very passionate

about, and in his album 17 he decided to put out music which represented all the thoughts going

through his mind with an emphasis on his mental struggles visible in his album’s cover.
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The album cover of 17 is dominated by black and white contrast the cover itself is a dark

and eerie photograph with three polaroids of X on top of piles of paper riddled with scribbled

frantically words. The words on the papers speak of pain and motivation, and X in the

photographs looks emotionless and alone with his head down between his knees. X is naked in

one of the photographs and is sitting in what appears to be a solitary confinement cell. “17” is the

number that reoccurs over and over in the words on the papers, a number that represents the most

turbulent times in X’s life and the age where he experienced the events he would go on to put in

the songs of the album. Next to the picture of X, is a noose drawn of the paper with the words

“there is no end to the pain you must be numb” written above it. The wording on the pages is

scattered in groups written messily as if X was writing out his thoughts onto the pages. The

initial feelings and tones of the album cover are sad, gloomy, and depressing which is a

reflection on the music to be found inside.

The cover of the album was filled with motivational phrases saying things along the lines

of “be strong” and “you can make it through this” as well as providing ideas on how to improve

with big thickly scribbled words like “meditate.” With such a unique and personally significant

album, X’s album cover had to be perfect and be made with an image that aligned with his

music, appealed to his fans, and got the attention of the people

who he might have felt needed to hear his music or see his cover.

XXXTentacion’s cover for his album 17 is a unique

image that accurately displays all of the requirements X needed

and wanted in an extremely vivid and shocking manner. The

point of the album is clear, the words on the paper accurately

depict the album’s theme and the photo’s of X are mysterious

and provide a shock factor, especially the one of him naked. Through the papers, it is visible

what sorts of crazy and sad thoughts plague X’s mind and the pictures of him on top of the

papers depict a worn out and depressed figure struggling and coping with those thoughts. For

some artists, it would be counter-intuitive to make an album cover with such a dark and

depressing tone to it, but not for X because his music is dark and depressing at times and that is

what appeals to his fans and the audience he seeks to influence. The financial purpose of the

album cover is to encourage people of the same mental state as X, depressed and lonely, to buy

the album or at least take interest in it, but the great cause is to comfort those who are struggling

and provide insight about mental struggles for those who cannot relate.

The album cover is meant to be an insight into X’s mind and at the same time be

shocking and grab at anyone's attention. The pictures of X look lifeless almost as if he were

dead. This draws in curiosity as people may wonder why there is a lifeless naked man sitting on

the floor of a solitary confinement cell. Upon closer inspection, the words written on the paper

are supposed to be paired with the pictures and help X’s audience understand why he is locked

up, naked, and looking lifeless. The papers talk about pain and loneliness, but also about

meditation which is what is implied that X is doing in the cell. It is implied based on the visual

representation that X has locked himself up and removed himself from any distractions, even

clothes, to meditate for the better of his well-being.

The album cover as a whole is meant to make sales, appeal to X’s fans and people who

are depressed, and give an insight into X’s life and struggles. People who are in a similar mental

state as X may get emotional when they see X struggling in this cover with the same issues they

have. Their reaction may be sad because it brings back bad memories, happy that it is something

they can relate to in their struggles, or upset if they don’t like to confront those feelings. In 2017
17 THE MENTAL STRUGGLE 6

there were an estimated 1.4 million suicide attempts and 47,183 suicides in American alone,

suicide being the tenth leading cause of death in America makes this art not only appealing in its

dark and depressing design but also important in the message it delivers (Suicide, n.d.). The

cover also appeals to hardcore fans of X who are curious about him and what to know what

exactly the rapper’s mind since his music can usually be described as controversial, with lyrics

like “yeah, suicide if you want to let go”. The art of the album itself is also very visually

appealing, the black and white polaroid design of it is non-traditional and sets it apart from other

album covers. All of these aspects combined help the album fulfill the ultimate goal of making

sales and spreading X’s name and legacy.

The cover also sheds light on the struggles of a successful or famous person like X.

People often think that money equates to happiness and that being famous or wealthy makes

them numb to the struggles and pain of the world because even if they are sad, at the very least

they are not sad and poor or irrelevant. X was a multi-millionaire at age 20 with thousands of

followers, but despite all the money and the social clout he is clearly seen to be struggling and

suffering on the album cover.

The standard X’s album cover is viewed is that it is made for people with mental health

issues, and while that is true that is not its sole purpose and function. The album cover itself is

meant to show people what is going on inside of the mind of X himself, someone who struggles

with mental health issues and it does a phenomenal job in doing so. This insight into his mind

allows people both, with and without mental issues to better understand the struggle going on in

the mind of some who is plagued by depressive thoughts. Due to past stigmas, mental health

issues such as depression had been labeled as forms of weakness, that if someone expressed their

inner emotions and doubts they were lesser or weaker, especially for men. Under that belief and
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culture, many people assumed that if they had mental health issues, then they had to fight

through it alone or else face criticism, and sometimes even take to suicide.

Thankfully in the past few years, science, culture, and health care (specifically regarding

mental health) have advanced tremendously providing new beliefs and acceptance in the

treatment of those with mental health issues. While it is great that people are finally voicing their

struggles to let the world know a new problem has emerged from this development, we now

know that there are a lot more people who are affected by this than originally thought. This issue

is a reason why X’s album is here today, because of the growing boom of mental health issues in

current society and the lack of outlets people have to express them. It has also become a trend for

social influencers to bring up issues within society and voice their opinion that the people of

America should stand up and challenge issues like mental health and women's equality.

References

Caulfield, K. (2018, June 20). XXXTentacion's Music Sales Rise 1,603% After Death, As His

'?' Album Heads Back to Top 10 on Billboard 200 Chart. Retrieved from

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8461855/xxxtentacion-music-sales-

rise-death

Suicide Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/