"Arms Around You" is a collaborative single by American rappers
XXXTentacion
Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion ga ...
and
Lil Pump
Gazzy Garcia (born August 17, 2000), better known professionally as Lil Pump, is an American rapper. He is one of the most prominent artists of the SoundCloud rap scene and is known for his minimalist music and hyperactive public persona.
Li ...
featuring Colombian singer
Maluma
Juan Luis Londoño Arias (born 28 January 1994), known professionally as Maluma, is a Colombian singer, songwriter, and actor.
Born and raised in Medellín, he developed an interest in music at a young age, recording songs since age sixteen. ...
and American singer and rapper
Swae Lee
Khalif Malik Ibn Shaman Brown (born June 7, 1993), known professionally as Swae Lee, is an American singer and rapper. Known for his wide vocal range and genre-bending, Swae Lee is one half of the hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd with his brother Slim J ...
.
It was released on October 25, 2018, and is produced by
Skrillex
Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead sing ...
, Mally Mall,
JonFX
John Alexander Crawford (born May 31, 1983), professionally known as JonFX, is a music producer from St. Andrews, Jamaica. He has worked with dancehall and reggae artists Shabba Ranks, I Wayne, Vybz Kartel, Gyptian and Akon, as well as late ra ...
.
Background
The track was originally written and recorded in 2017 with Rio Santana, who appeared on XXXTentacion's ''
?'' album, but after
XXXTentacion's death, the label took over and added other co-features. Lil Pump contacted XXXTentacion's mother Cleopatra Bernard after his death to ask if he could make a song to "honor his legacy", which resulted in the collaboration.
Critical reception
''
Rap-Up
''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...
'' called the track a "global crossover track" featuring "Latin, alternative, hip-hop and pop influences".
Michael Saponara of ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' wrote that XXXTentacion "implements an intoxicating flow mixed with some Spanish over the Mally Mall, Jon FX, handling the
reggaeton
Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico.
It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American Hip hop m ...
-tinged track's chorus duties". C. Vernon Coleman II of ''
XXL'' also felt the track had a "reggaeton feel", with Pump "stunt
ngheavy as usual" and Swae Lee delivering a "rosy verse". In addition, Winston Cook-Wilson of ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' called the track "house-inflected".
While Ben Kaye of ''
Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
'' labeled it a "Latin-flavored club jam", he also stated that the timing of its release was "a bit of cringeworthy irony" with XXXTentacion's line in the chorus about protecting someone, Kaye said a recently released recording features him "confessing to multiple violent crimes including assaulting his girlfriend and stabbing eight people", though this interpretation of the recording
was disputed.
Brendan Klinkenberg of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' felt that the song is "bland, Latin-inflected pop that reflects none of the talents of its four collaborators" and also called it "a mish-mash of vague pop-in-2018 signifiers without cohering into any sort of artistic statement".
Promotion
Skrillex
Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead sing ...
initially teased the track on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and previewed the track on his
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
, but later deleted the post. ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' noted that the post featured the hashtag "#LLJ" which stands for "Long Live Jahseh", which was XXXTentacion's real name.
Music video
A music video for "Arms Around You" was released on November 16, 2018. It was directed by James Lerese and features an animated XXXTentacion.
Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.
*
XXXTentacion
Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy (January 23, 1998 – June 18, 2018), known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion ga ...
– vocals, composition
*
Lil Pump
Gazzy Garcia (born August 17, 2000), better known professionally as Lil Pump, is an American rapper. He is one of the most prominent artists of the SoundCloud rap scene and is known for his minimalist music and hyperactive public persona.
Li ...
– vocals, composition
*
Maluma
Juan Luis Londoño Arias (born 28 January 1994), known professionally as Maluma, is a Colombian singer, songwriter, and actor.
Born and raised in Medellín, he developed an interest in music at a young age, recording songs since age sixteen. ...
– vocals, composition
*
Swae Lee
Khalif Malik Ibn Shaman Brown (born June 7, 1993), known professionally as Swae Lee, is an American singer and rapper. Known for his wide vocal range and genre-bending, Swae Lee is one half of the hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd with his brother Slim J ...
– vocals, composition
* Edgar Barrera – composition, engineer
* Rio Santana – composition
*
Skrillex
Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead sing ...
– production, composition, mix engineer
* Mally Mall – production
*
JonFX
John Alexander Crawford (born May 31, 1983), professionally known as JonFX, is a music producer from St. Andrews, Jamaica. He has worked with dancehall and reggae artists Shabba Ranks, I Wayne, Vybz Kartel, Gyptian and Akon, as well as late ra ...
– production
* Rashawn Mclean – assistant mix engineer
* Mike Seaberg – assistant mix engineer
* Jacob Richards – assistant mix engineer
* Brandon Brown – assistant mix engineer
* Gerald Yusuf — recording engineer
*
Koen Heldens
Koen Heldens is a Dutch born mix engineer residing in Miami Florida. Koen started his career in 2003 and rose to prominence in 2017 when he started working with the late XXXTentacion with which he earned a Guinness World Records for most streamed ...
– mix engineer
*
Tom Norris – mix engineer
*
Jaycen Joshua
Jaycen Joshua is a mix engineer and music producer who owns the revered Canton House Studios in Studio City, California. Joshua started his mix career in 2005 when he became partners with his mentor Dave Pensado and formed The Penua Project. Joshu ...
– mix engineer
* Dave Kutch – mastering engineer
* Gil Corber - A&R Consultant
* Eesean Bolden - A&R
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
External links
*
{{authority control
2018 singles
2018 songs
XXXTentacion songs
Lil Pump songs
Maluma songs
Swae Lee songs
Song recordings produced by Skrillex
Songs released posthumously
Songs written by Swae Lee
Songs written by XXXTentacion
Songs written by Edgar Barrera
Songs written by Lil Pump
Songs written by Maluma (singer)
Songs written by Skrillex
Music controversies
Electronic dance music songs
Dancehall songs