XXXTentacion’s “Don’t Cry” Collaboration With Lil Wayne Started With Producer Z3n

XXXTentacion fans got a pleasant surprise when vocals from the late rapper appeared on Lil Wayne's highly-anticipated new album Tha Carter V, on the track "Don't Cry." Now we know how the song came together. It all started with Florida beat maker Z3n.

Before the album actually dropped, reports were surfacing that an XXX feature had likely made the cut. "Before Lil Wayne and his record label reveals the official track list for Tha Carter V, we’ve received a heads up for the first official guest feature on the album. Tunechi has a track on the album with the late rapper XXXTentacion," OnSmash reported. The reports were verified when the late South Florida rapper was on the chorus of "Don't Cry."

According to TMZ, the song came together after the rapper's June death so he had no idea he'd be featured on wax with Tunechi. Z3n, a 22-year-old producer from the Sunshine State, recorded some unfinished music with XXX back in February. During a meeting over the summer with Lunch Money Lewis, Z3n shared the XXX material he had. Lewis was impressed and forward the audio to Wayne and a Republic Records exec. Ben Billions, co-producer on the track, put the whole thing together and the rest is history.

According to the report, not even Z3n knew XXX's vocals would be on the track until he was notified by Wayne's team right before the album dropped. Z3n thinks X would have approved, as the two had previously discussed how Weezy impacted the 17 rapper's career.

See Behind-the-Scenes Photos of XXXTentacion at the 2017 XXL Freshman Shoot