Even though he's still behind bars, South Florida's XXXTENTACION is making business moves to make sure his music career is set once he's out. The SoundCloud sensation best known for bangers like "Look At Me!" and "Kill Me" has signed with EMPIRE Distribution and plans to drop his debut project soon. EMPIRE made the announcement official today (March 2), saying in a press release that they will release his official debut project Bad Vibes this spring.

Since being thrust into the spotlight, the Broward County artist has garnered co-signs from Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty and A$AP Rocky, to name a few. And with EMPIRE Distribution having a hand in the radio success of rappers like Fat Joe, D.R.A.M. and Anderson .Paak, X is undoubtedly in good company.

While the 19-year-old was locked up in Broward County Jail awaiting trial for felony charges, XXL got on the phone with him to talk about his signature emotional sound, his influence on other rappers and his plans for the future.

"It’s real. It’s not masked up," explained X when asked to describe his music. "It can’t fit into a box. It’s its own sound, and that’s what I wanted to do, is be an individual, so doing that sound made me an individual. Being as raw as possible or as depressed as possible felt real. I made music for my pain to resonate with people, so you can feel the soul in that shit, you can feel my soul and my energy in that shit."

Be on the lookout for new music from X via EMPIRE this year.

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