billie eilish 6.18.18 song review

Billie Eilish’s Tribute to XXXTentacion “6.18.18” (Lyrics Review and Song Meaning)

XXXTentacion’s untimely death has left the whole music community in shock. Fans and celebrities mourned his death alike, and have never been able to fill the void left by the 20-year-old rapper’s passing. Singer/songwriter Billie Eilish is a close friend and an avid fan of XXXTentacion. She was one of the celebrities who were devastated by the news and turned her thoughts to lyrics in a song titled “6.18.18.”

Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy AKA XXXTentacion was shot down in a robbery in Florida. The robbers gunned down the rapper and fled away stealing $50,000 from Onfroy. The rapper was pronounced dead on the scene. The shooting happened on June 18, 2018, hence the inspiration for Billie’s tribute song title “6.18.18.”

Billie Eilish only once performed this song live on her ‘1 By 1’ tour in Oakland. Later on, she removed the song permanently from the setlist and spoke about the song in an interview with Complex magazine; “This song is about a very powerful person that no matter what was going on in his life, he was always there for me. He made me feel OK when nothing else did, so I just needed to make this song.”

Billie also went on to share some personal text messages sent by Jahseh checking up on her. “the strongest human being ive ever known. all you ever did was care. i love you jah,” captioned Billie Eilish on the Instagram post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkLrSnsnxHH/

With Montreality, Billie Eilish again spoke about XXXTentacion. “That was someone that stuck with me and got me through something that I felt like, in the moment, I would not have gotten through if it weren’t for him,” shared Billie. “I don’t think he is human and he didn’t think he was human,” Billie continued.

Listen to “6.18.18” by Billie Eilish

In the first verse of the song, Billie Eilish sings about the rapper’s death and how it is going to affect her. She starts off by saying “out time is up/your eyes are shut.” X’s shut eyes have somehow had impacted Billie Eilish to such an extent that she believes her time is over as well. As Billie explained to Montreal above, X helped her get through some issue that she possibly would not have gotten through alone. So it makes sense that XXXTentacion had a massive impact on her life.

Billie goes on to sing how the world is dark and dim place and “moonlight” doesn’t show anymore. “Moonlight” is the third track on X’s second studio album ‘?.’ This is a clever reference that without X, the world just got a bit more darker and dimmer.

Billie Eilish assumes a very moody melody and vocals for “6.18.18” as she remembers her dear departed friend. The chorus of the song is a soothing lullaby. In these lyrics, she sings how she is not able to let go of Jaseh from her mind. No matter how much you love them or want them next to you, death is a one-way destination. And she will forever keep him cherished in her heart. Billie also references X’s song “Looking for a Star” from his debut mixtape ‘Revenge.’

In the second verse, Billie talks about her reactions to the news of the passing of XXXTentacion. She was in the car listening to the radio, where she heard the shocking news. She called and texted X immediately and waited for his reply. His reply never came. Billie drove home and cried her eyes out realizing the reality of the situation. Billie regrets that she did not get to say her final goodbyes. She never expected this from Jaseh, a person who was strong enough to help Billie through her problems.

The bridge of “6.18.18” is yet another reminder of how painful this death is to Billie as well. She mourns the death of her friend X saying he was too young to go away. Billie mourns herself that she has to live through the pain of losing one of her closest friends. Her pain is severe and recurring. These lyrics end with Billie Eilish taking shots at God himself. She outright calls out “I think God is fake” out of the pain that good people such as X are taken away from this world far too soon. However, X might be in a better place now. In such light, God did X a favour.

Share with us your thoughts on this song “6.18.18′ by Billie Eilish and XXXTentacion in the comments below. Rate and share this article with your friends.

One thought on “Billie Eilish’s Tribute to XXXTentacion “6.18.18” (Lyrics Review and Song Meaning)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.