Middle Child (PnB Rock and XXXTentacion song)

PnB Rock told Apple Music about his collaboration with XXXTentacion: "He really surprised me with 'MIDDLE CHILD,' because I wasn't even expecting to do that type of song with him. I was thinking I was gonna go one route, talking about how I came up, talking about how I got kicked out my mama's house. But he came on it and just started swagging on it. I'm like, nah, I gotta match that energy. I can't be so serious when he just having fun with this."^[1]

The song finds PnB Rock and XXXTentacion trading "melodious bars" over a "distinctly trap soundscape".^[2] In the chorus, Rock reflects on his difficult childhood life, being the middle child of his family, and his legal trouble as a teenager. XXX boasts about having lots of money.^[3]

The official music video was released on August 8, 2019. Directed by Derek Pike, it depicts child versions of PnB Rock and XXXTentacion. They hang out on a porch while watching action on the street, and connect a smoothie with chips, cream and a toy car, which they call "trap juice".^[4][5] They sell it for $5 a cup in their front yard.^[4][6] The drink becomes a financial success and soon the rappers have bought new chains with their profits.^[4] At the end of the video, PnB Rock cross his arms in an "X" symbol, as a tribute to the late XXXTentacion.^[4][6]

According to PnB Rock, he wanted the visual to be "fun and light-hearted" and remind him of the times he spent with XXXTentacion. He also received approval from X's mother Cleopatra Bernard to release the video.^[5]