Heart-on-his-sleeve poet Dylan Owen has dropped a new track titled “Young Skins.” Borrowing its name from the Colin Barrett book, the track alludes to more to come from the NYC rapper. On the heels of a busy 2020, the track is Owen’s first of the calendar year.
Opening on Owen’s signature deliberate ad libs swaddled by record scratches, Owen ponders “giving up the ghosts” and how we perceive ourselves. Singing of life experiences in his signature staggered syllable spacing, “We’re just old souls / in young skins / we wait our whole lives to be something / and we’ll remember what we once said / we don’t need to meet our heroes, we become them.” Oft introspective, Owen’s take on the subconscious coming-of-age story that happens for all of us paints a fine picture of the chaos of life itself, reminding the listener to enjoy the ride, as you are on your way to becoming what you once idolized.
Owen wrote on Instagram of the messaging in the track, “This song is going to be a note of encouragement to every single creative person out there who is trying to carve their own path. Do what you do and do it with your friends and people who believe in you. We don’t need to meet our heroes we become them.” The ever-present theme of cathartic reflection and soul soothing by way of looking ahead fondly is a sentiment I think we all can benefit from during our youths.
Looking ahead, based on Owen’s relentless long-form release rate, all points lead the listener to the thought that “Young Skins” will find a home on his next project, whatever that may look like. To this point, Owen has released five long plays, spanning from 2009’s How to Stay Young, to 2019’s Holes in Our Stories.
On the fan activation front, Owen provided fans who pre-saved the new song with access to a secret unreleased song, titled “Unfinished Like Your Basement.”