Blood Orange's "Do You See My Skin Through the Flames?" Addresses Racial Tensions, Charleston

Photo by Tom Spray

 

Devonté Hynes' latest SoundCloud offering is a new Blood Orange track called "Do You See My Skin Through the Flames?". He notes that it won't appear on his next album—"just some things on my mind". There are stretches of Hynes talking about his thoughts, and the lyrics address racial tensions and the recent events in Charleston.

At one point, Hynes talks about how with the new album, he's "deconstructing myself, trying to work out who I am—not this painted image of who I was." 

There's also a spoken word portion where he discusses the origins of his last name. "I was looking up what my last name means—what its origin is. ... It's an Irish name meaning 'servant'. Not only is my last name a name that originated from slave trade, but it literally means 'a servant'."

The track is accompanied by a Robert Mapplethorpe photo. Here are some of the lyrics via SoundCloud:

frustration and depression breaks me down
descending like they wanted underground
the further our journey the less you care
that's why you laugh at Kanye when he's talking in a chair
but the same conversation but replaced,
is good enough for laughs or a smile on your face,
happy to be singing all our songs to survive,
but when we need help, you don't get off til 5. 
it's powerful to feel so alone in a group

let me break this down for you and tell you how we feel again,
your fear is all you hold on to, so when you see me it's not fair
i have nothing left to give when you don't notice what is wrong,
Charleston left me broken down but it's just another day to you

i ain't got nothing left to give you
and i'm too tired, to even talk about it
while watching the fire,

tasting pain coming from a place of truth

to be another in a messy world
to feel like giving in another turn?
you wouldn't listen if i told you

so how can i become anyone?

Watch Blood Orange perform "Champagne Coast" at Pitchfork Music Festival:

via Evan Minsker