Dylan Owen has recorded his first thoughts since touching down on the West Coast on his new single “LA Freestyle.” The track will be featured on the rapper’s forthcoming four-track project entitled Do Before You Die, set for release in September. On the cut, Owen tells the story of moving from Orange County, New York to Los Angeles, thrilled by the world of opportunity he finds in the City of Angels. “Battle bars? More like battle scars,” he raps. “No one out there from a small town rapping half as hard.”
“Last summer I took a huge leap of faith,” Owen shares. “Up and moved to LA as a lifelong New Yorker, despite having no real plan, but knowing in the core of my heart that I’m going to give this music thing hell once and for all, and that LA would allow me to record and play shows more frequently—and that’s all I’ve ever wanted. I wrote and recorded ‘LA Freestyle,’ and the rest of this mixtape, as soon as I touched ground in LA in a feverishly prolific first few months in which I flipped any sample and expressed any feeling that hit me. No holding back. This was written in my sparsely decorated bedroom and recorded on my SM7B right there. I’ve been proudly independent since I uploaded my first songs to the internet, and I grew up listening to primarily independent hip-hop. I don’t expect the music industry to necessarily have a place for my sound, but I am determined to carve one out until it eventually does—I do this for the people who relate.”
The visual for “LA Freestyle” was directed by Thomas Ford Flynn and features the emcee spitting in front of iconic spots across Los Angeles. Check out the video for the track below, and find his upcoming tour dates here.
