Hip-Hop | Dylan Owen Turns the Page Toward a New Chapter In “A Time To Move On”
Posted by VMan on December 17, 2020
NY-based hip-hop artist Dylan Owen is back with his beloved heart-on-his-sleeve storytelling in his next hit “A Time To Move On”. “A Time to Move On” embraces new chapters as we near the end of a turbulent year. The eulogy to his childhood home turns the pages, giving listeners an intimate glimpse into the events of Dylan’s youth. Having moved frequently between houses as a kid, his idea of home was often wrapped up in memories. He released his first songs in this home, experienced first relationships and felt the first deep cuts of heartbreak, and first formed his personal identity here.
“I can’t regain what’s left of my lost years, They’ll be disappeared here forever like ghosts in an attic, With all the emotions you can hold in an address, One too many times I let go of my attachments”
The letting go of memories was a struggle; the day his upstate New York home sold, it felt like the end of an era. The dusty family history energized the walls for many years, making it difficult to leave behind. “A Time to Move On”’s relatable message will resonate with so many listeners who have had to confront change and uproot. Dylan decorates the track with actual voice clips that were recorded when he was moving out of his home, making fans feel like they’re experiencing the moment with him in real time. Every musical component was labored with care to accurately represent the love and care that his family put into their home. Embracing the season to heal, Dylan once again captures the moment in an honest and intimate way that is sure to resonate on a deeper level.
“I find myself lost here and withdrawn here, The last night we had the house, We sat down and held hands on the living room floor here, Talked about the winters, the wind would whistle in the windows and the walls”
Dylan’s forward, honest lyrics have drawn comparisons to Conor Oberst and Elliott Smith. He has earned press from tastemakers and brands including Paste Magazine, Revolt TV, PepsiCo, Earmilk, This Song Is Sick, For Folk’s Sake, HotNewHipHop, Pop Matters, Good Music All Day, City Winery, DJ Booth, and Huffington Post, as well as landed sync placements on MTV and on Syfy’s WWE Smackdown. In 2012, Billboard named Dylan a Next Big Sound Artist for his swiftly growing online buzz following the release of ‘Keep Your Friends Close.’ Dylan has shared stages with Mac Miller, Watsky, Wiz Khalifa, Yelawolf, Grieves, Skizzy Mars, Logic, Ceschi, Chiddy Bang, Shwayze, and Oncue. His first headlining tour included a sold-out date at New York City’s distinguished Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Dylan’s connection with his fans sets him apart; his listeners view his songs as anecdotes for navigating life, and he frequently hosts meetups or virtual video calls where he gives his fans a chance to open up to him in return.
Hip-Hop | Dylan Owen’s “There’s More To Life” — An Engrossing, Eloquent Next Effort
Posted by jeffwbaird on June 9, 2015
A little more than three years ago, Dylan Owen grabbed the ear of just about every blogger within reach. His EP, Keep Your Friends Close, was—in almost every way imaginable—the antithesis of the content we typically receive from relatively unknown artists. He had really taken his time on the writing, it was clear, and put a lot of thought into making sure each song was intricately connected to the next.
But what was maybe most impressive about Dylan was his ability to impressively coexist in two worlds that often didn’t often have a link between them—he was a skilled enough lyricist to make freestyle videos that drew considerable attention, but then also could step back and write a potent, beautifully described song about his most private fears; a sound much more in the vain of an accomplished, alternative songwriter.
It’s been three years because Dylan has made another atypical move: to choose quality over punctuality. Because he chose to stay off the grid and figure out what he wanted his next effort to be, rather than put something out half-baked that he was half-committed to. There’s More To Life is a product of patience, and it’s the first project that truly sounds like his voice through and through. It also benefits greatly from some of the richest and most precise production we’ve heard from longtime collaborator Skinny Atlas. This may not be the project record execs would’ve encouraged for his next step, and it may not contain the songs that punchline-rap fans were waiting for—but that’s precisely why we love it. There’s More To Life is available now. Stream it below, or support his run into the top thirty on the iTunes Hip Hop Charts here.
Hip-Hop, Videos | Dylan Owen’s “There’s More To Life” Official Promo Video
Posted by jeffwbaird on May 20, 2015
If nothing else, Dylan Owen is a storyteller.
Rap may be the genre stamped to all of his artistic pursuits (for lack of better terms to distinguish between the varying complexity of our artists), but he is a poet at heart. It’s why his music resonates so deeply with his listeners. Why even when more than three years come and go between releases, his core audience is still waiting. It’s why he’s never too far out of mind.
In his new promo video, leading up to the June 8th release of There’s More To Life, director Brian Petchers beautifully constructs a collage of shots evoking the stories and scenes that make up the new EP. It ends with Dylan walking across an open grassy field, journal in hand, with a camera gradually creating distance until it’s fully overhead, giving a sense of Dylan’s diminutiveness amongst the world around him.
For a writer who we’ve watched spend so much time grappling with the internal, it’s a powerful image. In his only single release distinct from his last EP and his new one, “The Window Seat,” Dylan wrote: “Maybe all I need, is the view from the window seat staring back at me.” That desire to look down upon his life from ten-thousand feet isn’t one he’s abandoned, but rather, its the fabric of this song—which he created solely for this promo video—and the EP on its way.
As always, though, Dylan’s work is rewarding even for the more surface-level fan. Those without all of the context will still marvel at the seemingly effortless poetics of his writing, and his innate and singular ability to leak in dabs of his unmistakable talent as a rap lyricist. There’s also maybe the best play on 50 Cent’s oft-referenced line from “Wanksta,” which he turns into “what the fuck happened to youth.” But there’s much more to this work than that. And there’s much more of the story to come on June 8th.
Hip-Hop | Dylan Owen’s New Single, “The Best Fears of Our Lives”
Posted by jeffwbaird on May 11, 2015
I could write for days about my routine admiration for Dylan Owen and his art. Every project cycle his work reflects a deep sense of self that is constantly under revision; each release serving as a time-stamp in his ongoing development as a thinker, vocalist, and young adult. With this latest song, “The Best Fears of Our Lives,” off his upcoming EP There’s More To Life, Dylan has again proven that he has a very singular ability to write about some of the most trying parts of life, always doing so with eloquence and a keen sense of how to make his personal stories speak for others in a way that is genuine. Listen to the new single, beautifully produced by Skinny Atlas, and stay tuned as he prepares to release his EP on June 8th.
Hip-Hop | Dylan Owen – Everything Gets Old
Posted by BIGLIFE on September 30, 2014
I don’t listen to hip-hop. This is why you should listen to Dylan Owen’s new offering int the form of his new “Everything Gets Old” single. It’s deeply introspective and brooding, which I like. Dylan explains, “The single is about a long and lonely overnight drive during which Dylan recalls memories of wanderlust and adventure from my teenage years.” While there’s no question Dylan has matured, so has his music, as he prepares for the release of “There’s More To Life” set for release later this fall. Tip of the fedora to MF.
Exclusive, Hip-Hop, Videos | Dylan Owen — Ghosts Revisited [Music Video & Interview]
Posted by jeffwbaird on December 17, 2013
There are very few artists shy of national recognition who seem to have really found themselves as artists; those who have truly discovered their sound and taken advantage of how it connects and resonates with people. Dylan Owen most definitely has, and with each release his understanding of his sound—that carefully crafted blend of highly-skilled lyricism, indie song-craft, and honesty—becomes more illuminated. It’s no wonder that he’s gained such a tight-knit following as quickly as he has. He’s not afraid to wrestle with conflict or to embrace his vulnerability, and that’s where his talent as a songwriter and rapper pays off the most. Today, Dylan has let go of a new video for “Ghosts Revisited”, a song that originally appeared on his 2012 EP Keep Your Friends Close. The song has been revised and updated (and now features additional vocals by Kiah Victoria and Kaleigh Young), which is fitting, given the time since he wrote the original, and how the experiences depicted have shifted in his mind throughout time. To give you a better understanding of how this process began, what he envisioned for this version, and what we can expect to see next, I reached out to Dylan, and below you can see what he had to say.
Hip-Hop, Videos | Dylan Owen — My Name Is Dylan [Freestyle]
Posted by jeffwbaird on November 13, 2013
Over the past few years of closely following the trajectories of upstart artists (rappers in particular), one of the most important characteristics of the more enduring artists I’ve found is their versatility. Dylan Owen has rightfully received a tremendous amount of praise since 2011’s Keep Your Friends Close, all synonymous with his innate ability to gratify a variety of listeners with equal ease: honesty-craving singer-songwriter fans, lyrically-focused hip-hop heads, punchline-loving partygoers. While his most recent release, “The Window Seat”, is what he’s best known for—the maturity of perspective, the resonance of his songwriting, the lasting substance—here he concocts a quick reminder that he, too, can playfully rap with the best of them. Reminiscent of the verse he premiered prior to our interview together a year ago, this track is punchline-heavy, and shows off his wittiness and love to play with language. A must listen, regardless of your preconceived genre-affiliations.