Elliott Skinner Releases ‘THAT KID’ With Jensen McRae

Elliott Skinner has appeared in the credits of records by Chaka Khan, Jon Batiste, Chance the Rapper and Leon Bridges, but his new single “THAT KID” frames him as a solo artist working with intention rather than borrowed glow. Featuring Jensen McRae, the song arrives via Ninja Tune as the second preview of his debut EP How Far We’ve Come, out September 18.

Recorded in a hotel room one night on the road, “THAT KID” carries a tender, folk-infused looseness that follows lead single “DON’T BE A RUNNER.” Skinner describes the track as a meditation on time and the way people see themselves as they age. That thematic weight anchors an EP that moves from love toward friendship, community, doubt, and the effort to recover a sense of childhood wonder.

Skinner frames his music explicitly within the Black Radical Music Tradition, pointing to sonic experimentation, self-realization, and expression as survival. After a decade in New York studying what community, practice, and art mean to him, he is now introducing that foundation to his own work. The video, directed by Simon Morrison, features movement by Dr. Jehbreal Muhammad Jackson.

Skinner performed at Gilles Peterson Presents: We Out Here Festival over the weekend and supports GENA (Liv.e and Karriem Riggins) tonight at OSLO in London.