Skin Lyrics
There she was with the blade in her hand
Scars on her skins replace kiss of the man
She's played a part for as long as she's known
Regret fills her heart as her love leaves her home
She's learnt to be passive but such is a loss
Accepting defeat when I foreclose the cost
For her this was needed to be rid of the pain
You play the victim and I'll play insane
Offense or defense, passive or violent
I'll cut my wrists till my heartbeat is silent
With the shell in my hand I'm equipped with the pump
Shots in her body until she is a stump
Stomp out that fucker his death will be slow
You made me do this just as far as you know
If you don't exist then my pain can be rid
So I gut the fuckery then eat like a pig
Offense or defense, passive or violent
I'll cut my wrists till my heartbeat is silent
With the shell in my hand I'm equipped with the pump
Shots in her body until she is a stump
Offense or defense, passive or violent
I'l cut my wrists till my heartbeat is silent
With the shell in my hand I'm equipped with the pump
Shots in her body until she is a stump
Offense or defense, passive or violent
I'll cut my wrists till my heartbeat is silent
With the shell in my hand I'm equipped with the pump
Shots in her body until she is a stump
Offense or defense, passive or violent
I'l cut my wrists till my heartbeat is silent
With the shell in my hand I'm equipped with the pump
Shots in her body until she is a stump
I am the heart marksman
Skin was released almost a year before the 2016 charges, where he was accused of kicking, punching, tackling, and stomping on his then girlfriend for allegedly singing another artists song. Skin touches on domestic violence in the lyrics- "For her, this was needed to be rid of the pain. You play the Victim and I'll play insane" seemingly taking responsibility for his actions, while also implying he will get away with it.
The song, as it goes, seems to be a rendition of a lover having cheated, resulting in his fantasy to commit one of the most tragic consequences of domestic violence- Murder Suicide. "Offense or defense, passive or violent- I'll cut my wrist 'till my heartbeat is silent. With the shell in my hand, I'm equipped with the pump. Shots in her body until she is a stump".
The song “Skin” by the late XXXtentacion was one that stood out to me as something interesting. It tells the story of a female in an abusive relationship and the speaker in the first verse seems to be a friend or loved one who feels they have to take care of this abuser. It starts right in the first two lines when the speaker of the song says, “There she was, with the blade in her hand/Scars on her skin replace the kiss of a man.” To me that sounds like the loved one has walked in to find the girl after a physical altercation with her abusive significant other clutching a blade for safety after being beaten. Then it goes on to say, “Regret fills her heart as her love leaves her home/She's learned to be passive, but such is a loss/Accepting defeat when I foreclose the cost/For her, this was needed to be rid of the pain/You play the victim and I'll play insane,” which, to me, sounds like after reflecting on her past and this situation, she knows what the next course of action has to be. Which is basically that this abusive person needs to die. They even go as far as to think of a way to have her get away with it. She would play the victim who just lost her loving boyfriend and the speaker would plead insanity hopefully for a lesser sentence, if they got caught.
The song then seems to switch perspectives in the second verse when it says, “Offense or defense, passive or violent/I'll cut my wrists 'til my heartbeat is silent/With the shell in my hand, I'm equipped with the pump/Shots in her body until she is a stump” This to me sounds like the perspective of the woman in the relationship getting the breaking point and saying she is going to shoot him and then kill herself.
The next verse says, “Stomp out that fucker, his death will be slow/You made me do this, just as far as you know/If you don't exist, then my pain can be rid/So I gut the fucker then eat like a pig.” As violent as this imagery is you cannot ignore the raw emotion behind the sentiment. After being abused time and time again she has been forced to make him feel the same pain that he put upon her. The song then goes on to repeat the second verse, which to me represents the back and forth battle both mentally and physically during this altercation. Ultimately, it ends with the line “I am the heart marksman,” which to me is a great play on words. It makes a play on cupid and his love arrows when, in reality, he probably just means they shot him in the chest.
The speaker is intensely angry, and yet the girl’s emotions, her desperation, her hopelessness, come across in XXXTentacion’s flat vocal expression, gradually mounting in feeling until it burns out by the final lyric, “I am the heart marksman.” He sings this last line quickly as if he wants to get it off his tongue as soon as possible, like a confession. I relate to the girl’s experience in this song, in her pain, and how it makes her give up and distance herself from her partner. I also appreciate the amount of self-reflection in the lyrics; it made me connect with the song more and relate my relationship to their dynamic.
I registered a double meaning from certain parts of the song, most notably “You play the victim, I'll play it sane,” which I think could apply to both the girl and the speaker’s dynamic, and the at first mysterious antagonistic character referred to only as “you,” whom the speaker blames for the tragedy permeating the song and their lives, for turning the girl into a “stump,” which is slang for a girl who’s beautiful but has no personality, meaning in the context of the song that this “you” antagonist was abusive and had beaten the hope and soul out of his girlfriend, leaving her a passive shell. The speaker wanted to end the girl’s suffering, whom I assume is a relative or loved one, and take revenge on her behalf. However, he is still haunted somewhat by what he had to do to end that suffering, though he understands (though it may just be self-justification) that ultimately it was his abusive actions that led to the song’s events. Thought I had assumed they were together, I don’t entirely get the sense that this is necessarily a romantic relationship, either, as the lyrics ring of affection and protectiveness but not precisely romantic passion.
By the end of the song, I’m somewhat convinced that the “you” in the song is the speaker referring to themselves, and they are punishing themselves for being abusive towards their partner. The only solution they can see is to commit suicide; “If you don't exist then my pain can be rid’, meaning that the only way their girlfriend can be happy is if he gets rid of himself. He’s shocked into action seeing her in such a broken state and is repulsed by himself, dissociating from that “abuser” side of himself. I loved this song a lot, as it had many layers, and it takes a few listens to grasp possible meanings, which I like in music. Once again, another masterpiece by XXXTentacion!
It is said that simplicity is the greatest sophistication. This is true not just for music, but to any form of art. Xxxtentacion's "Skin" keeps things basic, but in a way that isn't always for the better.
There's a charm to tracks that are barebones when done right - acoustic ballads are a great example - but Skin is not that type of song. Instead, repeated listens to the ambient synth layers that make up the instrumentals give off a feeling of monotony, and the droning rhythm of the rap vocals do not exactly help.
The song's weaknesses are remedied to some extent by its strengths, though. The slurred, slow-paced rapping of Xxxtentacion paints a picture of someone who feels genuinely dejected, desperate and clinging by the end of their rope. This feeling is amplified by the song's poignant lyrics. Lines like "I'll cut my wrist till' my heartbeat is silent" and "shots in her body till' she is a stump" have the power to make you stop in your tracks for their heavy emotional impact, although the explicit, gory theme is not for everyone. Even if "Skin" is not for the faint of heart, the song will still make the heart beat faster for some hip hop junkies out there.