Khalid reflects on death and reaches out for life guidance on his meditative new song “Self.” The minimal track opens with the singer crooning about his inner demons. “It’s gettin’ hard for me to breathe/’Cause the man that I’ve been runnin’ from is inside of me,” he sings over chiming keys and a reverb-heavy snare-kick beat. “I tell him, ‘Keep it quiet,’ so all he does is speak/’Cause he wants to keep his distance/But it’s hard for him to leave/He knows I hear him cryin’, cryin’ out for help/I don’t know how to save him — I can’t even save myself.”

The sense of optimism builds on the second verse. “I’ve been making changes, been workin’ on my health,” he sings. “No more competition — can’t compete against myself.” But he ends the section with vividly dark image: “If I die tomorrow and I’m gone/Let the blood run high … I’ll be forever numb.” 

“Self” appears on Khalid’s upcoming second LP, Free Spirit, out April 5th. The album, which follows his 2018 EP, Suncity, also includes the previously issued cuts “Talk,” “My Bad” and “Better.”  

Khalid will support Free Spirit with a run of April TV spots: The Tonight Show on the 4th, Good Morning America on the 5th and the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards on the 7th. On April 3rd, the vocalist will premiere a companion film in theaters worldwide, accompanied by a full album listening event.