how does it feel to be young

how does it feel to be young serves as a philosophical and introspective peak on Joey Valence & Brae's 2026 album HYPERYOUTH (afterparty). Departing from their signature high-octane, playful punk-rap bangers, the duo delivers a brief, minimalist meditation on the pressures and paradoxes of youth. The core theme explores the societal obsession with youth culture, where everyone demands to "see the show" and consume the vibrant energy of the young, while the youth themselves are burdened with navigating intense emotional extremes.

The lyrics "Everybody wanna get high / But everybody's scared to be low" highlight a poignant duality: the desperate pursuit of joy, success, and ecstasy contrasted with a vulnerability and fear of failure, depression, or aging. In a modern context, this addresses the curated "highs" of social media and the pressure to always appear happy and successful, masking the very real anxieties of growing up in an uncertain world. Ultimately, the song is a bittersweet acknowledgment that being young is not just a joyous celebration, but a complex, fragile state of mind.

The narrative centers on a profound query regarding the transient nature of human existence, specifically focusing on the universally idealized phase of youth. In this dreamlike space, there is an overarching observation of a collective desire to grasp the elusive sensation of being young and vibrant. People from all walks of life are driven by a desperate curiosity, a burning need to look inward or witness from the outside the spectacular display of raw, unfiltered youth. They seek it out like a theatrical performance, wanting to witness the sheer spectacle of life before the inevitable responsibilities and weariness of adulthood settle in.

However, this pursuit of youthful ecstasy is fraught with psychological dualities and contradictions. There is a strong collective impulse to reach emotional and experiential peaks, to constantly seek the "highs" of adrenaline, freedom, and passion. Yet, this intense yearning is paired with a deep-seated, paralyzing dread of the inevitable "lows"—the moments of vulnerability, sadness, emptiness, and the painful comedowns that come with living intensely. The narrative reflects this paralyzing fear of suffering, noting how society clamors for the beautiful highlights of youth but shies away from the necessary growth that only comes through navigating the valleys. Through this lens, the repetitive question of how it truly feels to be young becomes less of a simple inquiry and more of a haunting, circular meditation on the beauty, confusion, and fear that define the modern youthful experience.

The track was officially released on February 28, 2026, as the third track on the deluxe expansion album, HYPERYOUTH (afterparty), under RCA Records. Following the critical success of their sophomore record NO HANDS in 2024 and the standard release of HYPERYOUTH in August 2025, Joey Valence (Joseph Bertolino) and Brae (Braedan Lugue) sought to expand the thematic elements of their work. The standard version of the album already featured "LIVE RIGHT," a track exploring the fear of growing older. Feeling that there was still more to say, the duo created "how does it feel to be young" as an introspective companion piece.

Produced entirely by Joey Valence in his signature DIY home studio setup in State College, Pennsylvania, the track represents a major step forward in his production capabilities. Moving away from his usual sample-chopping and boom-bap breakbeats, Valence crafted a lush, spacey electronic soundscape utilizing celestial synthesizer arpeggios. In a departure from their typical style, Valence took on lead vocal duties, singing the melancholic melody with an atmospheric, heavily-reverbed vocal delivery, showing a softer, more experimental side to the hip-hop duo.

The song features an incredibly simple yet highly effective rhyme scheme that mirrors nursery rhymes or chants, contributing to its haunting, nostalgic quality. The lyrics follow an AABB derivative structure:

• know / show (Perfect rhyme)
• young / young (Identical refrain)
• high / low (Antonym-driven slant rhythm, though not rhyming, it establishes a thematic balance)

In terms of rhythm, the track moves at a slow, meditative tempo compared to the duo's typical high-tempo dance beats. The vocal delivery is slow and deliberate, resting on top of floating, ambient synthesizers that lack a heavy percussion track. The absence of a driving drum beat allows the rhythm to feel suspended in time, emphasizing the feeling of floating through memories or drifting in an existential space.

Despite its short duration, "how does it feel to be young" employs several sophisticated literary and musical techniques to achieve its dreamlike atmosphere:

Musical Techniques:

• Vocal Delivery: Joey Valence trades his typical aggressive, boastful rapping style for a soft, melodic singing voice. The vocals are treated with heavy reverb and delay, making them sound as if they are floating in an expansive, empty space.
• Synthesizer Arpeggios: The second half of the track shifts into a lush instrumental dominated by shimmering synth arpeggios and celestial pads. This creates a cosmic, ethereal feel that contrasts heavily with the gritty, bass-heavy production JVB is known for.
• Arrangement: The track acts as a half-interlude, half-song. By keeping the structure brief (1:37), the artists create a fleeting sensation, mimicking the very nature of youth itself—beautiful but over before you know it.

Literary Techniques:

• Juxtaposition: The contrast between "high" and "low" creates a stark thematic dichotomy, emphasizing the emotional instability of the transition into adulthood.
• Rhetorical Questioning: The entire song is built around a single unanswered question, leaving the message open to interpretation and encouraging introspection.

Released as a key bonus track on the deluxe edition of their major-label debut era, HYPERYOUTH (afterparty) under RCA Records, "how does it feel to be young" solidified Joey Valence & Brae's reputation as versatile artists capable of profound emotional depth. While initially celebrated for their viral, internet-meme-fueled punk-rap (such as "Punk Tactics"), this track proved to critics that the duo was not a one-dimensional novelty act.

Fans and music critics alike singled out the track as a beautiful, essential interlude that perfectly encapsulated the overall thesis of the HYPERYOUTH era. It demonstrated how artists born out of DIY internet culture can transition into mature, major-label production without losing their authentic, bedroom-pop roots. The song has become a favorite among fans for late-night listening and has been widely shared across social media platforms like TikTok, where users pair the atmospheric instrumental with nostalgic, retro-style videos of their own youth.

The track relies on several potent metaphors to dissect the youthful psyche:

• "The Show": Represents youth as a commodity and a spectacle. Society looks at the young as performers who must entertain, stay energetic, and display their lives publicly, capturing the pressure of modern social media culture where youth is constantly on display.
• "Getting High" vs. "Being Low": This serves as a metaphor for the emotional volatility of youth. "Getting high" represents the pursuit of peak experiences, chemical escapism, and the thrill of absolute freedom. "Being low" symbolizes the inevitable comedown, the periods of self-doubt, depression, and the stark reality of mental health struggles that young people are often afraid to face or admit.
• The Question Itself: Repeating "How does it feel to be young?" acts as a symbolic mirror. Rather than providing an answer, the repetition forces the listener to self-reflect, turning the song into an open-ended existential inquiry.

The entire composition is built around the repetition of its central hook: "How does it feel to be young?" This phrase serves as the dominant lyrical and thematic motif. Because the song contains very few other lines, this question is pounded into the listener's consciousness, turning a simple inquiry into an obsessive, cyclical thought loop.

Musically, the recurring motif is the shimmering, ascending synth arpeggio in the latter half of the song. This musical phrase climbs upwards, mimicking the feeling of reaching for a "high" or ascending into space, before fading out into silence. This instrumental loop reinforces the lyrical themes of reaching for emotional peaks while ultimately facing a sudden end.