At 17, David Naïve is making music that sounds less interested in having everything figured out than in documenting the process of figuring it out. The New York-based rapper, singer, and producer has been writing since he was 12 and producing since 14, building his music almost entirely on his own. That independence has allowed him to follow his ideas wherever they lead, even when they lead somewhere uncomfortable.

His latest single, “SCARED, FOREVER,” is one of those places.

The track is intentionally abrasive. Distorted textures, heavy drones, and hypnotic percussion create a dense wall of sound, while Naïve’s vocals bring a more vulnerable element into the chaos. Influenced in part by the experimental approach of artists like Earl Sweatshirt, he uses the production almost as an extension of his own thoughts. The result is unsettling, but there’s purpose behind it.

At its core, “SCARED, FOREVER” deals with insecurity and self-criticism. Naïve doesn’t try to smooth those feelings over or turn them into something easily digestible. Instead, he lets the discomfort remain part of the song, balancing melodic passages with sharper flows and giving the track a feeling of constant tension.

That tension carries into Maiden, Post-Vïe, his upcoming debut album. Created from music spanning roughly five years of his life, the project covers an unusually broad range of sounds, moving between ambient rap, cold electronic textures, rage metal, and other experimental territory. Rather than forcing those influences into one consistent formula, Naïve seems to use each sound to capture a different part of himself.

For an artist still in his teens, there’s something compelling about that approach. Maiden, Post-Vïe isn’t presented as a definitive answer to who David Naïve is. It feels more like evidence of who he has been becoming.

“SCARED, FOREVER” captures that idea particularly well. It’s loud, uneasy, and deeply personal, but underneath all of the distortion is something simple: a young artist trying to make sense of his own head in real time.

And maybe that’s exactly what it should sound like.

Listen to “SCARED, FOREVER” here: