Songfacts®:

• "Skinny Ape" is written from the perspective of 2-D, the fictional singer/songwriter of Gorillaz. He asserts his independence, singing about how he doesn't need sympathy, presumably because as a cartoon character, he no longer requires it.
• The song carries a '90s indie vibe and is set in 2-D's imaginary world. "This is the most kind of, sort of, for me, the most Gorillaz animated characters song," Damon Albarn, co-creator of the virtual band, commented to Spotify. "I feel like this is very in the world of 2-D, you know, and I like to enter that level of fantasy sometimes, because it's really important part of what Gorillaz is about."
• 2-D's virtual bassist bandmate (and nemesis) Murdoc Niccals commented on the song in the listening party for Cracker Island:
  
  "It's called 'Skinny Ape,' and I'll tell you, we were far from skinny when we debuted this. We were absolutely colossal, in fact. I had a right laugh rampaging through New York and London, King Kong style... great fun! Anyway, this track was another one of 2-D's ideas. He has a lot of ideas, and occasionally, he has good ones. It's an epic track. Ah, the vagaries of existence as an ape wearing the forlorn rags of growing old."
• Gorillaz co-creator Damon Albarn and American record producer Greg Kurstin wrote and produced "Skinny Ape" for the virtual band's eighth album, Cracker Island. They also played all the instruments between them.
  
  "There's something mad and crazy about 'Skinny Ape,' how it took shape," Kurstin told Apple Music. "I felt on the edge of my seat, out of control. I didn't know what was happening and how it was going to evolve. It was a lot of happy accidents, like throwing the weirdest, wildest sound at the track and then muting four other things and then all of a sudden, 'Wow, that's a cool texture.' Playing drums in that sort of double-time punk rock section was really fun, and Damon was excited watching me play that part. That feeling of being out of control when I'm working is exciting because it's very unpredictable and brings out things of myself I never would have imagined I would've done."
• Gorillaz debuted "Skinny Ape" live during their World Tour date at the Chase Center in San Francisco on September 21, 2022.