Fresh(ish) off the release of his latest single, “Cold World,” the NYC artist shares his favorite spot in Brooklyn (+ a very solid date idea)
———————————————————————————————
We first discovered Young Lyonne through his excellent track // piece of poetry, “Black Boy Joy” (drop what you’re doing and check that out now), and now we’re stoked to share “Cold World”—the eighth single he’s dropped on Spotify this year (so far)— plus some words on the song from the artist himself.
“‘Cold World’ is a song based on the first rhyme: ‘I check my records to change my perspective.’ The rest of the song was easy to make. In times of stress or pressure, I often look back on challenges that those before me in my family have overcome in the past, so that I can exist in the present. The song turned like quite a few vocal notes in my phone – rhymes from myself, telling myself to keep pushing forward. Just acknowledge all the obstacles as they are and move past them. And enjoy them – enjoy the obstacles. Love the obstacles. I listened through an audiobook a while after the song was made – The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday. It’s very fitting for the song. When I finished writing it, I felt like the song should already exist, which told me that I’ll need to put it on streaming at some point.”
Along with intel on the track, Young Lyonne also, over email, shared his fave BK spot—plus a pretty brilliant date idea that we’ll def def be stealing in the future when it’s once again safe to swipe.
The artist’s choice: Brooklyn Bridge Park. Here’s what he had to say:
“Great place for pictures – that’s actually where [this picture] was taken. Great place to work out on the grass with a friend. Great place to think alone. Great place for a few beers late at night with the team, sitting on the rocks. Great place for the rest of a first date, after getting avocado toast at a nearby cafe. Great place to smoke with the crew and just chill. The walk across the bridge, and into lower Manhattan, to Union Square Park on 14th Street – is a great trip. Yeah…I didn’t even realize I did all that there until I wrote this. I adore that park; there’s just something about it. I’m not sure what it is exactly, and I wouldn’t want to try to comment why, because there’s so much there. I don’t want to miss something. Oh, and if you ever randomly meet a girl at an art event that travelled solo from Europe to escape her troubles for a bit, taking her to dance at Bembe under the Williamsburg Bridge, and then taking her to Brooklyn Bridge Park to secure the vibe for the night – is a great idea. – (shameless plug, that inspired an old track I did called ‘Smooth’). Damn I miss my city pre-quarantine…Cheers to Brooklyn Bridge Park. Yeesh. What a gem.”
Check out Young Lyonne’s latest + greatest ASAP, and after that… well, we’ll probably see you in the park..
———————————————————————————————
Follow Young Lyonne at @younglyonne, add his music to your Spotify playlists and find everything Young Lyonne here.