Lazarus Lynch opens up about new single ‘Black Queer Anthem’
The singer also shed light on what it's like making music as a Black queer artist, and how that has shaped him
Lazarus Lynch is ready to take over. In an exclusive interview with theGrio, the chef, writer and singer opened up about his new single, “Black Queer Anthem.”
An incredibly accomplished Black gay artist, Lazarus Lynch has appeared on numerous shows including Today Show and Wendy Williams, is the host of Comfort Nation on Food Network, and even released his first cookbook in 2019, but it doesn’t stop there. With a single about to drop in June, and an album to come in July, Lynch is busy– to say the least.
In a revealing interview, the artist shed light specifically on his journey with his music and what to expect from his new album, Sanctuary, which is set to drop in July.
Opening up to Lynch’s dive into music, he shared with theGrio, “I think music has always been a part of me. It’s been part of my foundation….music has always been another way for me to express who I am. I grew up singing in church a lot and leading songs and just being in front of people and singing and food was always a part of that. But it wasn’t until 2016 that I really started to pay attention to the musical side of me.”
He continued, “My first song was, ‘In My World’, and I put it out having no idea like what it means to put music out and what streaming is all about. And literally, within like months, it shot up to like three hundred thousand plays on Spotify, which now I understand is like a big deal. But at the time I was just like, ‘I don’t know what that even means and I don’t even know how that works.’ But that was a real sign from the universe for me that I was meant to do this because it was such an affirming kind of validating kind of response that I just thought, well, I can keep doing this. So, I just continue putting music out.”
Being Black and queer in this world, Lynch really uses his music as a vessel for self-expression. He shared in the interview how some people from his long past in the church came out of the woodwork when he dropped his single, “I’m Gay” in 2020.
He explained, “I got calls immediately, almost immediately from people who I knew from church days who followed me on Facebook, people who were not necessarily engaged in my everyday life, but that just kind of knew about me or knew had access to me. And they called me and they were just like, “So what does this mean?” They were like, “So are you are you coming out?” And it was such an interesting response…what I learned through that experience was that it takes courage to show up in your truth, and when you show up in your truth, oftentimes you’re going to have someone questioning you, but you have to know that you’re free and being who you are.”
Living in the center of his truth has allowed him abundance and joy, which seems to be the theme of his new single, “Black Queer Anthem,” which he described as “a joyful, powerful song”.
He explained, “I’m very, very proud. The single is called ‘Black Queer Anthem’, and I feel like I’ve been in a space lately where I’ve been composing songs that just are anthemic…that’s coming out June 18th. I’m so excited. Please, please. If you’re Black and queer or if you know Black people, just send it to folks because I really believe it’s going to be a song that really celebrates who we are. It’s really a joyful, powerful song.”
“Black Queer Anthem” is set to drop on June 18, ahead of Lynch’s album Sanctuary which is set to release in July.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!
