YUNG Citizen
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2010 | INDIE
Music
Press
Happy 5th of July, where patriotism is buried in favor of reality.
At least, according to Yung Citizen, who outlines some of his most societal pet peeves in his new visual for “Bruised Generation.”
Watch the visual up above and follow the Charlotte rapper on Twitter. - HipHopDX
A new artist to the game, Yung Citizen blends his own interpretations of hip hop along with infusions of R&B/Pop to deliver smooth melodic creations. Accompanied by a poignant and uplifting message, Yung Citizen also produces his own original music. Given the opportunity to engage the music of Yung Citizen, you will find lyrical composition that reaches deep into your soul that is intended to inspire and motivate you to always remain focus on your dreams and aspirations. When I first heard Yung Citizen’s music, I said to myself this brother is beyond his years. Yung Citizen is another artist that is a rare breed in the world of hip-hop today, by being socially conscious and tackling real-world issues. In essence, he’s definitely a rare necessity in this music game, complex with a blend of futurism. The upcoming artist from Charlotte, NC deep-rooted passion for music led him to a college degree in Music Business. While at Catawba College, he produced music for Neako, a project that turned into the single and video, “Whippin Whippin”. Citizen proclaims resolutely, “That experience further inspired me to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a well-respected, highly sought-after music producer and artist” After hearing the single Power People, it was a no brainer adding the southern to the list of well-deserved featured artist’s from Reverbnation. Yung Citizen took the time to answer a few questions. Get a feel on who he is, and at the end press play on his current single. It’ll explain why I think you need to wake up and smell the coffee on this artist.
Read More http://www.unheardvoicesmag.com/2015/01/26/rapper-yung-citizen-complex-futuristic/ | Follow us on twitter @unheardvoices | Instagram @unheardvoicesmag - Unheard Voices
Who says positivity can’t influence the leaders of tomorrow alongside everything else they’re sucking out of Hip Hop these days?
For the first single off his self-titled EP, Yung Citizen–hailing from Charlotte–brings the youth a Band-Aid and flashlight in order to steer them from whatever black cloud that is hindering their vision. - HipHopDX
Yung Citizen first appeared on our screens with his vivid story telling skills on lead single My High alongside vocalist Celeste Moonchild. The single in question was taken from his newest project “Yung Citizen EP” which we have the chance of presenting to you today. Yung Citizen EP is a 5 track body of work from the young man where he tackles a myriad of topics from personal growth, urban narratives with spiritual nuances. - The Word Is Bond
Yung Citizen's infectious flow and production skills is on display with “OutKast,” the hip-hop artist’s latest single video. The tune’s hook, MoonLander and Rob Flo features, and fun visuals offer a solid Charlotte springtime anthem. This song is also going to appear on an upcoming full-length, due this year. - Charlotte Magazine
The local Charlotte rapper and producer Yung Citizen is back at it again with his latest song “OutKast.” The song comes to us with a video produced by NeverEnd and features two fellow locals, MoonLander and Rob Flo. The song was written in a single night and features some ear-catching lyrics relative to 2018, whether it be Trump’s presidency or the status of the current music industry. Citizen’s presence in Charlotte music has been behind the scenes over the past couple of years, producing for local artists rather than focusing heavily on his own name. However, last year Citizen released a collaboration called Alive Sessions where he brought on a group of local producers, rappers and singers together to produce the six-song EP. When it comes to his personal work, Yung Citizen’s lyricism centers around being on the outside looking in, especially where it concerns social justice issues or, more pointedly, the exclusive expectations and standards of hip-hop.
“OutKast” reflects that exclusion with lyrics like “They will probably never play this on the radio; all this music’s saturated, that’s the way it goes.” While the song is upbeat and catchy, featuring a contagious hook by MoonLander as well as some serious bars from Rob Flo, the message is still clear: Citizen feels ideologically ostracized from his peers and misunderstood by the masses, sentenced to remain on the margins of mainstream hip-hop as fans of the genre continues to consume an inundation of recycled material. This single is the first from Yung Citizen’s upcoming LP, Millennial: The (Un)American Dream. If it’s a reflection of the rest of the record, listeners can expect something that’s going to draw attention as the young artist continues to push onward in his journey to help change the industry paradigm. - Clture
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Christopher “YUNG Citizen” Williams, a Charlotte, NC native, is a music producer/artist who blends his own unique interpretations of Hip Hop, R&B/Pop to create timeless masterpieces that will penetrate the inner soul, inspires and motivates the world to follow their dreams.
Music is the creative art form that Citizen has chosen to express his views and sound the alarm on world issues such as social justice, racial discrimination, income inequality and poverty just to mention a few.
At the early age of 16, Williams, known as YUNG Citizen, fell in love with music. He decided to save his money and buy a keyboard after seeing his musical icons, The Neptunes, on the cover of Scratch Magazine. The self-taught musician stopped at nothing to perfect his craft, although some of his biggest supporters thought it would be a waste of time. “I would show my parents my beats and they would say, this is cool….but what are you doing with it?” Citizen said.
“That was the fuel he needed to take it up just a few notches. The Charlotte-based musician enrolled in Catawba College in Salisbury, NC and majored in music business although he took no music classes in high school. There were two options for him: being behind the mic or behind the board, he just had to find his niche and a sound pleasing to his ear.
“I don’t remember the first beat I made, but I know it was trash,” Citizen laughs. “But I had all the confidence in it. It had rhythm and it made sense when you bopped your head.” Citizen slowly learned that the key to his musical genius was melody and his deep love for strings. Of course, most musicians want a distinct sound but that’s not the lane Citizen is in. His lane is striving to be different at all costs. “That’s what gravitated me to Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo (the Neptunes). I don’t think they had a signature sound because it was always different.”
If there was a word to put a label on his sound, the artist and producer uses “refreshing.” Makes a lot of sense as why artists like Bas, Thundercat, Flying Lotus, Terrace Martin and Oddisee are some of his biggest inspirations. That different sound has landed YUNG Citizen on some of the country’s top music festivals like SXSW performing hits from his EP “F.I.T.” Standing for “Feel in Tune”, truly speaks to being a different kind of artist in the rap game with singles like “I Wish” and not feeling pressured to fall to the status quo of the industry. He also shows love to the city that has shown him so much support with jams like “The Sauce,” the Queen City, Charlotte, NC. Outside of music, the 33-year-old always maintains a positive attitude, sending daily morning messages on Instagram to fans entitled, “Morning Motivation.” Between his music and motivational push, there aren’t too many artists out here doing it like YUNG, “y-u-n-g to be exact.”
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