For an artist just releasing her debut full-length project, Lanz Pierce has quite a distinguished résumé. The 27-year-old rapper and singer, who was discovered and signed a decade ago by none other than Jimmy Iovine, has put out two EPs (Point Of No Return and Editors Eye); battled on Sway in the Morning; opened up for Snoop Dogg; and worked closely with the legendary producer/guitarist/guy-who-made-the-’80s-worthwhile Nile Rodgers.
Pierce's new album, which we're proud to premiere below, is Los City. The name comes from, as you may have guessed, Los Angeles and New York City, two metropolises that have shaped both her worldview and her songwriting.
But despite the title, the record comes with a bit of an international twist. London Afrobeat pioneer Donae'O guests on the track "Piano," and U.K. DJ FlavaD helps out with additional production.
In addition to the album, Pierce unveiled a hoodie collection, also called "Los City," this past July in collaboration with Milk Studios.
"I wanted to make a soundtrack to my 20s," she explained to Complex. "I've been planning this for years. When you listen back to these records you'll know what state of mind i was in and my perspective on the world around me. In NY I was grinding, sleeping on my friends couches, my closet was in the trunk of my car. Then I'd hop on a plane, leave for a while and live out another life in L.A. That was the process of piecing it together. I pictured my 12-year-old self listening to this album, I wanted to make sure i was dropping jewels. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City was a mood board for me, the way Kendrick took people to a place, a time, a city. The skits were really important too. Frank Ocean's Nostalgia, Ultra was an inspiration too. I used static sounds from an old dial radio to break up the songs like chapters. You're riding around, tuning into a different frequency every few records. The cover art was very intentional. It's the urban cowboy inside Los City."
You can hear Los City below, and you can cop it on all major digital platforms on Friday, Sept. 1.
