For Liim, Harlem is more than a backdrop. It is a source of memory, identity, struggle, and inspiration that continues to shape his music. Today, the Harlem-raised artist officially announces his sophomore album, A Sunflower Garden In Harlem Is Hard To Find, arriving August 28 via three times LOUDER. The deeply personal project traces Liim’s journey from the Grant Houses on 125th Street to where he stands today, reflecting on near-death experiences, hard-earned lessons, and the ongoing search for self-discovery beyond the expectations placed on him growing up in New York City.
Alongside the album announcement, Liim introduces another piece of that world with “1980 (feat. AJRadico),” a retro-styled hip-hop cut that finds the two artists trading 16s with the chemistry and swagger of classic Eric B. & Rakim. Drawing inspiration from iconic films Paid In Full and Juice, the track offers another glimpse into Liim’s cinematic approach to music, where songwriting, production, and visual storytelling work together to create a larger world around his experiences.
“Paid In Full & Juice are just two movies that are where I’m from. I grew up in almost every scene, and I think what those movies do for me is they spike memories.”
That connection between music and memory has become central to Liim’s creative identity. Rather than simply looking backward, he transforms the sights, sounds, and stories of his upbringing into a contemporary sound that moves fluidly between hip-hop, soul, and alternative textures. “1980” reinforces that approach, pairing a vintage aesthetic with the perspective of an artist continuing to define himself on his own terms.
The new single follows “R.I.P Peace” and “Is Loving Really Bad?” and arrives after a prolific first half of 2026 for Liim. His momentum has been especially pronounced around “R.I.P Peace,” which earned a coveted Best New Track designation from Pitchfork, further establishing the young artist as one of New York’s emerging voices to watch.
A Sunflower Garden In Harlem Is Hard To Find arrives just ten months after Liim’s debut album, Liim Lasalle Loves You. That project demonstrated that Liim could translate the momentum of his early singles, including “Pupils” (feat. Opraah) and “Regista gyal,” into a cohesive and substantive body of work. Since breaking through with those releases in 2022, he has continued to develop a genre-blurring style that places hip-hop and soul alongside alternative influences, all anchored by songwriting that feels notably introspective and wise beyond his years.
That evolution has earned Liim support from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and Pigeons & Planes, while positioning him as one of the more compelling young artists emerging from New York right now. With A Sunflower Garden In Harlem Is Hard To Find, he appears ready to push that vision even further, using his own history as the foundation for a broader exploration of identity, memory, survival, and growth.
“1980 (feat. AJRadico)” is out now. A Sunflower Garden In Harlem Is Hard To Find arrives August 28 via three times LOUDER.
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