Meet Young Orange: Rap's Next Big Star Is From Lacey

LACEY, NJ — At just 23, Lacey's own Young Orange is making waves in the music industry.

The rapper has gained more than 142,000 YouTube subscribers, and currently sits at 33,000 monthly Spotify listeners and more than 12 million streams on his songs in total. And he's only beginning.

Growing up in a musical house - his dad was a guitar player - he got started early, playing guitar at age 7.

When he turned 15, he began making songs.

"That's when I became Young Orange," he told Patch.

Young Orange (named so from a middle school nickname that he added "Young" in front of) said he finds inspiration from rappers like Juice WRLD, XXXTentacion and fellow New Jerseyan Russ. But don't try and compare him to anyone else.

"I don't try to sound like anyone else," Young Orange said.

He sings, raps, plays guitar and produces his own beats - not something many rappers can say.

And though he doesn't yet have the massive following of his inspirations, he's found that his music is changing lives.

"People message me, 'your music helped me get through rough times,'" Young Orange said. "Some have even said, 'your songs have saved me from killing myself.'"

"I never even intended on doing anything like that," he added.

His songs often cover emotional topics. His personal favorite, "Found," has almost one million streams on Spotify. In the song, Young Orange talks about a friend of his that took his own life.

"It feels like we just talked like the other night," Young Orange raps on the song. "I guess I'll see you on the other side."

As Young Orange continues to create music, he hopes to be able to reach more people, putting out consistent singles and making new hits.

His goal for 2023? "Pick up some sort of momentum," Young Orange said. "See what happens and keep going."

You can find Young Orange on Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube and Instagram.