Mykki Blanco Unleashes A Gritty Queer Love Letter In New Single “NYC DOGS”

The genre-defying artist’s latest single is a love letter to New York City ahead of the release of CAFE PARADISO, arriving September 4 via Transgressive.

Few artists reinvent themselves as fearlessly as Mykki Blanco.

Throughout a career built on challenging expectations, Blanco has blurred the lines between hip-hop, punk, electronic music, performance art, and poetry. Now, the visionary artist returns with “NYC DOGS,” a gritty, garage rock-inspired anthem that celebrates New York City’s raw energy while embracing queer freedom, kink culture, and unapologetic self-expression.

Bursting with distorted guitars, blues-inspired rhythms, and infectious punk energy, “NYC DOGS” captures the spirit of the city that helped shape Blanco into the artist they are today.

Premiering as Lauren Laverne’s First Play on BBC Radio 6, the track channels the messy, electric atmosphere of New York nightlife, inviting listeners to “stick out your tongues” and embrace their inner “bad dogs.”

For Blanco, returning to New York to record CAFE PARADISO wasn’t simply a creative decision—it was a homecoming.

“I chose to record CAFE PARADISO in New York because I wanted to come home for a bit,” Blanco says. “New York is where I ran away to when I was 16… where I first began writing music after dropping out of Parsons School of Design, where I published my first book of poetry, and where I launched my career on the underground scene 13 years ago.”

The city remains the emotional heartbeat of the album, but Blanco makes it clear this isn’t a nostalgic recreation of the past.

“CAFE PARADISO is a record for city kids. It’s heavily inspired by New York, but the New York of now, which isn’t parochial but transatlantic. CAFE PARADISO is also global. It’s a series of vignettes that speak to the lives lived inside the concrete jungle.”

For over a decade, Mykki Blanco has consistently pushed artistic boundaries, collaborating with acclaimed artists including Arca, Charli XCX, Blood Orange, Basement Jaxx, Jamila Woods, Kelsey Lu, Michael Stipe, Anohni, and Jónsi.

Following 2022’s Stay Close to Music and the 2023 Postcards from Italia EP, Blanco stepped away from recording to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Switzerland, expanding their multidisciplinary visual art practice before returning to music with renewed perspective.

“I love creating music,” Blanco explains, “but I’ve never liked the idea of being a one-trick pony. I need to check some things off my ‘Life List.'”

That creative evolution is woven throughout CAFE PARADISO, which was recorded in New York alongside longtime collaborator and producer Drew “FaltyDL” Lustman. The album effortlessly moves between dance music, art pop, underground club culture, and experimental sounds, drawing inspiration from artists as diverse as Saint Etienne, The Silver Apples, and Towa Tei.

While CAFE PARADISO thrives on nightlife, movement, and urban chaos, Blanco says the album is ultimately about something quieter.

“It’s not a point A-to-B record, or a pre-game record. It’s an album about enjoying your own company.”

That sentiment gives the project an unexpected emotional core. Rather than chasing trends or repeating past successes, CAFE PARADISO feels like an artist fully embracing the present—comfortable with experimentation while confident in exactly who they are

CAFE PARADISO arrives September 4.