Growing up in poverty, as a teenager Lemon experienced the successive deaths of his stepfather, father, and mother from complications of heroin abuse and AIDS, leaving him and his older brother orphaned and forced to fend for themselves.

In 2012 he toured a one person show titled County of Kings: The Beautiful Struggle, which was developed and produced through The American Place Theatre's Literature to Life program.

[citation needed] In film, Lemon has worked with Spike Lee on four movies: Sucker Free City (2004), She Hate Me (2004), Inside Man (2006) (appearing opposite Denzel Washington and Clive Owen), and Miracle at St. Anna (2008).

[citation needed] Lemon Andersen's theater credits include Slanguage, directed by Jo Bonney, The Ride at PS 122, and U at the Mark Taper Forum.

[citation needed] As a Baryshnikov Arts Center Resident Artist from November 26-December 1, 2012, Andersen worked with director Elise Thoron and sound designer Robert Kaplowitz on the score for his new play ToasT, focusing on African-American poetic narratives in the setting of Attica Prison at the time of the 1971 riots.