YUNG LEAN IN CONCERT:
Hearing rapper Yung Lean's drawling flow and trap-inspired beats, you'd never know he hailed from the crisp streets of Stockholm. The fresh-faced Swedish MC discovered hip hop in his early teens and has been writing rhymes ever since, putting his own unique spin on American styles like trap and Southern rap. At his live shows Leanís production crew Sad Boys drop skittering beats while he spits his relaxed rhymes with swagger to spare, bouncing around the stage as the crowd goes wild to bass bombs like ìKyotoî and ìGinseng Strip 2002î. Unlike many of his rap contemporaries who flaunt the high life, Leanís tracks tend to focus on melancholy subject matter -- a tendency that has led fans to dub his emotional style ìsad rapî. Heís amassed a cult following with his idiosyncratic lyrical style and cutting-edge rhythms, and sparks fly anytime he performs for his growing fanbase in concert.
BACKGROUND SNAPSHOT:
Young Lean, aka Jonatan Leandoer Hastad, grew up in the hip Stockholm district of Sodermalm. After discovering 50 Centís seminal album Get Rich or Die Tryiní in his early teens, Hastad formed the rap crew Sad Boys with his producer buddies Yung Gud and Yung Sherman. With Gud and Sherman providing the beats and Lean assuming vocal duties, the trio started uploading songs to SoundCloud and YouTube. Lean scored a breakthrough in 2013 when the DIY video for his track ìGinseng Strip 2002î went viral, racking up more than two million view on YouTube. He released his debut mixtape Uknown Death 2002 that same year, earning props from Vibe Magazine, which named it one of ìThe 10 Most Overlooked Debut Rap Mixtapes of 2013î. Lean made his album debut in 2014 with Unknown Memory, a critical success that led to sold-out shows in both Europe and the US. Since then heís remained prolific, releasing nearly a dozen music videos including the eerie clip for ìHooverî, the lead single from his 2016 sophomore album Warlord.
