Yung Lean | |
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.jpg) Yung Lean in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jonatan Aron Leandoer Håstad |
| Also known as | jonatan leandoer96, jonatan leandoer127 |
| Born | (1996-07-18)18 July 1996 (age 28) Stockholm, Sweden |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | yunglean |
Jonatan Aron Leandoer Håstad[1][2] (born 18 July 1996), known professionally asYung Lean, is a Swedish rapper. Widely cited as one of the most influential figures in the earlycloud rap era, Yung Lean rose to prominence in 2013 with his song "Ginseng Strip 2002", which wentviral onYouTube.[3] Later that same year, he released his debutmixtape,Unknown Death 2002, and the following year, he released his debut studio album,Unknown Memory.
In 2016, Yung Lean released his second mixtape,Frost God, and his second studio album,Warlord. In 2017, he released his third studio album,Stranger,[4] followed by his third mixtape,Poison Ivy, in 2018. Yung Lean's fourth studio album,Starz, was released in 2020. He released the albumsNectar (2019),Blodhundar & Lullabies (2020) andSugar World (2023) under thepseudonymJonatan Leandoer96, a project which strays away from his hip-hop roots and goes for a blend ofindie rock andneofolk.
Håstad was born on 18 July 1996 inStockholm, Sweden,[5] toKristoffer Leandoer [sv], a Swedish poet, fantasy author, and translator ofFrench literature who owned a book publishing company[6] andElsa Håstad [sv], a former human rights activist who worked withLGBT groups in Russia, Vietnam, and South America,[7] serving as the Swedish ambassador toAlbania from 2019 to 2023.[8]
Håstad spent his early childhood in Minsk, Belarus, where his mother moved the family so Håstad could have a similar childhood to her. The family returned to Sweden and settled inStockholm when Håstad was somewhere between the ages of three and five. He was raised in the city'sSödermalm area. In between, Håstad was a student atUNIS Hanoi from 6th to 10th grade. During his time in high school, Håstad often got in trouble for doing drugs or writing graffiti. He also had a job at a local McDonald's.[7] When he was 15, he was put on probation for smoking cannabis.[9] Håstad began to develop an interest inhip hop music, mentioning50 Cent'sGet Rich or Die Tryin',The Latin Kings'sMitt Kvarter andNas'sIllmatic as his early influences.[10][11][12]
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In 2012, Håstad metYung Sherman andGud in a local Stockholm park and they struck up a friendship, discovering they enjoyed much of the same music, going on to form the collective Hasch Boys.[13] Another group of Stockholm artists who would later form the groupDrain Gang were also members.[citation needed]
When many of the other members of Hasch Boys began to lose interest in the group, Håstad, Sherman and Gud broke off and formed the group "Sad Boys" as a trio.[14] By 2012, Yung Gud and Yung Sherman were producing and mixing music while Håstad had begun writing lyrics and recording vocals in a makeshift studio in his basement. They shared the music they made on the platformsSoundCloud andTumblr,[15][16][17] where Lean began to generate a large following.[18][19] Sad Boys performed their first show inGothenburg, Sweden on 5 May 2013.
Yung Lean became widely known when the music video for his track "Ginseng Strip 2002" went viral.[20][21][22][23] Later in 2013, he put out his first official releases:Marble Phone, a single featuringKreayshawn,Unknown Death 2002 and an EP titledLavender which includes the track "Ginseng Strip 2002" along with other songs that were cut fromUnknown Death 2002.Consequence of Sound placed "Ginseng Strip 2002" at number 44 on their "Top 50 Songs of 2013",[24] whileVibe includedUnknown Death 2002 in their list, "The 10 Most Overlooked Debut Rap Mixtapes of 2013", describing it as "a natural progression from the freely associative, often nonsensical rhymes ofLil' B with a keener sense of melody".[25]
In 2013, Yung Lean and Sad Boys toured throughoutEurope. Later that same year,Acclaim Magazine had Yung Lean as their guest for a Q&A "smalltalk" segment, where they asked him about a wide variety of miscellaneous things, including his favourite hangover cure and his desktop wallpaper.[26]
In 2014, Yung Lean and Sad Boys embarked on the White Marble Tour, playing in 24 cities across Europe. Shortly after the conclusion of this tour Sad Boys announced a further Black Marble Tour, which would include several performances in cities across North America. The first of these shows took place in July at the Webster Hall in New York City, and was well received by writers for publications such asXXL, andThe New York Times.[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][excessive citations]
Yung Lean starred onStudio PSL in May 2014[36] and was also one of five final nominees for the 2014P3 Gold Awards in the Hip Hop/Soul category.[37]
Yung Lean released his debut full-length album, titledUnknown Memory on 23 September 2014.[31][38][39] The album was accompanied with North American and European tours, beginning on 1 December in New York with a nearly sold-out show onWebster Hall's main ballroom stage.[40]
Yung Lean released his second full-length album,Warlord, on 25 February 2016; he also released a line of clothing, "Sad Boys Entertainment".[41] Håstad modelled for Calvin Klein's July 2016, AW16 Campaign.[42] During his Warlord American tour, his tour bus in Pennsylvania was shot at.[43] Håstad was also featured onFrank Ocean's critically acclaimedBlonde where he provided backup vocals on the songs "Godspeed" and "Self Control". According to Håstad, his part on the project was recorded when he was seventeen in Ocean's apartment in London.[44]
Yung Lean released a surprise track on 25 November 2016 titled "Hennessy & Sailor Moon (feat.Bladee)".[45] On 14 December 2016 he released the mixtapeFrost God containing eight tracks including "Hennessy & Sailor Moon" and "Crystal City" which featuredA$AP Ferg.
Håstad released his third studio albumStranger on 10 November 2017, with the singles "Red Bottom Sky", "Hunting My Own Skin", and "Skimask", through Stockholm labelYEAR0001.
In an interview with Complex in January 2018, Håstad announced he was writing several film scripts, including one based around Swedish serial killerJohn Ausonius, best known as "The Laser Man".[46] In February 2018, Yung Lean released the single "King Cobra" with Thaiboy Digital, as well as a collaboration with Converse that consisted of a shoe and several items of clothing titled "One Star Toxic".[47]
On 2 November 2018, Håstad released his third mixtapePoison Ivy with the single "Happy Feet" released on 24 October 2018.[48] The album, a collaboration withWhitearmor, a member of Drain Gang with whom Håstad frequently collaborates, debuted at number 44 on the Sweden Albums Charts, the Sverigetopplistan.[49]
On 25 January 2019, Yung Lean released his first full-length album under Jonatan Leandoer96,Nectar, with the singles "Wooden Girl", "Nectar" and "Tangerine Warrior". The album strays away from Leandoer's sad hip-hop roots and goes for a blend ofindie rock andneofolk.
On 26 February 2020, Yung Lean released the single "Boylife in EU", produced by frequent collaborator Whitearmor. On 27 March 2020, Yung Lean uploaded a 44-second teaser featuring a mix of songs from his upcoming fourth-studio albumStarz. Owing to the globalCOVID-19 pandemic, the Starz tour, which was due to begin in late March, was cancelled, and on 2 April 2020 Yung Lean streamed a 45-minute concert from the back of a truck in an undisclosed location, the stream featuring a mix of songs from previous works, as well as newly released "Boylife in EU". On 14 April 2020 the second single from Starz was released, "Violence + Pikachu". Starz was released on 15 May 2020, the album being produced by Whitearmor and Yung Sherman and featuringAriel Pink on the album's title track.
On 9 November 2020, Yung Lean announced the release of his second full-length Jonatan Leandoer96 album, "Blodhundar & Lullabies". The 16-track album eventually released a month later on 21 December.
On 27 November 2020, the documentaryYung Lean: In My Head premiered in cinemas.[50] Directed by music documentarian Henrik Burman, the documentary charts Leandoer's early career up until the release ofStranger. This includes reflections on the events that occurred in Miami from Leandoer, fellow artistBladee and additional persons including managerOskar Ekman, former associateSteven Machat and journalists from a variety of outlets includingThe Fader andPitchfork. The documentary was originally scheduled to premiere at the 2020Tribeca Film Festival, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[51] It released digitally and in a limited number of cinemas in the fall of the same year instead.
On 8 April 2022, Yung Lean released a 12-track mixtape titled "Stardust" containing features fromFKA twigs,Skrillex,Drain Gang andAnt Wan.[52]
On 14 December 2022, the single "Blue Light" was released as Jonatan Leandoer96, accompanied by a music video directed by Olle Knutson and Philip Hovensjö. This announced his full-length album titledSugar World, which was subsequently released on 3 February 2023.[53]
Yung Lean was featured on the track "Parasail" fromTravis Scott'sUtopia, released on 28 July 2023.[54] He releasedPsykos, a collaborative album withBladee, on 13 March 2024.[55] Yung Lean was featured alongside Swedish artistRobyn on a remix ofCharli XCX's single "360", released on 31 May 2024.[56][57]
On 4 November 2024, it was announced that Yung Lean would appear alongside Charli XCX in the upcoming filmSacrifice, marking his feature-film debut.[58][59] Later that month, he stated that he had cut ties with YEAR0001, and that future music and products would be released through his own label World Affairs.[60]
Yung Lean announced his fifth studio album,Jonatan, on 21 January 2025.[61][62]
Håstad performed in front of an audience of 10,330 people on 1 March 2025 in theAvicii Arena in Stockholm. The concert was well received by Swedish news outlets and described as a "collective triumph" byAftonbladet.[63][64] Long-time friend Yung Sherman opened the show, and during the evening Håstad was guested byYung Gud,Ecco2K,Bladee,Thaiboy Digital.
XXL included him in their 2014 list of "15 European Rappers You Should Know".[21]Fact magazine viewed theUnknown Death 2002 mixtape as "a logical continuation of Clams Casino and Beautiful Lou's innovative techniques, emerging with thick, melancholy numbers that drip with a rare and earnest allure."[65] In 2013,Fact published another article titled "Rise of the Sad Boys: from Kompakt to Yung Lean, a history of how electronic musicians have worn their sadness on their sleeves", which claimed that "[Yung Lean]'s mixtape Unknown Death 2002 is the epitome of sad rap".[66]
Yung Lean was described byEntertainment Weekly as "loosely affiliated" with thecloud rap movement.[67] According to music website HighClouds, part of Yung Lean's appeal is "the production provided by Yung Gud and Yung Sherman who combine the cloud rap of Clams Casino with electronic music touches".[68]
Yung Lean is also the vocalist for thepost-punk band Död Mark, along with fellow Sad Boys memberGud.[69] The duo's debut album,Drabbad av Sjukdom was released in 2016 through Stockholm labelYEAR0001.
Outside of music, Håstad is writing a screenplay about a "strange gangster drama" and a rock opera aboutJohn Ausonius, a Swedish serial killer.[70] Håstad has aspirations to become an actor.[71][needs update]
Håstad has several hobbies, including reading, ceramics, painting,[72] writing and playing piano.[73] Håstad began painting following his release from a mental health hospital as a way to relax.[71] In a 2019 interview, Håstad told Kaleidoscope magazine that he hasbipolar disorder. He was diagnosed with it in 2017 and takes medication for his condition.[74]
While recording his second studio albumWarlord, Håstad lived inMiami Beach, Florida, US. During this time, Håstad became addicted toXanax,lean, andcocaine. On 7 April 2015, Håstad overdosed and was hospitalized inMount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute. Håstad's overdose and subsequent hospitalization coincided with the death of his manager and close personal friend, Barron Machat. After the incident, Håstad moved back to Sweden to live with his family.[75]At the same time, Håstad's father was flying to visit Håstad in the hospital, where he stayed for four days. Håstad says he didn't recognize him at first, but they returned to Sweden together. For about two months, Håstad's father tended to him while he recovered in the countryside, in relative isolation, before moving back into his parents' residence in Stockholm.'[76]
Håstad has been credited for being a pioneer in theemo rap,[77]cloud rap,[78] andSoundCloud rap genres.[79][80][81]In 2019, Yung Lean was awarded the Bram Stoker Medal of Cultural Achievement by theUniversity Philosophical Society atTrinity College, Dublin.[82]
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