Above is artist Yung Lean or Jonatan Leandoer, member of the rap collective Sad Boys. Although their sound is mostly derived from Hip-Hop, the music of Yung Lean, Yung Sherman and Yung Gud is often very eclectic. Pulling from many different sources, giving off a sort of Björk-like vibe.
Yung Lean truly is an all-encompassing artist and with the help of two very talented producers he often brings forth a refreshing sound that’s hard to imitate.
Sad Boys and frequent collaborators Drain Gang are at the forefront of the Hip-Hop scene in Sweden, hailing mostly from Stockholm. With these groups, the overall aesthetic of the music they create is at the forefront of everything they do. Some, even going on to become models, and to design their own clothes. It’s all apart of the image.
The overall sound pulls from many different sources, but has mostly characteristics from Hip-Hop, Electronic and Pop. Although Yung Lean claims his style “has no father like an orphan,” his influences and style can go back as far as Chief Keef and rapper SpaceGhostPurrp. There was even this interaction between SGP and Lean:
True, the sound of these two groups, Sad Boys and Yung Lean is often very hazy, cloudy and druggy. That is why many believe Lean to be the father of Cloud Rap which was a scene he was very active in from the beginning. Although not known for sure who birthed this genre (as the lineage can be traced back very far) it’s no doubt that Sad Boys and Drain Gang have done a lot for Hip-Hop in general.
If you look on popular YouTube channel デーモン Astari, many of the artists featured have a similar look and feel that seems heavily influenced by the aforementioned groups.
Lean and cohorts only get more experimental as they go but I believe their sound is becoming the future and they are spearheading something very monumental here.
Artistic Apathy 