Jonotan Hastad, also known as Yung Lean, is a Swedish producer and rapper. He is thought to be one of the most prominent figures in cloud rap, with artists like Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, and Post Malone taking inspiration from his beats and production style. Yung Lean’s career took off when he released his song, Ginseng Strip 2002. This was followed by his debut mixtape and first album, all three reaching great success.
While touring at the peak of his career, however, Hastad was faced with many negative influences and began to struggle with heavy drug use. He was addicted to smoking, bars, cocaine, and more throughout his one year of touring. Hasted was admitted to a mental hospital after drug induced psychosis. Barron Machat, Yung Lean’s close friend/ manager, was on the way to the hospital but was tragically caught in a fatal car accident that caused him to lose his life.
This struggle with drugs and death of his close friend informs many of Yung Lean's lyrics and albums.
His music often reflects feelings of mourning, numbness, and attempts at self-recovery. His song “Agony,” for instance, says, “I let my demons take hold and choke on me / Can’t fill these holes that I’m digging”. He expressed being aware of his self-destructive tendencies and shows how he still has a desire to find peace despite the chaos. The song’s lyrics reveal a deep desire for personal healing and perseverance. Through songs like this, Yung Lean uses his pain to create art. Music is a space where he can confront his loss and addiction while still working towards inner healing.
In Faith, Hope, and Carnage, Nick Cave talks about how he was “envious of those who had a spiritual dimension to their lives… A longing for belief that addressed a fundamental emptiness inside”. Similar to Yung Lean’s attempt at self-recovery through music, Cave finds the ability to persevere through hardships by seeking spirituality. Cave shows us the importance of finding a medium through which someone can help themselves recover from setbacks. Cave’s spirituality intertwines with his creativity
Cave and Yung Lean both fight similar battles with drug usage and heavily grieving loved ones. Additionally, they both are able to find an outlet that allows them to process their pain and turn it into something meaningful. Nick Cave and Yung Lean show us creative expression and having a stabilizing outlet can serve as a form of rebuilding and redemption, fostering perseverance.
I really liked this post. I'm a big Yung Lean fan and think you did a great job of communicating his semi-unknown yet massive influence on the rap and underground rap genre today. I think his story is so interesting because newer fans of his, I think, in many ways would be completely unaware of this past if it weren't for his music still occupying dark places(He seems much happier in interviews and extremely mentally stable, and because he's sober now). I think his ability for self-reflection through music in general is super unique and actually is what helped him become clean and generally a more self-respecting and confident person.
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