Yung Lean
Starz
Release Date: May 15, 2020
Genre(s): Pop/Rock
Record label: Year0001
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Album Review: Starz by Yung Lean
Fairly Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 7
Jonatan Leandoer Håstad is an enigma. He seems to have been around forever, but every time he puts a new release out as his Yung Lean rap persona, it's as though you're hearing about him for the first time. His breakout track, 'Ginseng Strip 2002', has almost 30m views on YouTube, but you can't be certain how many of those viewers were there for the music (and not the bucket hats and lyrical zingers.) He clearly laid the foundations for the modern crop of sad-rappers but has received a fraction of the recognition that he deserves.
Based on rating 6/10
Sweden has a rich history of contributions to popular music from hit-making producers and writers like Max Martin and Shellback and to performers like Icona Pop and Tove Lo. But they are not well known for their rap, which is where Yung Lean comes in. One of Europe's best known English-language rappers, he eschews the British gritty, grimy style for a more psychedelic and emotional sound that falls between the late, great Lil Peep and Lil Uzi Vert.
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