All-Time Best Yung Lean Songs

Yung Lean blew up in 2013 when his song 'Ginseng Strip 2002' went viral on YouTube. The track was weird, dreamy, and completely different from anything else in rap at the time - it caught people's attention because it was so unique and internet-friendly. That same year, he dropped his debut mixtape 'Unknown Death 2002' and basically became the face of cloud rap overnight.

Cloud rap is a subgenre of hip-hop that's atmospheric, dreamy, and often melancholic, with heavy use of reverb, slow tempos, and lo-fi production. Yung Lean is considered one of the pioneers who helped define this sound in the early 2010s. His music mixed internet culture references, video game samples, and this hazy, emotional vibe that influenced tons of SoundCloud rappers and even mainstream artists like Drake and Kanye West.

His biggest hits include 'Ginseng Strip 2002' (the song that made him famous), 'Kyoto', 'Hurt', 'Yoshi City', and 'Agony'. 'Kyoto' is probably his most well-known track overall, while 'Ginseng Strip 2002' is what put him on the map. These songs perfectly capture his dreamy, sad boy aesthetic that became his signature sound.

Sad Boys is Yung Lean's crew and collective that he formed with his friends in Stockholm. The main members are Yung Lean, plus producers Yung Sherman and Yung Gud (who make most of his beats). They also work closely with other producers like White Armor. The whole Sad Boys movement became synonymous with the melancholic, internet-influenced style of rap that Yung Lean pioneered.

Yung Lean's lyrics are famous for referencing everyday items like Arizona iced tea, video games, and internet culture because that was his actual life as a teenager. He wasn't trying to fake a street persona - he was just rapping about his real experiences growing up online in Sweden. This authenticity and weirdness made him relatable to a generation that grew up on the internet, and it became part of his artistic identity.

Absolutely. Yung Lean's influence on modern rap is huge, especially in the SoundCloud/emo rap scene. Artists like Lil Peep, Bladee, Ecco2k, and many others drew inspiration from his sad boy aesthetic and dreamy production style. Even mainstream artists like Drake and Kanye have incorporated elements of cloud rap that Yung Lean helped pioneer. He basically predicted where internet rap culture was heading.

Yes, Yung Lean is still active and releasing music regularly. He's evolved his sound over the years while keeping that signature melancholic vibe. He's released several albums since his early mixtapes, including 'Stranger' (2017), 'Poison Ivy' (2018), and more recent projects. He's also expanded into fashion and other creative ventures while maintaining his core fanbase.

Yung Lean frequently references Japanese culture, anime, and aesthetics in his music and visuals. This fits into the whole internet/vaporwave culture that was big in the early 2010s, where Japanese imagery was often used to create that nostalgic, dreamy feeling. It's part of his post-internet artistic identity and connects with his fanbase who grew up consuming Japanese media online.