Born July 18, 1996, Jonatan Leandoer Håstad, better known by his stage name “Yung Lean,” is a Swedish rapper and record producer.

Håstad was born and raised in the Södermalm district of Stockholm, Sweden’s capital and largest city. As a kid, he began to develop an interest in hip hop after hearing 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’.

Håstad met Yung Gud and Yung Sherman at a park near his home in Stockholm, the three struck up a friendship  after discovering they had many of the same musical interests.

The three formed what was known as the Hasch Boys along with some other Stockholm individuals who later became a part of Gravity Boys and Shield Gang.

Lean, Gud, and Sherman came to realize that they were the only three who had not completely lost interest in Hasch Boys. They went on to form what is now the Sad Boys, with Gud and Sherman mixing and producing music whilst Lean wrote lyrics and recorded vocals and posted them to his Soundcloud profile.

Yung Lean began to attract attention in 2013 when his song “Ginseng Strip 2002” went viral, receiving over 2 million views on YouTube. The same year, he put out his first official releases; Unknown Death 2002 and the Lavender EP.

That same year, Yung Lean and Sad Boys embarked on a European Tour. The next year, they made their first trip to North America on the Black Marble Tour.

Later in 2014, Yung Lean released his first full-length album, Unknown Memory. The album was accompanied with another tour traversing North America and Europe. The tour began on December 1 with a nearly sold-out show in the Grand Ballroom of Webster Hall in New York City.

Yung Lean is also known for his fashion. Namely wearing bucket hats and 90’s windbreakers, similar to the “health goth” aesthetic. Vice claimed “Yung Lean is going to do bucket hats like Mac Miller did the snapback.”

Lean is also noted for referencing the years 2001, 2002, and 2003 in his songs. Lean says he does this because those were the “most emotional” years in hip hop.