Lanre Bakare 

Yung Lean review – high energy meets low culture in sweaty hip-hop set

The Swedish rapper's army of internet fans turn out in force for a lively show, before sound and performance issues send them home again, writes Lanre Bakare
  
  

Yung Lean
Cloud-hopping … Yung Lean and the Sad Boy crew. Photograph: Mark Horton/Getty Images Photograph: Mark Horton/Getty Images

Stockholm native Yung Lean and his Sad Boy crew are a divisive bunch. They've perplexed the hip-hop establishment with their seemingly serious but potentially piss-taking "cloud rap" style, generated rapturous reviews from the New York Times and the New Yorker, and are the group most likely to generate furious "this isn't hip-hop" comments under their YouTube videos.

Like fellow rap iconoclast Lil B, however, they command huge loyalty from their army of internet followers. Those disciples are out in force, with a mixed crowd of snapback-wearing hip-hop heads, seapunk socialites and a lot of people wearing bucket hats (Yung Lean's affection for the headwear has been identified as the reason for its renaissance) crammed into the sweaty confines of the Garage.

Those familiar with Lean might expect him to mope on to the stage in a melancholic funk, but he sprints on, wheeling around screaming the typically mish-mashed lyrics to Nitevision – "Nitevision in my armor/ Yeah, I took over/ Watching Space Jam/ Yung Lean's never sober – while the crowd try to simultaneously bounce in unison and film him on smartphones. More low-culture referencing numbers follow, such as Oreomilkshake, Bladerunner and a crowd-pleasing rendition of fan favourite Gatorade. But around halfway through the set, the ridiculously oversaturated mic effects that Yung Lean and the Sad Boys are using, plus rap's perennial performance issue (ie terrible sound) combine to turn the crowd off, and many people slowly make their way outside.

It could be that the crew's touring schedule (Lean admits that it's been gruelling) has taken some of the steam out of them, but he seems genuinely humbled to have such a big turnout, and he repeatedly thanks us. The stand-out track from the back end of the set is Ginseng Strip 2002, a song that brought Yung Lean to a lot of people's attention and contains the lyric "conflict, I'm a contradicted shit". It seems he is.

 

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