At the end of last week, Yung Lean made a return with a new album, Starz. The album only contained one feature from Ariel Pink on the title track, but this could have been different-- in an alternate reality, Starz would also contain a feature from the ever elusive Playboi Carti.
The two were first spotted together in the studio, teasing a snippet of a collaboration, back in January, amping up excitement among fans of both outlier rappers. Given each artist's respective cult-like followings, we could only imagine the type of streaming power these two would amass. Nonetheless, it appears that label politics got in the way-- as they often do. Lean shared a message of thanks to his fans post-Starz release, as well as the collaborators and people who helped make the album happen. Among those receiving his appreciation, was Carti. In reference to Carti, he revealed that it was neither his nor Carti's decision to remove his verse from the album: "It was his label that removed his verse cos politics, not me or him," he stated in his caption.
He wrote in the full caption, "Yoo I jus wanna say a big thank u to all my fans and Every1 involved in this. I love this album n proud of what we did . Wouldn’t be possible without, Whitearmor my big brother & Sherm my love, Ariel Pink, Carti( It was his label that removed his verse cos politics, not me or him ) All the Studios in Portugal, Sweden(Falun,Gnesta) La , Year0001, all dat , Sadboys forever Xoxo Leandoer."
We'll have to see if this collaboration will surface at a later date.