Stockholm rapper Yung Lean has managed to carve out a niche in the American hip-hop game, using his unique ambient sound and "Sadboy" image to captivate Western Audiences. The rapper first began to pop off in 2013, when his off kilter, free-form flow won the masses on singles like "Ginseng Strip 2002" and "Kyoto." And to prove that Yung Lean's crossover appeal has transcended his local European scene, his 2016 mixtape Frost God featured an appearance from A$AP Ferg.
While the "Sadboy" movement has been ridiculed by some as strange to the point of self-parody, Yung Lean's fans have proven dedicated and loyal enough to break the cloud rapper's music to a wider audience. And while Lean has released a project as recently as December 2016 (the aforementioned Frost God), the Sadboys have been wondering when the face of their melancholic movement might return to the fold.
Evidently, the wait is nearly over. During the early hours of the morning, Yung Lean announced that he would be dropping a new album and heading out on tour. Insofar as details go, the best we're getting right now is that it's "coming up." The tour, however, has a few concrete details.
The "Winter Tour" will span across seventeen dates, where Lean will hit major European cities, beginning in St. Petersburgh and concluding with a hometown show in Stockholm. While the tour remains, at least for now, exclusively confined to Europe, there's no doubt that Lean's fanbase is big enough to merit some future American or Canadian dates. For now, the announcement confirms that Lean is back on the grind, and with the majority of the tour taking place in November and December, it wouldn't be surprising to see Lean's as of yet untitled album dropping before that.
While there's still no word of any collaborators, the rapper has collaborated with famed audio engineer and producer Mike Dean in the past. Dean has also been putting in work on Travis Scott's Astroworld. Perhaps Dean can hook up a collaboration, as both artists tend to favor the ambient, atmospheric vibes.
For the full list of "Winter Tour" dates, check out the image below.
