Yung Lean Details Years of Heroin Addiction, Two Years of Sobriety
TORONTO – Rapper Yung Lean, born Jonatan Leandoer Håstad, has opened up about a harrowing period of drug addiction, including heroin use, and his subsequent journey to sobriety. The 29-year-old artist, who rose to prominence as a teenager and has collaborated with music industry giants like Kanye West and Frank Ocean, detailed his struggles in a recent interview with The New york times.
Lean recounted a stark realization during his addiction, stating, “I was just lying there puking [and said] ‘this is repulsive. It’s not sexy.’ If you’ve glorified it, you also have to face it.” He also connected his past substance abuse to a mental breakdown following the 2015 car accident death of his manager, while Lean was a passenger in the vehicle. “I was too young, and I was in a downward spiral - and maybe, subconsciously, I wanted to go crazy, you know? I’ve romanticized drugs since I was young, and I’ve romanticized madness,” Lean explained.
The artist has now maintained sobriety for two years, coinciding with a period of professional success. he is currently on tour and making his acting debut in the film Sacrifice, alongside Vincent cassel and Chris Evans, wich premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Lean expressed a sense of contentment with his sober lifestyle, noting, “You can be swaggy without being drunk all the time or taking pills.” He also alluded to deeper emotional roots of his past struggles, suggesting a connection to “some kind of stress or early childhood trauma,” adding, “But at some point you have to figure it out. I am not saying that I have understood it. Right now I feel very close, but who knows, if I get too close to the sun, I might be punished.”