I thought it was mostly fun at first. You felt like he was a "weird guy," says Mikael Yvesand, comparing Viper to the oddball singer Daniel Johnston.
Yvesand discovered the rapper from Houston, Texas, through the forum 4Chan, where Viper's amateurish cover became a meme.
Then I realized pretty quickly that there were good songs that were really unusual for hip-hop.
"99 percent unlistenable"
Yvesand also understood that Viper had an almost inhuman release rate - he could release 10-20 mixtapes a week.
You came to work Monday morning and there were 15 new records to skim through.
When Yvesand discovered his music, he was fascinated by how beautiful and meditative melodies could be discerned through technical ineptitude and various "layers of madness".
It's not entirely unlike what I try to do myself, to build a world that doesn't have to be so understandable or beautiful, but to plant something of joy that you hope people will manage to find.
Yvesand began to "wash out gold from the mess", which was complicated as "99 percent was unlistenable".
Was unemployed
For those who would rather avoid archival work, there is a playlist with Yvesand's best selection .
Mikael Yvesand was unemployed and skating around Stockholm when he first discovered Viper in 2014 - one of his five most listened to artists ever since.
Artists probably become even more important to you when they have been there during difficult times.
Since 2025, Lee Carter, who is Viper's real name, has been in prison, sentenced to 15 years for sexual assault and fraud. He denies the charges.
This summer we ask artists, craftsmen and other cultural creators about which cultural experience has changed or shaken them in a decisive way. Previous articles have been about the artist Helen Sjöholm and the artist Klara Kristalova.
Mikael Yvesand's third novel "Ha en nice dag" will be released on September 7, 2026.
