Will McClean x Young Gho$t Announce Collaborative Album + Release Lead Single
Rising Wellington artists Will McClean and Young Gho$t release Sippin’ On The Wine today, Friday, March 20th, marking the first single from their forthcoming collaborative album, scheduled for release in May.
Produced by McClean, mixed by Gho$t, and written and performed by both artists, Sippin’ On The Wine is intentional, unhurried, and richly grounded in lived experience.
Rather than chasing urgency, the track brings together two distinct voices aligned in direction and shaped through years of live performing and collaboration amidst Wellington (and the wider New Zealand)’s bubbling music community.
McClean’s catalogue includes his emotionally available debut album Don’t Forget To Breathe and 2025’s High Ground, alongside a live EP. He’s shared stages with artists including Home Brew, Che Fu, and Souls of Mischief, and recently closed the Garden Stage at Rhythm and Vines.
Young Gho$t, a UK-born Wellington artist and DJ brings experience across both underground hip-hop and New Zealand’s electronic music scene. As one half of Bad Taste, he earned a Best Album nomination at the SRN Music Awards and completed a nationwide tour following the release of Bad Taste II as his reputation as a genre fluid, electric live performer continues to grow.
Lyrically, the track touches on growth, clarity, and perspective, and serves as a reminder to not take life too seriously. Sonically, the track is built around a latin-style guitar layered over bouncy drums. The forthcoming project represents patience, calm confidence, and both artists’ shared journey through the local scene.
For McClean, whose debut album Don’t Forget To Breathe was praised as “the most heartfelt and personal Kiwi hip-hop record” by Muzic.NZ, this collaboration continues the natural evolution of his locally rooted yet internationally aware sound.
Serving as the tone setter for the May-scheduled project, Sippin’ On The Wine is now available on all major streaming platforms.
