Bladee
Benjamin Reichwald[1][2] (born 9 April 1994[3]), known professionally as Bladee (pronounced either "blade" or "blade-e"),[4] is a Swedish rapper, singer, songwriter, record-producer, fashion designer and member of the artistic collective Drain Gang.[5][6][7]
Bladee | |
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Bladee performing in 2016 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Benjamin Reichwald |
Also known as | Ken Burns (Smög Boys) |
Born | Stockholm, Sweden | 9 April 1994
Genres | cloud rap, experimental pop |
Occupation(s) | Rapper, singer, Fashion designer, Graphic designer |
Instruments | Vocals, Digital Audio Workstation |
Years active | 2008; 2011; 2012–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts |
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He released his debut album Eversince in 2016, and his second album Red Light in 2018—both through Stockholm record label YEAR0001.[8][5][9] In addition to his music, Reichwald creates visual art, which frequently appears as cover art for his releases.[10][11] Reichwald also serves as the creative director for Yung Lean's clothing line Sadboys Gear.[12][13]
Early life
Benjamin Reichwald was born 9 April 1994 in Stockholm, Sweden[14] and was raised mainly in the Skanstull area.[15] It was here where, in 2004, he met fellow Gravity Boys member Zak Arogundade, also known as Ecco2k. The two were classmates and formed a band titled "Krossad" when Reichwald was 13, which led to Reichwald's interest in music.[15]
After leaving school, Reichwald began to get into making music whilst working at a daycare centre.[16]
Career
Reichwald released a few tracks in 2011 under the name Ken Burns,[17][18] but properly began releasing music in 2012. He eventually became friends with fellow Swedish rapper Yung Lean, who was a friend of Reichwald's brother. Reichwald eventually sent a message to Sad Boys member Yung Sherman on SoundCloud, asking to collaborate, which resulted in a working relationship between his own Gravity Boys collective and Lean's Sad Boys Entertainment. Reichwald and Lean then made "Heal You // Bladerunner" from Lean's Unknown Death 2002 mixtape, which gave him attention from Lean's fanbase.[19]
Reichwald released his debut-mixtape, GLUEE in 2014 on the YEAR0001 label[20] which was described as the "summertime anthem for a suburban generation stuck scrolling through Twitter".[16] The mixtape was successful on the audio distribution platform SoundCloud, racking up over 2 million plays.[21] This mixtape, coupled with several singles going viral and features on Yung Leans debut mixtape Unknown Death 2002 was able to rocket Bladee into underground hip hop fame.[22]
Reichwald released his debut album, Eversince on May 25, 2016.[23] The album received mixed reviews from mainstream outlets, but was well-received by underground and experimental critics.[24][25]
In 2017, Reichwald teamed up with production group Working on Dying to release his second mixtape, named after the group.
2018 saw the release of Reichwald's sophomore album, Red Light.[26]
In July 2018, Reichwald and fellow Drain Gang member Ecco2K walked Alyx Studio's S/S 2019 menswear show in Paris, on invitation from Matthew Williams.[27]
Reichwald's third mixtape, Icedancer, was released December 28, 2018. This album was executively produced by Australian collective Ripsquad featuring production from Whitearmor and PJ Beats.[28]
In April 2020, Reichwald released EXETER, a nine-song mixtape he recorded whilst in Gotland with Gud. It is the first Bladee project produced by Gud on the YEAR0001 label.[29]
Musical style
Reichwald's musical style is characterized by a heavy use of autotune and a fusion of elements of trap, alternative R&B, and cloud rap.[6] i-D described his style as "leaning towards emotional rap with obscure lo-fi production" though saying, as of 2018, he had "evolved into some sort of auto-tuned dark angel".[13]
In a 2019 interview, Reichwald acknowledged that he frequently experiments with his music, and does not like to confine what he does to a single genre.[30] In the same interview, he stated that his music is therapeutic for him, and that he often uses it to vent.
In an interview with Reichwald, Jack Angell, a music writer for The Fader, described Reichwald's sound as "frostbitten futurism" and remarked that Reichwald's music evokes "a wide spectrum of emotion".[30]
He has received widespread attention for his collaborations and live performances with Yung Lean.[7]
Discography
Studio albums
- Eversince (2016)
- Red Light (2018)
Mixtapes
- Gluee (2014)
- Working on Dying (2017)
- Icedancer (2018)
- Exeter (2020)
Extended plays
- Rip Bladee (2016)
- Plastic Surgery (2017)[31]
- Sunset in Silver City (2018)
- Exile (2018)
- Vanilla Sky (2019)
Collaborative mixtapes
- GTBSG Compilation (2013) (with Thaiboy Digital, Ecco2k, Yung Lean, Whitearmor, Yung Sherman)
- AvP (2016) (with Thaiboy Digital)
- D&G (2017) (with Ecco2k, Thaiboy Digital)
- Trash Island (2019) (with Ecco2k, Thaiboy Digital)
Singles
- "Oxygen" (2012)
- "Carwash" (2013)
- "I Will Make You Bleed" (2013) (featuring Thaiboy Digital)
- "My Magic Is Strong" (2013)
- "Bleach" (2013) (featuring Ecco2k)
- "Unreal" (2014)
- "Dragonfly" (2014)
- "Into Dust" (2014)
- "Reborn" (2014)
- "Psycho" (2015) (with Adamn Killa)
- "Butterfly" (2015) (with Thaiboy Digital)
- "Who Goes There" (2016)
- "Who's Going To Find Me Tonight" (2016)
- "Destroy Me" (2017)
- "Gotham City" (2017) (with Yung Lean)
- "I Want It All" (2017) (with Cartier'GOD)
- "Plastic Surgery" (2017)
- "Wallet Won't Fold" (2017)
- "Frosty the Snowman" (2017)
- "Decay" (2018)
- "I Chose to Be This Way" (2018) (with 16yrold)
- "Red Velvet" (2019) (with Yung Lean)
- "Trash Star" (2019)
- "All I Want" (2019) (with Mechatok)
- "Apple" (2019)
- "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (2020) (with Ecco2k)
- "Undergone" (2020) (with ssaliva)
Guest appearances
- Yung Lean - "Nitevision" (2013)
- Yung Lean - "Heal You // Bladerunner" (2013)
- Thaiboy Digital - "Gtblessgo" (2014)
- Thaiboy Digital - "Don't Dance" (2015)
- Yung Lean - "Highway Patrol" (2016)
- Yung Lean - "Hocus Pocus" (2016)
- Yung Lean - "Pearl Fountain" (2016) (featuring Black Kray)
- Yung Lean - "Hennessy & Sailor Moon" (2016)[32]
- Yung Lean - "Head 2 Toe" (2016)
- D33J - "10K Froze" (2018)
- Yung Lean - "Red Velvet" (2019)
- Varg - "Perfect Violation" (2019)
- Chxpo - "Do You Love Me" (2019)
- Sickboyrari - "Famous" (2019) (featuring YSB OG and Yung Lean)
- Cartier'GOD - "#LetMeGo" (2019)
- Thaiboy Digital - "Bentley" (2019)
- Thaiboy Digital - "Legendary Member" (2019)
- Sickboyrari - "Blue" (2019)
References
- "Bladee". Genius.
- Borelli-Persson, Laird. "Is There Anything He Can't Do? Meet Stockholm's Stylish Multi-Hyphenate Zak Arogundade". Vogue. Condé Nast. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
- @BladeeCity (9 Apr 2016). "Thanks everyone that wished me happy birthday" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Nardwuar vs. Yung Lean", Youtube video, 12:36, posted by "NardwuarServiette", July 23, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=723ywF5faV4.
- Darville, Jordan. "Listen to Bladee's new album Red Light". The Fader. Andy Cohn. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
- "Bladee - Red Light ALBUM REVIEW", Youtube video, 5:21, posted by "theneedledrop", June 21, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJwmTnjDkrI.
- Wang, Steffanee. "Bladee debuts "Decay," our first taste of new album Red Light". The Fader. Andy Cohn. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
- Jenkins, Craig. "Stream Yung Lean Associate Bladee's Chilly, Gorgeous Debut Album 'Eversince'". Noisey. Vice Media. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
- YEAR0001. Accessed July 19, 2018. http://www.year0001.com/.
- Sami Baha. "Bladee - Cover Up (Prod. Sami Baha)". Soundcloud audio, 2:38, June 27, 2018. https://soundcloud.com/samibaha/bladee-cover-up-prod-sami-baha.
- Bala Club. "Woesum - Sapphire". Soundcloud audio, 5:05, December 23, 2017. https://soundcloud.com/balaclub/woesum-sapphire.
- Tesema, Feleg. "5 of Our Favorite New Collections & Where to Buy Them". Highsnobiety. Titel Media. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
- Dunn, Frankie. "10 things you need to know about bladee". i-D. Vice. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- BLADƎE (2016-04-09). "Thanks everyone that wish me happy birthday". @BladeeCity. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
- "Being Bladee". The Fader. 17 September 2019.
- "Bladee, old swedish hardcore punk mix". atractivoquenobello. 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
- "Tony Hawk".
- "Tony Hawk".
- ""Taking Arizona Iced Tea and Making It Cry": An Interview with Yung Lean and the Sad Boys". The FADER. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
- "Bladee - Gluee | YEAR0001". year0001.com. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
- "Always High".
- Osman, Jibril (2017-12-20). "Chronicling How Sad Boys and Shield Gang Became Sweden's Top Rap Groups". Medium. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
- Cooper, Duncan (May 25, 2016). "Hear Swedish Sing-Rapper Bladee's Debut Album Eversince". The Fader. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
- Eklund, Jonathan (June 5, 2016). "Kliver ur Yung Leans skugga med briljant debut". Gaffa (in Swedish). Retrieved September 14, 2018.
- Jenkins, Craig (May 25, 2016). "Stream Yung Lean Associate Bladee's Chilly, Gorgeous Debut Album 'Eversince'". Noisey. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
- Darville, Jordan (May 11, 2018). "Listen to Bladee's new album Red Light". The Fader. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
- "Alyx S/S 19 Menswear", Vogue, Retrieved 6 February 2020
- "Icedancer", Genius. Retrieved on 6 February 2020.
- "EXETER", YEAR0001. Retrieved on 8 April 2020.
- Angell, Jack, "Being Bladee", The Fader, Retrieved on 6 February 2020.
- Plastic Surgery, 2017-02-06, retrieved 2018-10-23
- Renshaw, David. "Yung Lean Shares Surprise New Song, "Hennessy & Sailor Moon"". The Fader. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
External links
- Bladee discography at Discogs
- YEAR0001 Official