Bladee

Bladee
Frame from the music video to Bladee's classic song "Into Dust"
Birth name	Benjamin Reichwald
Also known as	Ken Burns, Drain CEO
Born	April 9, 1994
Origin	Stockholm, Sweden
Genres	Hip hop, Cloud rap, Emo rap
Occupation	Rapper, Singer, Fashion Designer, Graphic Designer
Years active	2008; 2011; 2012–present
Labels	AWAL YEAR0001 (2015-present)
Associated acts	Drain Gang, Thaiboy Digital, Ecco2K, Yung Lean, Whitearmor, Yung Sherman, Yung Gud, Adamn Killa, Black Kray
Collectives	Drain Gang

Benjamin Reichwald (born April 9, 1994) better known as Bladee is an artist from Stockholm, Sweden. His style of rapping usually involves melodic autotune while spitting raps about his lifestyle and

constant battle with depression. Bladee is a part of the music collective Drain Gang, also known as “Gravity Boys Shield Gang” (GTBSG). Bladee, along with other DG members, is signed to the label YEAR0001.

Early Life

Benjamin Reichwald was born in Stockholm, Sweden and was raised mainly in the Skanstull area, where in 2004, he met fellow Gravity Boys member, Zak Arogundade, also known as Ecco2K and previously Malcolm Sex when he and Reichwald (going by the alias Ken Burns) were part of a collective called Smög Boys. The two were classmates and formed a band titled "Krossad" when Reichwald was 13, which led to Reichwald's interest in music.

Career

Reichwald released a few tracks in 2011 under the name Ken Burns, but properly began releasing music in 2012, aspiring to be a painter or fine artist when he was younger, Reichwald 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 Reichwald's 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 Bladee attention from Lean's fanbase.

Reichwald released his debut-mixtape, GLUEE in 2014 which was described as the "summertime anthem for a suburban generation stuck scrolling through Twitter". The mixtape was successful on the audio distribution platform SoundCloud, racking up over 2 million plays. 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.

Reichwald released his debut album, Eversince on May 25th, 2016. The album received mixed reviews from mainstream outlets, but was well-received by underground and experimental critics.

2018 saw the release of Reichwald's second studio album, Red Light. In July of 2018, Reichwald and fellow Drain Gang member Ecco2K walked Alyx Studio's S/S 2019 menswear show in Paris, on invitation from Matthew Williams.

Discography

Studio albums

• 2016: Eversince
• 2018: Red Light

Mixtapes

• 2014: GLUEE
• 2015: Working On Dying
• 2018: ICEDANCER

Extended Plays

• 2016: Rip Bladee
• 2017: Plastic Surgery
• 2018: Sunset In Silver City
• 2018: Exile
• 2019: Vanilla Sky

Collaborative Mixtapes

• 2016: AvP /with Thaiboy Digital

Projects with Drain Gang

• 2013: GTBSG Compilation
• 2017: D&G
• 2019: Trash Island