(/ˈbleɪd, ˈbleɪ-di/)
Biography
Benjamin Reichwald (born 9 April 1994), known professionally as Bladee, is a Swedish rapper, singer, record producer, designer and member of the artistic collective Drain Gang alongside Ecco2k, Thaiboy Digital & Whitearmor.
Reichwald has released music with YEAR0001 since his 2016 album Eversince, as well as his self-released label Trash Island (Label).
Reichwald was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and raised mainly in Skanstull. In 2004, he met fellow Gravity Boys member Zak Arogundade, also known as Ecco2k. The two were classmates and formed a punk band called Krossad (Swedish for 'crushed') when Reichwald was 13. After leaving school, Reichwald continued making music while working at a daycare centre.
Reichwald released a few tracks in 2011 under the name Ken Burns but did not begin releasing music regularly until 2012. He eventually became friends with Swedish rapper Yung Lean, who was a friend of Reichwald's brother, Gus Reichwald. Reichwald eventually sent a message to Sad Boys member Yung Sherman on SoundCloud, asking to collaborate, resulting in a working relationship between his Gravity Boys collective and Yung Lean's Sad Boys Entertainment. Reichwald and Lean then made "@heal You // Bladerunner" from Yung Lean's Unknown Death 2002 mixtape, which gave him attention from the Yung Lean fanbase
Reichwald released his debut-mixtape, Gluee in 2014 on YEAR0001, which saw reasonable success on SoundCloud. This mixtape, coupled with several singles going viral and features on Yung Lean's debut mixtape Unknown Death 2002, was the first major career success for Bladee.
Career
Reichwald released his debut album, Eversince on 25 May 2016. In 2017, Reichwald teamed up with the production group @Working on Dying to release a second mixtape named after the group. The next year, his second album, Red Light, was released.
Reichwald's third mixtape, Icedancer, was released 28 December 2018. This album was executively produced by Australian collective Ripsquadd featuring production from Whitearmor and PJ Beats. In April 2020, Reichwald released Exeter, a nine-song album he recorded whilst in Gotland with Gud.
In December 2020, Reichwald released his third and final project of 2020, a collaborative album with the producer Mechatok entitled Good Luck via YEAR0001. Both Reichwald and Mechatok performed all of the tracks on the album as well as an additional set from Mechatok in a live-streamed performance on 10 December, the same day the album was released.
In May 2021, Reichwald released his fifth solo album, The Fool via YEAR0001. The album was executively produced by frequent collaborator Lusi.
In January 2022, Reichwald released the single Amygdala in collaboration with Ecco2k and Mechatok. Shortly after in March 2022, the Ecco2k collaborative album Crest was released via YEAR0001. The project was recorded in Spring 2020.
In 30 September 2022, Reichwald released Spiderr. In January 2023, Bladee featured on the Skrillex song Real Spring.
In April 2024, Reichwald released his seventh solo album Cold Visions, under his own Trash Island (Label) record label. This was the first release under the label since Icedancer. The album is not listed in the YEAR0001 Discography.
Discography
Main article: Bladee (discography)
Solo Albums
- Eversince [2016, YEAR0001]
- Red Light [2018, YEAR0001]
- Exeter [2020, YEAR0001]
- 333 [2020, YEAR0001]
- The Fool [2021, YEAR0001]
- Spiderr [2022, YEAR0001]
- Cold Visions [2024, Trash Island]
Collaborative Albums
- Good Luck (w/ Mechatok ) [2020, YEAR0001]
- Crest (w/ Ecco2k ) [2022, YEAR0001]
- Psykos (w/ Yung Lean ) [2024, World Affairs]
Solo Mixtapes
- Gluee [2014, YEAR0001]
- Working on Dying [2017, YEAR0001]
- Icedancer [2018, Trash Island]
Collaborative Mixtapes
- GTBSG Compilation (w/ Thaiboy Digital Ecco2k Yung Lean Whitearmor Yung Sherman) [2013]
- AvP (w/ Thaiboy Digital ) [2016, YEAR0001]
- D&G (w/ Ecco2k Thaiboy Digital) [2017, YEAR0001]
- Trash Island (w/ Drain Gang ) [2019, YEAR0001]
Visual Art
In addition to his music, Reichwald creates visual art, which frequently appears as cover art for his releases. His visual art practice focusses on a multi-disciplinary painting approach, which has led to several exhibitions of his work. In the summer of 2021, Reichwald exhibited his first solo collection of paintings RealSprin9 at the Residence Gallery in London.
In 2023, Benjamin Reichwald collaborated with fellow Swedish artist Jonas Rönnberg (Varg2™) for their first art exhibition, "Fucked for Life," held at The Hole in New York. The exhibition featured a series of unique paintings, merging traditional and contemporary art styles, created using both traditional and unconventional tools. The artistic process mirrored their collaborative approach in music, with the paintings reflecting the fleeting moments of the digital age. As well as selling paintings at the exhibition, the two artists also issued a limited number of lithograph artist prints which were released via the YEAR0001 webshop.
In July 2018, Reichwald and fellow Drain Gang member Ecco2K walked Alyx Studio's S/S 2019 menswear show in Paris.
In September 2021, Reichwald released a capsule Drain Gang collection in collaboration with the American-Swedish clothing brand GANT (see Drain Gang for GANT).