The Light in the Drain: Bladees Ethereal Frequencies

Bladee, also known as Benjamin Reichwald, is a Swedish singer and rapper, most commonly known as the creator of the Drain Gang (DG) music collective. In 2013, the DG collective was comprised of Ecco2k, Thaiboy Digital, and Whitearmor. Yung Lean is a common collaborator with DG, with the rise of Bladee and Yung Lean happening simultaneously. Their rise helped propel the music genre of cloud rap into the mainstream. Cloud rap is explained by its name; it's a subgenre of hip-hop characterized by hazy, dreamlike, and ambient production. It utilizes reverb and ethereal samples while maintaining a consistent flow lyrically. He performed at MTELUS on October 11th, with Ripsquadd as the opener. Ripsquadd is an Australian-based production collective, featuring members Rip and Lusi. They are frequent Bladee collaborators, utilizing production more focused on the “rap” aspect of Cloudrap, gaining inspiration from icons such as Chief Keef and Gucci Mane. 

    Cloudrap is a genre that is perfect for the winter, and specifically, DG’s songs are extremely appealing to listen to for an extended period of time. Even though it is hip-hop, the songs maintain a lightness; they flow into each other very easily without being overstimulating. In 2023, I listened to DG exclusively from September to December. I have a public playlist on Spotify called “drainnnnngaaaaaannnnnnggg” by naiaballz, with over 200 songs of DG and their affiliated projects. On a cold, rainy day, walking in downtown Montreal, it is the best soundtrack. It projects a hopefulness but in a very calming way, with a lot of sound effects that are reminiscent of sparkles or twinkles. According to Spotify, Bladee's worldbuilding is what makes his music unique, bringing out a wide spectrum of emotion in slow-burning, susceptible ballads. 

Bladee’s album 333 (2020) is my personal favourite, with “Noblest Strive”, “Hero of my Story 3style3”, and “Oh Well” being my top tracks. Looking at the 333 album cover highlights the message behind a lot of Bladee's music; it is a rainbow with a figure releasing a bright light, and a bunch of symbols all over the cover. In the bottom middle and center of the cover is “old Bladee”, with a darker colour scheme to show his depressing past, and he is looking at the truest version of himself in the center. The old Bladee has been trying to escape his internal demons, with the lyrics of Noblest Strive being “Turn your mental prison into a maze/ Turn the maze into a place where you’re safe”. Now that he has finally accepted what is in his brain, his highest self is exuberating light and power. A lot of the symbols on the album cover are bright, distorted beings, such as the Egyptian Gods Ra and Anubis. These two figures represent the Sun and Death, showing how 333 specifically was the turning point of Bladee from making music about his depression and general struggles into his healing energy. The entire album is a metaphor about how the dark and light sides of our mind have to exist simultaneously, and accepting it allows you to be your highest, most divine self. 

The concert at MTELUS was part of the Martyr Tour, which focused on his greatest hits, and performing at locations that he hadn’t gone to previously visited. Bladee played my two all-time favourite songs of his, Apple and Into Dust, which are huge throwbacks for the original fans. Looking at the lyrics of his old songs versus some of the lyrics on 333 helps clarify his healing journey. Into Dust is his most “emo” song in my opinion, with the first lyrics being “I’m gonna bleed in the club/ I got weed in my lungs/ I don't need any love”. This song came out in 2014, 6 years before the 333 album. The setlist included songs from almost all of his albums, including The Flag is Raised, which is originally a collaboration with Ecco2k, an iconic member of DG. The crowd was vibrant, with the majority of the audience knowing the lyrics and happily singing along. Overall, Bladee's concert at MTELUS was an incredible culmination of his career to this point and highlighted the trajectory of his musical message.