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‘I was really not OK’: Bladee on PTSD, Charli xcx and being struck by lightning
The Drain Gang rapper’s party lifestyle almost ended in disaster. Now, after a spell working in a shampoo factory, Sweden’s dark teen icon is back with a furious and euphoric new sound
The Drain Gang collective – Bladee, Ecco2K, Thaiboy Digital, and Whitearmor – have been best friends since their teens, playing around with Auto-Tune, and freestyling in the vein of idiosyncratic US rappers such as Lil B and Chief Keef. Early Bladee tracks – overcastcloud rap about crushed hearts, pills and dreams – were so digitally processed that they passed through the uncanny valley and ended up somewhere strangely melodic and emotive.“I hated to hear my voice without the Auto-Tune,” Reichwald says. Drain Gang’s angst once enticed a considerable number of nihilistic, male online edgelords, but their fanbase has evolved as their music has become more euphoric, frequently going viral on TikTok during the pandemic.
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