''333'' is the fourth studio album by the Swedish rapper
Bladee
Benjamin Thage Dag Reichwald (born 9 April 1994), known professionally as Bladee, is a Swedish singer and rapper. In 2013, he formed the Drain Gang music collective alongside childhood friends Ecco2K, Thaiboy Digital, and Whitearmor. Bladee ...
. A
surprise album
A surprise album or surprise release is an album or single (music), single with little or no prior announcement, marketing or promotion. The strategy contrasts traditional album releases, which typically feature weeks or months of advertising in t ...
, it was released by
Year0001
Year0001 (stylized YEAR0001) is an independent record label based in Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 2015 by Oskar Ekman and Emilio Fagone, it is under an exclusive distribution agreement with Dutch distributor FUGA.
Artist roster
* Bloodz Boi
* ...
on 16 July 2020. It is Bladee's second release of 2020, following April's ''Exeter''. It was produced by Whitearmor with contributions from a variety of record producers, including Gud and Joakim Benon. Its title is a reference to the holy number 3, which is a recurring theme in Drain Gang's music. ''333'' is a
cloud rap
Cloud rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that has several sonic characteristics of trap music with a hazy, dreamlike and relaxed production style. Rapper Lil B and producer Clams Casino were early pioneers of the style. The term "cloud rap" is ...
album that explores themes of
introspection
Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's s ...
and love, and contains upbeat instrumentals. It charted in Scotland and the United Kingdom, and received a lukewarm review from
Anthony Fantano
Anthony Nicholas Fantano ( ; born October 28, 1985) is an American Music journalism, music critic and internet personality who runs ''The Needle Drop'', a YouTube channel with a tie-in website and Twitch (service), Twitch streaming channel. Self ...
, who considered it an improvement over Bladee's previous work.
Background and composition
Bladee
Benjamin Thage Dag Reichwald (born 9 April 1994), known professionally as Bladee, is a Swedish singer and rapper. In 2013, he formed the Drain Gang music collective alongside childhood friends Ecco2K, Thaiboy Digital, and Whitearmor. Bladee ...
released his third studio album ''Exeter'' on 8 April 2020, to positive reviews from ''Pitchfork'' and ''
laut.de
''laut.de'' is a German online magazine covering music and entertainment. It was founded in Konstanz in 1996 by Rainer Henze It contained two guest appearances from longtime collaborator Ecco2K, though ''333'' contains no guest appearances. ''333'' was executive produced by fellow Drain Gang member Whitearmor. It was also produced by Whitearmor with contributions from Gud, Joakim Benon, Lusi, and Mechatok. The album's title is a reference to the holy number 3, which is a recurring theme in Drain Gang's music.''''
''333'' was classified as
cloud rap
Cloud rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that has several sonic characteristics of trap music with a hazy, dreamlike and relaxed production style. Rapper Lil B and producer Clams Casino were early pioneers of the style. The term "cloud rap" is ...
by Jordan Darville from ''
The Fader
''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture.
History and work
It is owned by T ...
'' and
Anthony Fantano
Anthony Nicholas Fantano ( ; born October 28, 1985) is an American Music journalism, music critic and internet personality who runs ''The Needle Drop'', a YouTube channel with a tie-in website and Twitch (service), Twitch streaming channel. Self ...
. Fantano said it also pulls from
ambient pop
Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes Musical tone, tone and atmosphere over traditional Musical form, musical structure or rhythm. Often "peaceful" sounding and lacking Musical composition, composition, beat, and/or structured melod ...
and
art pop
Art pop (also typeset art-pop or artpop) is a loosely defined style of pop music influenced by art theory, art theories as well as ideas from other art mediums, such as fashion, fine art, film, cinema, and avant-garde literature. The genre dra ...
. Ben Vassar of ''
The Michigan Daily
''The Michigan Daily'', also known as "''The Daily''", is the independent student newspaper of the University of Michigan published in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established on September 29, 1890, the newspaper is financially and editorially independe ...
'' called it "
hyperpop
Hyperpop (sometimes called bubblegum bass) is a loosely defined electronic music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated during the early 2010s in the United Kingdom. It is characterised by an exaggerated or maximalist take on p ...
-adjacent". It explores themes of
introspection
Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's s ...
and the depths of toxic love, and contains moments of melancholy that are hidden by upbeat instrumentals. The album also builds a soundscape of toxic love with a state of self-hatred. Darville wrote that "Bladee sounds simultaneously dazed and effervescent with his rambling raver flow". Fantano said the album "sounds like the next step in a stylistic shift for Bladee". ''The Boar'''s Max Gentleman described "Keys to the City" and "100s" as containing "
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
error noise style bass" and a "haunting delivery". He also described "Innocent of All Things" as having a catchy hook, "Reality Surf" having "druggy meditations", and the "percussive hits contrasting the emotional resignation" of "Oh Well".
Release and reception
''333'' was released as a
surprise album
A surprise album or surprise release is an album or single (music), single with little or no prior announcement, marketing or promotion. The strategy contrasts traditional album releases, which typically feature weeks or months of advertising in t ...
on 16 July 2020, by
Year0001
Year0001 (stylized YEAR0001) is an independent record label based in Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 2015 by Oskar Ekman and Emilio Fagone, it is under an exclusive distribution agreement with Dutch distributor FUGA.
Artist roster
* Bloodz Boi
* ...
. Its album cover was created by the English artist Claire Barrow. "Reality Surf" received an ''
Animal Crossing
is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo. It was created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. The player character is a human who lives in a village inhabited by various anthropomorphic animals and can ...
''-like music video that was directed by Bladee and animated by Nam Mac. "Only One" also received a music video. Fantano felt that the production on ''333'' was less experimental compared to the production on ''Exeter'', but that ''333'' accomplished Bladee's core blissful sound more effectively compared to his other records. Li thought that "Innocent of All Things", "It Girl", and "Valerie" were standout tracks.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the
Year0001
Year0001 (stylized YEAR0001) is an independent record label based in Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 2015 by Oskar Ekman and Emilio Fagone, it is under an exclusive distribution agreement with Dutch distributor FUGA.
Artist roster
* Bloodz Boi
* ...
website.
* Whitearmor – executive production, production, mixing
* Lusi – production
* Gud – production
* Mechatok – production
* Joakim Benon – production
* Claire Barrow – cover art
* Zak Arogundade – photography