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Red Light
Studio album by Bladee
Released	11 May 2018
Genre	Emo pop experimental
Length	40:11
Label	Year0001
Producer	Whitearmor
Bladee chronology
Working on Dying (2017) Red Light (2018) Icedancer (2018)
Singles from Red Light
"Decay" Released: 2 May 2018

Red Light is the second studio album by the Swedish rapper Bladee. It was released by Year0001 on 11 May 2018. After receiving critical acclaim toward his debut album Eversince in 2016, Bladee released AvP, a collaborative album with Thaiboy Digital, later that year. During 2017, he released the mixtape Working on Dying, which was followed by the collaborative Drain Gang album D&G. Red Light was executively produced by Whitearmor, with guest contributions from Ecco2K and Uli K of Bala Club. Frequent collaborators Yung Sherman and Gud also provide additional production.

Red Light has been described as ranging from emo, to pop, to experimental ballads. The album is driven by Auto-Tuned vocals, twinkly synthesizers, and atmospheric arrangements. The album was also compared to Stranger (2017) by frequent collaborator Yung Lean. It was promoted by one single and a performance at the O2 Academy Islington in London. Anthony Fantano gave the album a negative review; retrospectively, the review has been called "infamous" by 032c and Fantano has called it one of his most negative reviews ever.

Background and composition

Bladee released his debut studio album Eversince on 25 May 2016, and received acclaim from the Nordic magazine Gaffa. He is also a key figure in the Swedish hip-hop scene and a founder of Drain Gang. He made a name for himself alongside frequent collaborator Yung Lean during the flourishing cloud rap scene in the mid-2010s. Later in 2016, he released the collaborative album AvP with Thaiboy Digital, which was followed by the mixtape Working on Dying in 2017. Later that year, the collaborative Drain Gang album D&G was released. Red Light's opening track "1D" is named after the English-Irish boy band One Direction. Explaining why he chose that as the title, Bladee stated: "I feel like me and my friends are the new One Direction 'cause the fans love us, we created our own lane, and now we’re helping the youth create their own identities and love life". The album was executively produced by Whitearmor, with additional production from frequent collaborators Yung Sherman and Gud. It includes guest contributions from Ecco2K and Uli K of Bala Club.

Frankie Dunn from i-D classified Red Light as emo, while Nicolaus Li of Hypebeast said the album "ranges from genre bending pop hybrids to experimental ballads". Multiple publications highlighted the album's use of Auto-Tune. The Fader's Jordan Darville thought that "Bladee knows how to stretch his twinkling auto-tune into his own domains". Writing for the same website, Steffanee Wang said that Bladee's words are distorted by the Auto-Tune on the track "Decay". Li wrote that the album continues "Bladee’s exploration of autotune-assisted [sic] crooning". For HotNewHipHop, Mitch Findlay commented that the album's melodies are "autotune-tinged [sic]". Findlay also called the production "whimsical", while Wang called "Decay" "healing and euphoric". Findlay also highlighted the album's "twinkling synths and atmospheric arrangements", as well as commented on how the album is reminiscent of Yung Lean's Stranger (2017). He further wrote that Bladee is "capable of painting a discernible picture".

Release and reception

Red Light's only single "Decay" was released on 2 May 2018, alongside a music video. The album was released by Year0001 on 11 May 2018. Later that week, he performed at the O2 Academy Islington in London. Anthony Fantano gave the album a negative review, which 032c has called "infamous" and described his one out of ten rating as "scathing". Fantano called Bladee's singing "near tone-deaf" and believed it would've been better as an instrumental album. He further commented that Bladee is "intolerable", and that "he sounds almost as lifeless, tuneless, flavourless, and one-dimensional as Nav". Retrospectively, Fantano has said his review of Red Light is one of his most negative reviews ever.

Track listing

All tracks are produced by Whitearmor.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the Year0001 website.

• Whitearmor – executive production
• Gud – additional production
• Yung Sherman – additional production
• Ripsquad – additional production
• Morgan Nicolajsen – mastering
• Daniel Swan – art direction
• Bladee – additional art
• Hannah Diamond – photography

Release history

Notes

1. Specifically, Fantano rated the album a "light to decent 1".

References

1. Cooper, Duncan (25 May 2016). "Hear Swedish Sing-Rapper Bladee's Debut Album Eversince". The Fader. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
2. Eklund, Jonathan (5 June 2016). "Kliver ur Yung Leans skugga med briljant debut" [Steps out of Yung Lean's shadow with a brilliant debut]. Gaffa (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
3. Crone, David. "Bladee Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
4. ^ Darville, Jordan (11 May 2018). "Listen to Bladee's new album Red Light". The Fader. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
5. ^ Dunn, Frankie (15 May 2018). "10 things you need to know about Bladee from Drain Gang". i-D. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
6. Renshaw, David (28 December 2017). "Bladee drops new mixtape Working On Dying". The Fader. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
7. ^ Li, Nicolaus (11 May 2018). "Stream Bladee's New Album, 'Red Light'". Hypebeast. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
8. ^ Wang, Steffanee (2 May 2018). "Bladee debuts "Decay," our first taste of new album Red Light". The Fader. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
9. ^ Findlay, Mitch (11 May 2018). "Bladee Shines On Whimsical New Album "Red Light"". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
10. Fantano, Anthony (21 June 2018a). Bladee - Red Light ALBUM REVIEW. The Needle Drop. Retrieved 14 December 2024 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
11. Fantano 2021a, 5:00. sfn error: no target: CITEREFFantano2021a (help)
12. George, Cassidy (4 May 2023). "Drain Gang". 032c. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
13. Fantano 2018a, 1:45.
14. Fantano 2018a, 1:20.
15. Fantano 2018a, 1:34.
16. Fantano 2024a, 0:33.
17. Fantano, Anthony (2 May 2024a). Bladee - COLD VISIONS ALBUM REVIEW. The Needle Drop. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024 – via YouTube.
18. "Bladee - Red Light". Year0001. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
19. "Red Light - Album by Bladee". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
20. Red Light (CD booklet). Bladee. Sweden: Year0001. 2019. YR0048CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
21. Red Light (LP). Bladee. United States: Year0001. 2022. YR0048LP.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
22. Red Light (LP). Bladee. Worldwide: Year0001. 2023. YR0048LP.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

• 2018 albums
• Bladee albums
• Year0001 albums