Drain Gang, formerly known as Gravity Boys Shield Gang (GTBSG), is an artist collective consisting of Bladee, Ecco2k, Thaiboy Digital , Whitearmor, and formerly Yung Sherman. The group was founded in 2013 in Stockholm, Sweden.
History
Drain Gang was formed in 2013 in the wake of the previous artistic collective Smög Boys. Before the formation of Smög Boys in 2011, little is known of how the members came to know each other. Bladee and Ecco2k met in school in 2004, where they formed the punk band Krossad. They met Whitearmor around 2011, introduced by mutual friends. Around the same time, Thaiboy Digital was introduced to the other three members by Vattenrum. After a brief period of releasing music and content with Smög Boys, the four split off to create their own group in 2012.
In 2013, Whitearmor and Thaiboy Digital proposed forming a collective to the other members. The group was initially called Gravity Boys, but the members also used the moniker Shield Gang, with the group's official name often styled as GTBSG (Gravity Boys Shield Gang). The group began releasing music online via YouTube and Soundcloud. Soon after the group's formation, they discovered Yung Lean's single "Greygoose" online. Whitearmor and Bladee reached out to Yung Lean, forming an alliance with Yung Lean's Sad Boys collective, also based in Stockholm. Following the group's introductions, Sad Boys member Yung Sherman joined the Gravity Boys lineup. This overlap helped to establish a long and close working relationship between the two collectives. GTBSG gained attention from Yung Lean's rapidly growing fanbase, especially following his 2013 debut mixtape Unknown Death 2002, which featured multiple collaborations with Gravity Boys.
Around 2015, with GTBSG's music focusing more on drill and trap production, a new moniker of "Drain Gang" was sporadically mentioned by the group's members in their music, social media, and interviews. One of the first public mentions of "Drain Gang" was made by Bladee in a YouTube video for T.R.O.Y Magazine, released on April 28, 2015. In the years following, the Drain Gang moniker became much more prominent than the group's original name.
The group's Soundcloud was renamed from "shield gang" to "drain gang" in October 2016, and the YouTube channel in October 2018. The group's new name was cemented in their 2017 debut release D&G. Additionally, throughout this change, mentions of Yung Sherman became more sparse, with fewer mentions as a member in any official interview or source. However, Drain Gang's Soundcloud still credits him.
Career
Since the group's formation in early 2013, the members began releasing music online primarily on YouTube and Soundcloud. Their earliest uploads were made to the "G Tb" YouTube Channel, Bladee's personal 1sleep23 YouTube channel, and the Drain Gang Official Soundcloud. Around this time, the group was introduced to the Sad Boys collective. Following the release of collaborative singles by the two groups, Bladee and Whitearmor were featured on Yung Lean's debut mixtape "Unknown Death 2002", attracting attention from Yung Lean's rapidly growing fanbase. Soon following this, Drain Gang released their 12-track compilation mixtape GTBSG Compilation, on August 12, 2013.
In 2014, the group focused on solo releases, with Bladee releasing his debut mixtape Gluee, Thaiboy Digital releasing his debut mixtape Tiger (ส), and a long list of singles from the entire collective. Throughout 2014, Drain Gang accompanied Yung Lean and Sad Boys on the White Marble and Black Marble Tours in Europe, USA, and Canada.
In 2016, the group signed to YEAR0001. This year saw the release of Bladee's debut studio album Eversince and the collaborative Bladee and Thaiboy Digital album AvP. The group joined Yung Lean and Sad Boys on the Warlord tour. Following this, Bladee, Ecco2k, and Whitearmor embarked on the Eversince Tour in Europe, the first solo tour headlined by the artists.
In 2017, the group released their collaborative album D&G, which they accompanied with the Fiend Tour, intended to be the first fully represented Drain Gang headline tour. Thaiboy Digital could not join the tour due to visa issues, so the tour went ahead with Bladee, Ecco2k, and Whitearmor performing.
After Drain Gang members released multiple solo projects in 2017 and 2018, the group released their third collaborative project, Trash Island, in September 2019. Also in 2019, Thaiboy Digital released his debut album Legendary Member, and Ecco2k released his debut album E.
In 2022, Whitearmor released his debut album, In the Abyss: Music for Weddings. This same year, Drain Gang embarked on their first headline tour, the Drain Gang 2022 World Tour, the first time the group toured together and their first headline tour in the USA and Canada.
Discography
- GTBSG Compilation (2013)
- D&G (2017)
- Trash Island (2019)
References
- https://view.ceros.com/hype-beast/thaiboy-digital-is-rising-from-the-ashes/p/1
- https://www.thefader.com/2019/09/17/bladee-interview-drain-gang-trash-island
- https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/56278/1/whitearmor-drain-gang-music-for-weddings-interview
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqDNN6JCxGI
- https://www.reddit.com/r/sadboys/comments/58kin3/shield_gang_soundcloud_changed_name_to_drain_gang/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/sadboys/comments/9kuyf7/their_youtube_channel_has_been_changed_from/