Bangkok, Thailand / Stockholm, Sweden · rap · cloud rap

Thaiboy Digital

1 festival played →

Drain Gang's melodic centre — auto-tuned, weightless rap that turned a Stockholm in-joke into an international aesthetic.

Thaiboy Digital, born Thanapat "Nino" Bunleang in Khon Kaen, Thailand, moved to Stockholm at age eight after his mother took a job as a chef at the Austrian embassy. He grew up alongside Bladee, Ecco2k and Whitearmor, becoming a founding member of Drain Gang, and came up in the same Stockholm scene as Yung Lean, citing Californian rapper Lil B as an early influence.

His voice is heavily processed and pitched toward melody rather than rhythm, sung more than rapped over airy, trap-derived beats that favor reverb and texture over bass weight. That sound helped make Drain Gang's hazy, auto-tuned style recognizable well beyond Stockholm, with his vocals recurring throughout the wider group's catalogue alongside his own records.

In 2015 Swedish immigration authorities deported him back to Thailand over a visa dispute, despite a petition from Yung Lean asking officials to reconsider. Settled in Bangkok, he began recording with local artists such as Younggu and Dandee while continuing to contribute to Drain Gang releases, including 2019's Trash Island, partly recorded in his Bangkok apartment and at a rented villa on Ko Pha-ngan.

His debut album, Legendary Member, arrived in 2019 through YEAR0001, followed by Back 2 Life in 2022. In 2024 he cut ties with YEAR0001 alongside Yung Lean and the rest of Drain Gang, later addressing the split in the song "Dreaming Your Reality." Alongside his rap career he has also released electronic music as DJ Billybool since 2019, working in Thai 3cha and eurodance styles.

Read more

rapcloud rap