BROCKHAMPTON: AMERICAS GREATEST BOYBAND
‘Brockhampton’ are an American, hip-hop ‘Boy Band’ consisting of thirteen current members. The group was founded by Kevin Abstract in San Marcos, Texas, 2015. The founding member Kevin Abstract, met members Matt Champion, JOBA and Merlyn at Woodlands high school in Texas and were originally known by the name ‘AliveSinceForever’ before expanding the group into what is now known as ‘Brockhampton’.
The remaining nine members joined the band through the online forum ‘KanyeToThe’ following a post made by Abstract asking if anyone was interested in joining a band.
In the aim of making music together in the most effective way possible and reportedly inspired by the film ‘The Social Network’, in 2016 the group decided to move to one house in L.A together and the ‘Brockhampton factory’ was born.
Choosing to include their artistic directors and producers in their member’s roster is just the beginning of the indications that Brockhampton defy norms and innovate at every corner. Choosing to redefine the term ‘Boy Band’ which has traditionally been associated with pop groups, they write and perform truthful, unapologetic lyrics that illustrate their personal worldviews and opinions as opposed to what will sell records. Their lyrics often focus on personal topics such as sexuality, race, mental health, rape culture and drug addiction. A refreshing change from mainstream hip-hop.
Brockhampton are such a diverse group providing insight and voice for those who may not have been heard in such ways before. Yet they have made it very clear that they have not set out to be role models; they make music for themselves and invite people to listen.
“Look me in my eyes, I’m not here for your entertainment Do you follow? I ain’t here as your role model That pill is way too big to swallow” — Cannon
Everything about them emanates a huge sense of family, mutual admiration, support and passion. They have opened up and shared their creative processes online, from videos showing the members sitting in the dark bedrooms together bouncing ideas off of each other and sharing demos to them coming up with the name of their album series ‘Saturation.’
There is something so satisfying about the fact that this is all them, it feels homegrown, real and invigorating. The music is produced and recorded in their bedrooms and a large majority of their music videos were shot in their house and the surrounding streets by their photographer Ashlan Gray and art director HK.
Having produced 3 albums in 2017 their passion and work ethic is evident; they love what they do and as a result, they are creating non-stop.
Kevin Abstract has big plans for Brockhampton, stating in an interview with Fader he wants “Brockhampton to be like Paramount […] you don’t really know who’s behind it.” later mentioning how they hope to one day be a record company following in the footsteps of Def Jam “because it started in a small space, which is so similar to how we started.”
Brockhampton’s online presence is funny, inclusive and positive and many celebrities such as actor Ansel Elgort and Jamie Foxx and fellow musicians such as Halsey, Ciara and Matty from The 1975 have shown their appreciation for their work through social media. With some posting pictures taken with the group backstage on their ‘Love your parents tour.’
Outside which tour, members Ashlan grey, Nick Lenzini and Kevin Doan interviewed fans waiting outside their shows about what Brockhampton means to them. Which have been compiled together along with clips of them on stage and off at their concerts to create mini-documentaries for each location.
The group signed an agreement with RCA at the end of March 2018 and released a promotional video featuring Jaden Smith. Before performing at Coachella and despite technical difficulties during the first weekend, impressed the crowds with their energy and professionalism. Proving once again how successful they are.
However, in May 2018 the group was put in the spotlight for negative reasons. Former member Ameer Vann was subject to multiple accusations of sexual abuse in previous relationships, as well as having relations with a minor. The group were under a lot of pressure from outraged fans on Twitter with many agreeing actions should be taken against Vann. Some even stated they would no longer be supporting Brockhampton whether Ameer remained or not. The reaction that followed the allegations was completely understandable especially since the group had always preached to have zero tolerance. The group remained silent for a few weeks, presumably wrestling with a tough decision, then on the 27th of May, they released a statement via their official twitter “Ameer is no longer in BROCKHAMPTON. We want to sincerely apologize to the victims affected by Ameer’s actions. We were lied to, and we’re sorry for not speaking up sooner. We do not tolerate abuse of any kind.”
When I first heard the allegations my heart sank. This isn’t the first time I have heard allegations of abuse from people in the public eye that I have followed. In fact, this is the fourth. Time and time again I forget that you can never tell what happens behind closed doors. The three previous times this has happened I have immediately cut all ties and told myself they were no longer worthy of my admiration. In one case I even cut up merch that I wore every day — I was that angry. This time I was met by such inner torment. Here was the band that I had so much love and respect for. I wasn’t willing to give up listening to the music I loved or supporting these people who work so hard. I am therefore glad they came to the decision to drop Ameer. At the same time, my heart aches for the rest of the members. While as I said you can’t possibly know the whole truth of what goes on behind closed doors, in their statement they said they were lied to. These accusations didn’t just hurt them as a band, it hurt them as a family.
Since then the group have performed some of their music from their ‘Saturation’ series without Ameer, standing in silence during what would have been his verse. JOBA could be seen to be crying and the other members were visibly devastated. It is, for this reason, I will continue to support Brockhampton I choose to put my trust in the current member’s that they truly didn’t know this side of their friend existed.
On the 20th of June ‘Brockhampton’ had their TV debut on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The group performed a song from their new album ‘Iridescence’ called ‘Tonya.’ When I first heard the song I was blown away. The song is quite different from their Saturation trilogy, yet it still shares similarities making it feel like a natural progression. It feels like the beginning of a new chapter.
In between the Fallon performance and their new album, they released three singles, ‘1999 WILDFIRE’ ‘1998 TRUMAN’ and ‘1997 DIANA.’ The aesthetic of the videos for these singles diverted from the visuals in the ‘Saturation’ series and also featured a different character at the beginning. For the ‘Saturation’ series web designer Robert featured at the beginning of each video as ‘Roberto’ speaking Spanish whereas in the 90’s singles a character called ‘Milos Mihailov’ speaks Russian. The videos are also shot and edited differently with the single video’s being wider with black space at the top and bottom and the saturation videos having black space on the left and right of the video. The change in style compliments the change in image for the group in each era, they have new fonts and stage outfits to match.
‘Iridescence’ was recorded in a week at Abbey Road studios and was released 21st September 2018. The group came to London to perform at Reading and Leeds festival, fell in love with the city and when given the chance to record at Abbey road, scrapped everything they were working on and recorded ‘Iridescence’ in its entirety.
The new album is full of experimental sounds the group hasn’t medalled with before combined with the same biographical lyrics, noticeably referencing their growing fame and religion more than previously. ‘Iridescence’ marks the beginning of a new trilogy for Brockhampton. As an avid fan, I am highly anticipating the next two albums and everything Brockhampton has in store for 2019.
Sources:
ALlVESINCEFOREVER. “DEEP CUT — AMEER VANN & JABARI MANWA.” YouTube, YouTube, 4 Oct. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=smgD5E5JIoY&feature=youtu.be.
ALlVESINCEFOREVER. “Love Your Parents Tour: NYC | BROCKHAMPTON.” YouTube, YouTube, 21 Feb. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIxspaxk1Ag.
“Brockhampton (Band).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Apr. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brockhampton_(band).
“BROCKHAMPTON Talk ‘Saturation III’ & Redefining ‘Boyband’ | MTV News.”YouTube, MTV News, 2 Nov. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mKLT3KGUFQ&feature=youtu.be.
“DEEP CUT — KEVIN ABSTRACT & ROBERT ONTENIENT .” YouTube, BROCKHAMPTON, 27 Sept. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8eZx46Nnsw&feature=youtu.be.
Kochhar, Nazuk. “Get To Know The Members Of Brockhampton, A New Kind Of American Boy Band.” The FADER, www.thefader.com/2017/07/13/brockhampton-members-kevin-abstract-interview-saturation.
“Nardwuar vs. BROCKHAMPTON.” YouTube, NardwuarServiette, 27 Feb. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaqwV7jisic&feature=youtu.be.
Kochhar, Nazuk. “Get To Know The Members Of Brockhampton, A New Kind Of American Boy Band.” The FADER, 13 July 2017, www.thefader.com/2017/07/13/brockhampton-members-kevin-abstract-interview-saturation.
Price, Joe. “Where to Start with Brockhampton, Hip Hop’s All-American Boyband.”Dazed, Dazed Digital, 10 Jan. 2018, www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/38589/1/where-to-start-with-brockhampton-hip-hops-all-american-boyband.
The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. “BROCKHAMPTON: Tonya (TV Debut).” YouTube, YouTube, 20 June 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRKriSNJlyg.
