BROCKHAMPTON

Album cover for BROCKHAMPTON'S GINGER

        Genre: Alternative Hip Hop
        Ages: 22-27
        Est. 2012/2014
        Label: RCA Records
        Monthly Listeners: 5.6 M

I've been waiting to make this post for the longest time. Every member of BROCKHAMPTON is the love of my life. All 13 of them. I've been listening to them since May of 2017, right before their second album Saturation was released. I absolutely am just saying that to brag, I'm sorry. But I found them on YouTube and immediately loved them. All of their music videos at the time were filmed independently and they uploaded 5 of them to YouTube in the span of a month, right before their second album’s release. This consistency in content remained all throughout their releases of the Saturation Trilogy, which is comprised of Saturation, released in June, Saturation II, released in August, and Saturation III, released in December. Wild!! Very smart, though, because they increased their following exponentially during this era of releases. Tons of new people were hearing about self-proclaimed America’s favorite boyband.

In total, BROCKHAMPTON has released 6 albums and 5 in the span of two years. Two. Years. So, I do have a hard time picking a single favorite song, especially because of their range. My favorite slower song is “WASTE” (all of their titles are capitalized, by the way, I’m just trying to keep the INTEGRITY of the ART). It is such a beautiful, heartbreaking song about nearing the end of a relationship, but funnily enough, it’s still a phenomenal song to kiss to. Just some advice from me to you. There’s another great slow song called “SUMMER” with lyrics about wanting to be with somebody so badly but there is something that’s not letting you. Both of these songs are sung and written by only Bearface, one of the group’s members.

Their last album, GINGER, was released in August of this year and it holds perhaps my favorite song ever, which is “SUGAR,” so if you listen to any of the songs, listen to this one. It’s definitely a little faster paced than the ones I mentioned before, but still not a full-on rap song like their other tracks. It's reminiscent of 2000s R&B and would have likely blown up back then.

BROCKHAMPTON was founded by Kevin Abstract in 2012 when he posted “Anybody wanna make a band?” on an online Kanye forum. Though you can’t post to the thread anymore, you can still see how some of the current members responded to the post. Kevin was only about 14/15 at the time and started this whole thing. Granted, the members have changed and the group has grown, but that forum is where it began. It’s amazing how the internet has made it possible to find people that share your interest and be able to create such beautiful art together. The 13 members range from vocalists to rappers to art directors to producers. They are all involved in every facet of music and marketing which is why I think they’ve become so successful.

One of the biggest things I admire about the group the fact that the gay members of the group aren't afraid to express their queer sexuality in the music. In "SUMMER," Bearface sings "you know that you should be my boy." In a more shocking manner, Kevin Abstract raps about giving sexual pleasure to his boyfriend in "STAR" and there are tons of reaction videos to the song on YouTube where people are definitely taken aback by the line. Homosexuality is not common in the rap game, but it's definitely there, and I'm glad the group is open to flaunt it in a considerable amount of songs.

The reason I waited to write about BROCKHAMPTON is that I wanted to go to their concert first. They made a stop for their tour in SLC on October 30th and it was exquisite. The yelling, the moshpits, the almost getting trampled after I fell during a mosh, the being in the same vicinity as BROCKHAMPTON  all made for such a great experience. I’ve been to a good amount of concerts and truly the energy of the other ones does not compare to the energy at this show. I’ve never been so sore for so long after a concert but it was so worth it. I think that’s the most serotonin I’ve produced in YEARS.