“We are bonded and grateful to you for life.”
These are the last words Brockhampton shared in their breakup message on January 14th, much to the dismay and shock of their loyal fandom. After a whirlwind career complete with Jimmy Fallon performances, a Viceland TV show, international tours, six full-length albums and some ground-shaking controversies, Clash 109 cover stars Brockhampton were to come to an end.
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San Marcos Texas was always going to be an unlikely location for one of rap’s most disruptive collectives to appear. Having originally met on the Kanye West fan forum ‘KanyeToThe’, a portion of the current member formed rap group AliveSinceForever before splintering into what we now know as Brockhampton in 2014. An expansive collective of designers, photographers, vocalists and producers, Brockhampton were like no other group out there. Acting more as a creative studio than your typical Record Label-run artists, they infused a DIY ethos into their artistic experimentation that can still be detected today. They fostered their craft without social limits or restraint, laying the foundations for their subversive rise.
Although initially attempting to redefine the ‘boyband’ label, they dropped it late into their career in favour of a more collectivist approach, highlighting both the vocalists and the members whose roles included videography, managing and art direction. However, there is a reason that we don’t see this dynamic often in music. The mentality seemingly stems from the dreams and subsequent naivety of young artists that see their entire career as panning out as an independent force. Untethered by whims of publicity requirements and record label decisions, this was the dream. But it couldn’t last forever. Releasing their first mixtape ’All-American Trash’ in 2016, they slowly garnered a cult following. One where each fan (or stan) would learn the names, roles and idiosyncrasies of each member, claiming favourites and being enamoured by the all-in audio-visual journey Brockhampton offered.
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Then came the lauded Saturation Trilogy that marked 2017 as the year the collective gained an intense momentum that nearly ran away with them. These releases saw them make a move into stadium anthems like ‘BOOGIE’ and ‘QUEER’, whilst ‘SUMMER’, ‘BLEACH’ and ‘FACE’ showcased a more reflective, emotional edge of certain members. This genre-spanning assault of tracks turned heads due to the sheer rate of sonic output and threw Brockhampton forcefully into the mainstream.
Then on December 1st 2017, fourteen days before the release of the final Saturation instalment, Brockhampton announced it would be their last album. This ended up not being the case, and in late March 2018 they announced a $15 million deal with RCA Records, promising another trilogy ironically titled ‘The Best Years Of Our Lives’. That’s where the cracks began to surface. Having piled their creativity over the years into their DIY attitude and willingness to swim against the current, the record deal marked the turning of a new leaf. Would Brockhampton thrive in this new scenario? Would they ascend to pop greatness?
This announcement took off like a runaway train, with their next album titled ‘Team Effort’ looking to be the first of the trilogy on RCA before being ‘delayed indefinitely’. ‘PUPPY’ was then announced in June 2018, before again being put on the back burner after allegations of sexual misconduct marred founding member Ameer Vann, who eventually ‘left’ the group in May 2018. This left a gaping hole in Brockhampton’s lineup, with many of Vann’s verses being rewritten or reworked live, performed by other members or altogether ignored. However, in true style, the collective came out the other side unscathed, if slightly burdened by Vann’s rapid departure.
After cancelling their Summer tour and regrouping without Vann, Abstract and the crew teased what would eventually become ‘iridescence’; a reinvention of the collective sans Vann. This line in the sand saw them record parts of the album in London’s Abbey Road Studios and finish the project in the namesake ‘Brockhampton Factory’ in Hawaii. This weighty record came out at the end of 2018, their most controversial and turbulent year to date. Despite adoration by critics and charting at #1 in the Billboard Top 200 charts, ‘iridescence’ carried the ugly weight of Vann’s decamping and to this day it contains the group’s least played songs live, from their post-2017 catalogue.
Brockhampton had begun to redefine the parameters of what a boyband was, or is. Their experimental approach to recording and touring was nearly always influenced by their emotions at the time. One question is whether the Saturation trilogy was the peak of Brockhampton? Had the momentum been stripped from the group? Their constant renaming of albums and reshuffling of tours gave only a hazy window into the relationships within the group, and what was mostly ignored by the general public was heavily inspected by their adoring fanbase, leading to them being questioned at every turn regarding their future as a band.
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But for the first time, Brockhampton stopped skirting the outsides of tangible fame, and moved from cult following into the mainstream with ‘iridescence’, later reinforced by the Billboard Top 100 chart-topping single ‘SUGAR’ off their fifth studio album ‘GINGER’.
‘GINGER’ was a reprise. Freed from the intense public examinations, this record (released in the summer of 2019) saw them become the ultra-popular boyband they had dreamed of back in San Marcos. With an unchanged line-up and newfound melodic literacy, it gave them time and space to create once again, toying with features from the UK’s grime savant slowthai and the breathtaking vocals of California’s Ryan Beatty. ‘DEARLY DEPARTED’ peeled the curtains back on Vann, whilst ‘NO HALO’ had the unlikely Merlyn Wood leading the chorus. This shape-shifting performance contributed to the allure of Brockhampton. A dedicated fan never knew what was next.
2020 marked the release of the Soundcloud-only pandemic album ‘Technical Difficulties’, a choice cut of quasi-demos and half-formed ideas that kept a subterranean hype building for an official release. With the band teasing embryonic side projects and new music, there was global applause from fans when ‘Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine’ was released on April 9th 2021. Little did they know that this was to be their requiem; their last release.
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Perhaps pandemic-soaked mania had given the group clarity over their creative futures, taking time post-‘Roadrunner…’ to reflect on their intense sonic and visual output and consolidate the ‘Brockhampton Extended Universe’ they had created. From this pause came numerous solo projects, muddying the universal identity of Brockhampton and although not deliberately undermining its integrity, certainly contributed to a faltering sense of unity.
The wealth of growing side projects appeared and garnered more traction; Meryln Wood and CONNIE released the energy-rife S.Y.K., and Kevin Abstract recently featured on Kae Tempest’s ‘More Pressure’, a transatlantic collaboration that intentionally expands Abstract’s reach, establishing a new audience for his veritable flow. The collective were splitting their creative forces far and wide, diluting the input Brockhampton would normally receive. Whilst these projects have so far taken influence from the blueprints of Brockhampton, there is no rule or archetype for what they can transform into over time.
However, on January 14th 2022, everything shifted. Texas’ esteemed boyband was finally coming to an end, with no fake-outs this time. Announced on the band’s shared Twitter and Instagram, the decision was met with abrupt shock. Two Brixton O2 Academy shows and Coachella were to be their last shows ever. Why these were chosen specifically is still unknown, as the rest of their European tour remained cancelled, but this time it was certain. Brockhampton were no more.
Whilst there was obvious confusion and discontent around this announcement, Abstract has announced they will keep making music down different avenues. Although reassured, fans remain suspicious and curious about the terms of the breakup, and speculation has sparked several theories with varying weight.
Although disarmed by the news of their break up, a group as volatile as Brockhampton always ebbed towards disorder, and never had a feeling of permanence. Abstract has promised you can expect an official release of Technical Difficulties down the line, but Kevin emphasises there are ‘hella samples to clear’. In the wake of this news, we can be content that public controversy did not erode Brockhampton, but in fact, they decided to end on their own terms, in their own time. It must be said that whilst their rise was astronomical, it was only a short stint; Brockhampton’s entire career from Saturation I to their break-up has seen Frank Ocean not release a single album. These rappers certainly all have different methods to their madness.
Brockhampton always revelled in ephemeral highs. From exclusive and highly specific merch drops, teasing a wealth of ‘never-to-be-heard’ music and now their own existence. Although the intelligently chosen terminology of ‘indefinite hiatus’ leaves hope within their fandom, it should be known that such a maverick act would not willingly give up their fame, fanbase and primary source of income without a water-tight underlying reason. Speculation will only take us so far, but in the meantime, we can lament bearing witness to one of the most fascinating, subversive and talented acts to storm our global stage.
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Words: Alisdair Grice
Photo Credit: Conor Cunningham
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