Brockhampton (band)

Brockhampton (stylized in all caps) is an American alternative hip hop band founded as AliveSinceForever in San Marcos, Texas, United States, in 2010. In 2014, the band rebranded as Brockhampton. Led by Kevin Abstract and formed partially through the online forum "KanyeToThe", Brockhampton is a self-described boy band, so-called in an effort to redefine the term.[10][11][12][13][14][15] Complex magazine describes the group as "gay, black, white, DIY, ambitious, all-inclusive, and would-be pop stars," and this diversity is what largely distinguishes their lyrics and sound.[13][14][15] The group consists of vocalists Kevin Abstract, Matt Champion, Merlyn Wood, and Dom McLennon, vocalists/producers Joba, Bearface and Jabari Manwa and producers Romil Hemnani and Kiko Merley, as well as graphic designer Henock "HK" Sileshi, photographer Ashlan Grey, web designer Roberto Ontenient (who also features prominently in voice skits), and manager Jon Nunes.

Brockhampton
Brockhampton in 2018.
Background information
Also known asAliveSinceForever (2010–2014)
OriginSan Marcos, Texas, U.S.
Genres
Years active2010−present
Labels
Associated acts
Websitebrckhmptn.com
Members
  • Kevin Abstract
  • Merlyn Wood
  • Joba
  • Matt Champion
  • Dom McLennon
  • Bearface
  • Romil Hemnani
  • Jabari Manwa
  • Kiko Merley
  • Henock "HK" Sileshi
  • Robert Ontenient
  • Jon Nunes
  • Ashlan Grey
  • Nick Lenzini
  • Kevin Doann
  • Weston Freas
Past members

The group released their first mixtape All-American Trash in 2016. Their debut studio album, Saturation, was released on June 9, 2017, followed by Saturation II on August 25 and Saturation III on December 15. On March 30, 2018, Brockhampton announced that they had signed a record deal under the label RCA Records. Their fourth album, Iridescence, was released on September 21, 2018 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The album is also the first in their second trilogy, known as "The Best Years of Our Lives".

On July 18, 2019, Brockhampton officially announced their fifth album, Ginger, giving it a release date of August. On July 31, they released the first single for the album, titled "I Been Born Again", along with a music video. Three more singles with accompanying music videos were released throughout August,[16] leading up to Ginger's release on August 23, 2019.

History

2010–2014: Formation and AliveSinceForever

Although not all of them were a part of the original group, Kevin Abstract, Ameer Vann, Joba, Matt Champion, and Merlyn Wood met as teenagers, as they all attended The Woodlands High School in Woodlands, Texas.[17] In 2010, Abstract made a post[18] on the KanyeLive online forum (now known as KanyeToThe) asking if anyone wanted to form a band, to which over 30 users responded. After this AliveSinceForever was then formed, although the band only went active in 2012. In 2013, AliveSinceForever released their debut EP album, The ASF EP.[19] The lineup consisted of Abstract, Vann, Dom McLennon, and Mic Kurb (later known as Rodney Tenor). At the end of 2014, AliveSinceForever disbanded to rebrand as Brockhampton.[20][21]

2014–2016: Name change and All-American Trash

Following the release of Abstract's MTV1987, AliveSinceForever rebranded as Brockhampton and added several new members, some of whom were recruited through the Kanye West fan forum KanyeToThe.[10] In January 2015, Brockhampton released their debut single, "Bet I" accompanied by a video directed by members Henock "HK" Sileshi and Franklin Mendez.[22] "Bet I" was removed from all streaming platforms in 2017, although the music video can still be found on YouTube.[23] On June 16, 2015, Brockhampton released their second single, "Hero".[24] That same month, Brockhampton won the VFiles Loud contest, winning them a professionally directed music video for their next single "Dirt", released through Fool's Gold Records.[25] On March 24, 2016, Brockhampton released their debut mixtape, All-American Trash for free. The project focuses on highlighting the group's individual members, and was led by the music video "Flip Mo", performed by Merlyn Wood and featuring Dom McLennon.[26][27]

2017: Saturation trilogy

In January 2017, Brockhampton released a new standalone single and music video, "Cannon".[28] In May 2017, Brockhampton released "Face", the first single and video promoting their debut album Saturation. Throughout the month, Brockhampton released several singles and music videos in promotion of the album, including "Heat", "Gold", and "Star", all of which were directed by Abstract and shot locally in their neighborhood of South Central, Los Angeles, California.[29][30][31] The same month, it was announced that Brockhampton was going to be the subject of the upcoming Viceland series American Boyband, set to premiere June 8, 2017.[32][33] A standalone music video, titled "Lamb" was released on June 8, 2017.[34] Saturation was released on June 9, 2017 to critical acclaim, and brought new attention to the group.[35][35][36]

Following the release of Saturation, Abstract stated that Brockhampton were already working on a follow up, tentatively titled Saturation II and was set to be released in August.[37] On August 1, 2017, Brockhampton released the debut single and video from Saturation II, titled "Gummy".[38] A week later, they released the second single and video, titled "Swamp".[39] On August 15, they released the third single, titled "Junky", and later that day, they announced via Twitter the release date for Saturation II.[40]

The album's final single and video "Sweet" was released on August 22. This was followed the same day by the surprise release of "Follow", after which Abstract announced via Twitter that the Saturation Trilogy would be concluded with Saturation III.[41] Saturation II was released on August 25 to further acclaim and attention.

On September 14, 2017 Abstract revealed that the trilogy would be released as a box set alongside a collection of unreleased demos prior to the year's end.[42]

On December 1, Brockhampton officially announced Saturation III as their final studio album; however, the group later clarified that this was not a literal statement, and they were likely to release further albums.[43] On December 12, they released the album's lead single and video, entitled "Boogie". On December 14, 2017, Brockhampton announced their fourth studio album, Team Effort, slated for release in 2018, along with a new single from Saturation III, "Stains". Saturation III was released on December 15 to even further critical acclaim.[44] The group also filmed a self-funded, self-made feature-length movie to celebrate the Saturation trilogy, directed by Kevin Abstract himself.[45]

2018–2020: Ameer Vann's departure, Iridescence and Ginger
Vocalists Kevin Abstract (top) and Matt Champion (bottom) performing at Quebec City Summer Festival in 2018.

In March 2018, Brockhampton announced that Team Effort had been delayed indefinitely, and that they would instead release their fourth studio album Puppy in mid-2018.[46] The next week, they announced via social media that they had signed a record deal with Sony's RCA Records.[47] Billboard reported that according to label sources, the deal was worth more than $15 million for six albums over three years.[48]

Puppy was delayed following allegations of sexual misconduct against founding member Ameer Vann. Although Vann admitted to being mentally and verbally abusive, he denied allegations of sexual abuse.[49][50] On May 27, Brockhampton announced that Vann would no longer be a part of the group, stating that they "were lied to" and apologizing "for not speaking up sooner". The group canceled the remainder of their tour dates, including an appearance at the Governors Ball Music Festival.[51] Afterwards, it came to light through McLennon that Vann had also set a friend up to be robbed but "didn't have the heart" to tell them until after he had already been kicked out.[52]

On June 20, the band appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, in their late night television debut, and their first performance since announcing Vann's departure.[53] They debuted the track "Tonya", accompanied by guest vocalists Jazmine Sullivan, Ryan Beatty and Serpentwithfeet, as well as revealing the new title of their upcoming album, The Best Years of Our Lives.[54] Following the performance the band resumed their summer tour, headlining the Agenda Festival in Long Beach, California.[55] The next month the group announced a Beats 1 radio show Things We Lost in the Fire Radio, promising "new music all summer".[56] The show's first episode was aired on July 6, 2018, featuring the debut of single "1999 Wildfire", released that day with an accompanying music video. The track features vocals by Jazze Pha.[57] On July 18, the single "1998 Truman" was debuted as a part of the show's second episode. A music video for the track was released later that day.[58] On July 27, the group released the single "1997 Diana", accompanied by a music video. Later that day the song was featured on the third episode of Things We Lost in the Fire Radio, alongside the unfinished track "Don't Be Famous".[59] On August 26, 2018, the group announced that a new album titled Iridescence, recorded over ten days in Abbey Road Studios, would be released in September.[60][61] The band also announced dates of their "i'll be there" tour, which began on October 3, 2018 in Mesa, Arizona, concluding on December 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.[62] Iridescence was officially released on September 21, consisting of fifteen new songs, including the revamped version of "Tonya" without Sullivan and Beatty, who lent vocals during the debut performance of the song four months earlier. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 on September 30, 2018, becoming Brockhampton's first chart-topping album.[63] In January 2019, the band received their first ever nomination for the "Best International Group" at the BRIT Awards, which took place at The O2 Arena on February 20, 2019.[64]

Weeks after releasing his solo album Arizona Baby in April 2019, Abstract revealed in an Instagram story that Brockhampton was working on a new album. On July 1, Brockhampton posted a snippet of a new song on Twitter. On July 18, they tweeted another snippet, this time revealing the album title, Ginger, and a release month of August. The group subsequently released four singles with music videos leading up to the album's release: "I Been Born Again" on July 31;[65] "If You Pray Right" on August 7;[16] "Boy Bye" on August 14;[66] and "No Halo" featuring singer Deb Never on August 21.[67] The album was released on August 23. Brockhampton released a video two days later for "Heaven Belongs to You" featuring slowthai. On August 26, the band announced via Instagram and Twitter they would begin their Heaven Belongs to You Tour, with openers slowthai and 100 Gecs,[68] from October to December 2019 in support of the new album.[69]

The band made its first appearance on The Ellen Show on September 6, 2019, performing "Sugar" and "Boy Bye", though the latter was not televised. Later that same day, they performed "No Halo" with Deb Never on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[70] The group was a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, interviewed and then performing "Sugar" with vocals by Ryan Beatty on October 24.[71][72] On January 14, 2020, "Sugar" became the group's first Billboard hit, debuting at number 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remaining on the chart for nine weeks, peaking at number 66.[73] On March 6, a remix version of the track featuring English singer Dua Lipa, American singer Jon B and Beatty was released.[74] The track also became the group's first platinum record on April 29, 2020.[75]

2020–present: Technical Difficulties

In late April 2020, following the coronavirus pandemic, the band began releasing non-studio produced singles under the title “Technical Difficulties” to their YouTube channel. These songs were recorded during the band’s self-induced quarantine. Livestreams preceding the release of these singles were streamed on the Twitch platform for fans. So far, the songs “N.S.T”, “things cant stay the same”, “M.O.B”, “twisted”, “I.F.L”, “baby bull”, “downside”, "fishbone" & "chain on / hold me" have been released. Along with the single releases, members have confirmed on the live-streams that a sixth album has been “sonically finished”, and to expect a release this summer.[76]

Members

Current members
  • Kevin Abstract – vocals, production, video direction, creative direction (2010−present)[77]
  • Matt Champion – vocals (2014−present)[77]
  • Merlyn Wood – vocals (2012−present)[77]
  • Dom McLennon – vocals, production (2012−present)[77]
  • Joba – vocals, production, mixing, mastering, piano (2012−present)[77]
  • Bearface – vocals, guitar, production (2013−present)[77]
  • Romil Hemnani – production, recording engineering, DJing (2012−present)[77]
  • Jabari Manwa - production (2015–present), vocals (2020-present)[77]
  • Kiko Merley - production (2015–present)
  • Henock "HK" Sileshi – creative direction, graphic design (2012−present)[77]
  • Robert "Roberto" Ontenient – production, web design, app programmer (2013−present), skit vocals (2017), occasional production (2014)[77]
  • Jon Nunes – management (2012−present)[78]
  • Ashlan Grey – photography, social media runner (2016–present)[77]

Past members
  • Ameer Vann – vocals (2012−2018)[51]
  • Rodney Tenor – vocals (2012−2016)[78]
  • Albert Gordon – production (2014–2016)[78]
  • Franklin Mendez – DJ, creative direction, photographer (2011–2015)
  • Titus Gilner – Visuals, photographer (2014–2015)

Discography
Main article: Brockhampton discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

  • All-American Trash (2016)
  • Saturation Drafts (2017)
  • Technical Difficulties (2020)[79]

Filmography
  • All-American Trash Documentary (2016)
  • American Boyband (2017)
  • Billy Star (2017)
  • SATURATION Documentary (2017)
  • The Longest Summer in America (2018)
  • Keeping The Band (2019)

See also

References
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    4. Duncan, Chris (August 29, 2017). "Brockhampton follows up on their explosive debut with an introspective sequel". The Daily Texan. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
    5. Scott, Carter (December 21, 2017). "Ryan Beatty and BROCKHAMPTON: What's the Deal?". CentralSauce. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
    6. Greenwood, Douglas (September 26, 2018). "BROCKHAMPTON's 'iridescence' Is a Boundary-Breaking Triumph". Highsnobiety. Retrieved September 28, 2018. Frontman Kevin Abstract and the band’s Abbey Road ally Jaden Smith share a chorus
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