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Brockhampton succeeds with flying colors on ‘iridescence’

For people who were in the know, 2017 was the year of Brockhampton.  In a span of six months, the self-described “boy band” released three  albums, Saturation, Saturation ll, and Saturation lll, filled with some of the most charismatic, catchy, wonderfully produced hip hop of the decade.

Every single emcee had a distinct personality, style and tone, but  the chemistry shared among all of them was undeniable. This isn’t even  mentioning the variety of music videos, all directed by band member  Kevin Abstract, that solidified their strong aesthetic that had a huge  part in their virality. They were bona fide phenomenons! It wasn’t until  May of 2018 that the band came back to Earth after their meteoric rise;  Ameer Vann, one of the founding members, was accused of sexual  misconduct by two women and was eventually removed from the band. One of  the most prominent members of Brockhampton was now gone. For a group  whose greatest appeal is their chemistry, this was absolutely  game-changing. Now with iridescence, the first album in a whole new trilogy of records, the idea of a Brockhampton album without Ameer is now a reality.

How exactly Brockhampton were going to address the departure of Ameer  or whether they’d mention it in the music at all was a significant  question. The result? While there are a few lines that may reference  him, they are few and far between, and they only ever allude to what  happened. Considering the circumstances in which he left and the disappointment they show towards Ameer in the statement they issued shortly after the allegations started to spread,  this is probably for the better. Much like how the band have decided to  move on from the situation, the best idea is most likely to do the same  and not obsess over the something the group obviously does not want to  define them.

Turning things up to 11

With that addressed, the biggest question now is this: What’s next for Brockhampton on iridescence?  With how much music we got from Brockhampton last year, they were going  to have to switch things up. As great as their style is, by the time Saturation III came out, certain aspects of the Brockhampton formula were starting to lose their charm.

Thankfully, with this new record, there are adjustments to their  style. The most notable change shows up in the production. Brockhampton  has had their fair share of intense cuts (i.e. “HEAT,” “BUMP,”  “BOOGIE”). However, the hard-hitters on iridescence take things  to a whole new level. With the embrace of heavy distortion and noisier,  harsher sounds and textures, there are tracks that could be considered  Industrial Hip Hop. Not counting the two-minute pseudo-interlude “THUG  LIFE,” “NEW ORLEANS” and “BERLIN” make up the fiercest tracks to ever  open up a Brockhampton record. “J’OUVERT” and “DISTRICT” are genuinely  startling in how eerie and noisy they can get sonically.



The evolution of Brockhampton’s more emotional, low-key tracks isn’t  quite as easy to pin down as their bangers; pointing out just one  element wouldn’t be able to capture the change. The one thing that can  be said is the group’s more experimental, abstract side gets to be shown  off on these cuts, as well as their ability to masterfully compose and  structure a song. The transitions in songs like the Radiohead-influenced  “TAPE”, the absolutely gorgeous, melancholy “TONYA” and even the Saturation-esque  banger “HONEY” are the highlights of the record. Signing to major label  RCA Records didn’t result in their sound being simplified, it was  simply elevated.

Swap Pop for Odd

But with the more experimental direction taken, one of the things  that did become a casualty was the pop appeal of Brockhampton and their  general catchiness. Every Saturation record was filled with  infectious hook after infectious hook, so to come out of a Brockhampton  record with so few hooks you can recall at the drop of a hat is quite  the surprise. It’s not as if Brockhampton should be making hooky, poppy  rap their entire careers, but their ability to consistently write some  of the sharpest hooks in the game was one of their biggest strengths, as  well as one of the things that initially made me a fan of the group. So  to see that asset not being used to its fullest potential is a tad  disappointing.

The one aspect of the Brockhampton sound that had the biggest chance  of changing for the worse was probably the most important factor of  their music: their chemistry. It was obvious that their decision to  remove Ameer from the group was extremely hard on them.  They all met as friends before bandmates, so it was much more than  simply removing a rapper from a troupe. It’s the kind of move that could  cause permanent shift.

The Power of Chemistry

But it shows on iridescence that there was next to nothing to  worry about, as each emcee is as strong as ever; this is proven even on  the very first tracks. On the aforementioned bangers “NEW ORLEANS” and  “BERLIN”, each member feeds off the intensity of the instrumentals: Dom  McLennon continues to prove he’s the most technically skilled rapper in  Brockhampton, Merlyn’s one-of-a-kind voice and delivery is as  entertaining and thrilling, and Joba solidifies his status as the most  improved member. He went from having so few verses on Saturation I they could be counted on one hand, to being essentially a rap chameleon on iridescence. He  comes through with what seems like an endless variety of deliveries,  tones and flows. Sure, not every single one worked, but the fact that he  seems to never run out of new ways to approach a verse is simply  astounding. Pretty much every returning member has continued to do as  well as they did on the Saturation albums, with the slight  exception of Matt Champion, but that might just be because he hasn’t  really changed his approach since last year.

Recommended if you like:

Tyler, The Creator

Injury Reserve

Run the Jewels

Top Tracks:

“TAPE”

“J’OUVERT”

“TONYA”





Featured image: DJBooth

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