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Brockhamptonstarted with a modest goal.
Texas-born rapper, singer, and producerKevin Abstractonly wanted to start a band, an all-American boy band.
They represented a variety of races, regions, and sexual orientations.
It hasnt necessarily been the smoothest ride.
The loss of Russell Joba Borings father last year was another hard hit.
2 Brockhampton albums in 2021, hetweetedin March.
These will be our last.
The music may speak to dire times, but spirits were high.
New Light, to me, was speaking to the state of the world and finding new hope.
New Machine is about a resolidified family unit that isnt afraid of anything.
Family and faith come up quite a bit onRoadrunner.
Youve touched on both in your music before, but now, theres a different weight to it.
Is that a result of the difficulties of the last year?Joba:Sometimes youre reminded after …
I feel like a lot of distractions were stripped away from humanity.
What else do you really have other than family and faith, or the lack thereof?
People need each other, and its been a time of separation for everyone.
Meanwhile, 2021 is a year for reconnecting and figuring out how everyone survived.
Last year, most of you were pretty quiet on social media, though.
Normally, we pump the shit out really quick.
It was a lot.
I mean, everybody was feeling this whole new way of living.
Taking two years to make an album and being in that mind-set is a whole different thing.
Romil:Bow Wow was made, like, a week afterGingercame out.
Joba:Just for myself, 2020 was a very strange year.
I remember right when the pandemic hit, I explored with psychedelic drugs in my search for God.
And ultimately, I dont know, it was like a downward spiral.
It was a year of confusion.
Which psychedelics?Joba:LSD.
Its like being fired out of a cannon.Joba:I didnt know what I was searching for.
But you know what it led me to?
My friends helped me theres something really beautiful about that.
Yourmullet, by the way, is magnificent.Joba:Hell yeah.
All of the music felt like it needed to be part of our history, if that makes sense.
Im super proud to say that this is the stamp were putting onto this timeline that were creating.
Are you thinking that way about your legacy?
Do you feel overlooked sometimes?Bearface:Yeah.
What attributes to that feeling, you think?
On paper, youve done a lot.
You had a No.
Its the story of all our lives.
We just dont quite fit in either box.
We dont belong, and nobody really wants to own us except us.
Joba:I feel like people instinctively have something to prove.
It starts at a young age, growing up in school.
School is fucking weird.
I dont know how I made it through, honestly.
[Everyone laughs.]
Its like a playground of comparisons.
Its okay to be misunderstood.
I think being understood is overrated.
They dont teach you that in school.
But Im curious about the music that didnt make this album.
What did the other stuff sound like?Joba:There were some really great songs.
A lot of poppy shit.
Kevin:Yeah, our goal at first was to make a pop album.
Is that still the aim for the next album?Kevin:We havent really talked about it yet.
This album has major throwback hip-hop vibes.
What drew that out ofyou?Kevin:Going left.
We just had our biggest song ever happen, and it was very R&Bfriendly.
I think were all like, Lets just switch it up.
It was more challenging.
The bars are tighter this time than maybe ever before.
I feel like thats how it used to be with the first three albums, and withIridescencea little bit.
So we were just getting back to that.
Merlyn:I … read books.
[Romil chuckles.]
Im like, Bro, thats like so poetic.
Whatever you did that week, you caught air on that Chain On verse.
Ive been playing that a lot.
Bari and Merlyn make fun of me.
Jabari Manwa:We do listen to a lot of older rap.
I feel like you’re free to hear it in the album.
Kevin:The Chronic.
But that didnt resonate with what was going on in the world.
I feel like we were trying to meet that quality, that timelessness a lot of those records have.
I think we were able to tap into that.
Theres incredible stuff happening every few weeks in that field.
To the point about old-school rap, though, I do hear Dre vibes in the beats.
How did that come about?Kevin:For me, that was also a nod to Dr. Dre.
My favorite Dre song is Xxplosive, and you dont hear him on it at all.
Romil:We just wanted to bring people into our world.
Thats what we do, man.
Plus, were fans of all these people who are on our album.
Why not make music with people youre big fans of?
That was a cool challenge for us.
Production was more collaborative on this album than it was the last time, right?
There were only two or three of you credited as producers onGinger.
Getting people were familiar with and people were not familiar with into the room and creating.
Joba:I feel like we also werent afraid to sound bad or say something wack.
We went back to throwing the mic around the room with the loudspeakers blasting.
That energy is so electrifying.
There were a lot of moments where youd be throwing the mic around the room.
Id be on the bass.
Someone would be on the synth.
It was very live.
You went frommentioning Shawn Mendes in a songto getting him to contribute vocals to Count on Me.
He almost never does features.
Howd you pull that off?Kevin:Hes just one of our friends, really.
We sent it, and he sent back vocals same day.
Then I found out A$AP Rocky dont smoke backwoods.
I learnt a lot from him.
He taught me, like, how not to lose clothes on tour: Dont take them on tour.
[Everyone laughs.]
Then we just transmuted that energy to the studio.
I feel like with Romil, you could make ten different types of albums.
Romil is a fucking engine.
Romil:Aww, thank you.
Very sweet of you.
Merlyn:We were just going crazy in the studio.
A$AP Rocky was suave, cool.
Romil:Bro … Ive never met somebody who smells so good.
Low-key, when you meet famous people, theres little details people dont always notice.
I love Lil Nas, bro.
I havent been this moved by a queer artist since Frank [Ocean] put outthat letter.
Im super inspired, and I want to do more [with him], honestly.
Are you conscious of how that stuff goes over?Kevin:Yeah.
On this album, I low-key tried to do it less.
I want to say it in a different way.
But my viewpoint on shit hasnt really changed.
So, Brockhamptons releasing two albums this year, and youve said that they will be your last.
Everyone wants to do other stuff.
Its gonna be cool.
Merlyn:Yeah, Im gonna be a firefighter.
Romil:Weve been a band for a long time, longer than people have known the name Brockhampton.
Everyone just kinda wants to do their own thing.
But is the group over, or is this like Wu-Tang Clan in 1995?
You know your fans will hold you to that.Kevin:It might be over, actually.
Romil:Maybe not.
Kevin:Maybe it is over.
More heads equal more considerations.
Dom:More experiences.
Joba:Yeah, more life.
Kevin:Pushing boundaries.
The group is always evolving.
Merlyn:People within the group are evolving, too.
I wasnt singing at first.
[Bearface] isspitting.
In the spring, youre playing a month of European dates.
Im vaccinated, so I got 5G, and Im ready.
I miss that, and Id love to go on tour again when its safe.
Joba:Theres so many new songs.
I think everyones always really excited to.
I just hope everyone can do it safely.
Bearface, do you have any words of wisdom for the Bearface hive?
Bearface:Ive got no words of wisdom.
Youre looking at the wrong person.
Romil:Im a proud member of Bearface hive.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
