BROCKHAMPTON

Artist

BROCKHAMPTON was a Los Angeles-based boyband formed in San Marcos, Texas in 2015.

In 2012, high school friends Ian “Kevin Abstract” Simpson and Ameer Vann formed the hip-hop group AliveSinceForever. In 2013, they released their debut EP, The ASF EP. At this time, the lineup consisted of Kevin Abstract, Ameer Vann, Dom McLennon, MiC Kurb and Sage. At the end of 2014, ASF disbanded and later rebranded as BROCKHAMPTON with several new members, some of which were recruited through the Kanye West fan forum KanyeToThe.

BROCKHAMPTON featured a roster of creatives: Musicians, graphic designers, producers, and videographers who were combining their talents to grace audiences with a mix of content. BROCKHAMPTON was named after the street that Kevin Abstract grew up on in Corpus Christi, TX. BROCKHAMPTON founder Kevin Abstract said on VICELAND’s American Boyband:

I made BROCKHAMPTON because I didn’t have any friends.

In 2015, their song “DIRT” was released on A-Trak’s Fool’s Gold Records and it was a breakthrough moment in their career.

In 2016, they released their debut mixtape ALL-AMERICAN TRASH. However, it was in 2017 that the group started to gain popularity, when they started releasing singles to promote their debut album SATURATION (released in June 2017). Building upon the success of their debut, the band released SATURATION II (released in August 2017) and SATURATION III (released in December 2017). The band didn’t plan on releasing three albums in the span of a year, producer Romil Hemnani explained:

We didn’t set out to make a trilogy… It was just something that happened. We were like, ‘Okay, there’s a pattern here. Let’s just keep it going. It makes too much sense not to.’

After a successful 2017, the band began to experience a few big changes. First, on March 30th, 2018, the band announced that they had signed to the RCA Record Label. Second, on May 27th, 2018, rapper Ameer Vann was dismissed from the band, after a series of sexual assault allegations. Finally, they followed up the SATURATION trilogy with their fourth album iridescence. The album was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios and went on to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. The band’s previous chart peak was with SATURATION III, which peaked at number fifteen. The release of iridescence also marks the beginning of a new trilogy of albums titled THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES.

On August 23rd, 2019, the band released their fifth full-length record, GINGER. The record seemed to put a halt on the THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES trilogy, as the record has no branding for the trilogy in its art like iridescence did.

During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the band released singles weekly, which were summarized under the title Technical Difficulties, and announced the work on their sixth studio album.

On January 1, 2021 BROCKHAMPTON posted a video teasing new music to their Instagram. On March 10 a video titled “MEET THE ROADRUNNERS” was posted to their YouTube channel. Between then and the 22nd of March they had posted videos of Rick Rubin and RZA talking about their new album. On March 24 they released their single “BUZZCUT.” The next day, they announced their sixth album ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE along with limited edition box sets and tickets to a livestreamable concert performed at Rick Rubin’s Shangri La studio in Malibu, CA. ROADRUNNER also continued the THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES trilogy, as confirmed on the packaging, and by Kevin himself in a since deleted tweet.

On January 15, 2022, the group took to social media to announce they would be taking an indefinite hiatus after the release of their forthcoming studio album. Their final two performances as a group were at Coachella 2022—one performance in the first weekend, and the other in the second.

On October 27th, their “final” album, The Family, was announced, with “Big Pussy” premiering on November 3rd and “The Ending” releasing on November 10th as singles. The Family released on November 17th, along with an announcement for their surprise album, TM, which released the following night as the band’s real final album.

Members prior to disbandment: