Brutus covers the feeling of betrayal in a friendship. Blackery likens herself to Julius Caesar, who was assassinated by Marcus Brutus despite their supposed friendship. Brutus joined the conspiracy against Caesar as he was convinced that his death would serve a greater good for Rome.

Brutus was originally intended for Blackery’s debut album Villains, but was removed from the album’s track listing due to time constraints and in favour of the song Villains Pt.1 as an album opener.

During a Q&A session on Twitter, Blackery explained that she chose Brutus as the first track on Girl in a Box because she “wanted it to feel like a transition from Villains into the new era”.