Rap group Brockhampton consists of key members Kevin Abstract, Matt Bearface., Merlyn Wood, Jon Nunes, Dom McLennon, Robert Ontenient, Jabari Manwa, Kiko Merley, Matt Champion, Romil Hemnani, JOBA, as well many producers and others in the group.
The band has been on a meteoric rise in the hip hop scene since they released their critically-acclaimed record Saturation in summer 2017. The months that followed that release were two new albums Saturation II and Saturation III.
They were equally, if not more critically-acclaimed, than the first. The Saturation trilogy put the band on the map as a group to watch.
Many fans were left confused about the direction of the band given not just the newfound record deal with RCA records, but also the removal of key member Ameer Vann, who was kicked out after accusations of sexual misconduct and abuse.
With all these changes, many were worried about how this would affect the music. Brockhampton, however, is nothing if not unpredictable.
Being a huge fan of the band, I was very excited to see what the group would do with the newfound resources they now possessed. With the combination of a studio-backed budget and the proven innovation and creativity the group has shown in the past, this had the potential to be special.
The album, titled Iridescence, unfortunately falls short of brilliance landing on the cusp of mediocrity. These new resources put the band in an identity crisis rather than cleaning up and polishing what was already an exceptionally built foundation.
The first noticeable thing is the complete lack of color in the track listings. The Saturation Trilogy was as eclectic as it was completely crazy. The beats and production of Brockhampton’s discography are a wild assortment of varied, catchy, experimental bangers.
This album’s beats are, by comparison, dry and unmemorable. The opener NEW ORLEANS is an unsatisfying drone of a song that gives the performers nothing to work with, or the track TAPE , in which there’s so little change up in the beat that you almost tune it out.
Next is the bafflingly little amount of hooks. The band is renowned for having catchy hooks, instant earworms that stay in your head for hours. With the exception of the best track DISTRICT, the hooks are either less than spectacular, or non-existent. The album suffers as a result.
Even without the comparisons to the previous work, the tracks fall flat. Particularly in the seemingly large push of JOBA as a more frequent rapper. Prior to this release, JOBA was often specifically used for singing bridges of having quick one-time verses with his maniacal and scratchy voice delivery.
In small doses he’s an excellent shot of adrenaline, but with more verses and responsibilities, his weaknesses shine through. His writing is lackluster; the normally wild delivery overstays its welcome. Thanks to his undeserved push, the better rappers are shoved to the side, specifically, Merlyn Wood, who is on very little of this album.
He did get one solo track with WHERE THE CASH AT, but that track was so bad it felt as if it was tacked on to compensate for the sheer lack of Merlyn on this album.
Of course, as musically boring the album can be, the sheer amount of talent within the band still shines through.
Matt Champion comes into his own as his rapping ability has never been better. Bearface has more time on this album than any, and he adds a lot. Dom and Kevin bring their usual fire and are the most consistent of the group. However, their efforts aren’t enough to save an altogether less than stellar project.
While not bad by any means overall, there are more misses than hits, lackluster performances and uninteresting writing across the board. The band plays to none of their strengths, and as a result they have created one of their weaker albums.
