By Kyle Mantha

Let’s get one thing straight: Brockhampton is NOT a rap group. Sure, their music is somewhat rooted in rap culture, but it is a stretch to consider the majority of their music to be “rap music”. They are a group with a wide range of styles, and to call them a rap group would be a disservice to their creativity.

Brockhampton was launched in 2011 by Kevin Abstract. He recruited various creatives from the Kanye West fansite KanyeToThe, more commonly known as KTT. At the time the collective was known as Alive Since Forever, and boasted a roster of nearly 30 people. In 2015, after the release of Kevin Abstract’s debut album “MTV1987”, the collective trimmed down and rebranded as Brockhampton, The All American Boyband.

Now, nearly a year after their redesign, Brockhampton has come out with their first full-length project as a group, titled All American Trash. The tape is 13 songs of unique, creative music, all of which was created in their house in San Marcos, Texas known as “The Factory.”

The tracklist does not say who is featured on each song, so if this is your first foray into the world of Brockhampton, it can be a little confusing. So, we’ve compiled a guide to the members of Brockhampton in the hopes that it will make your listening experience a little less vague.

There are a few different sections of Brockhampton. There are the vocalists, which consists of all of the vocal artists in the group. Next, there is the production team, which is made up of some extremely talented producers and musicians. And finally, there is the behind the scenes team, which pretty much speaks for itself.

Basically, we’re gonna give you a crash course on all things Brockhampton. We’ll tell you about the artist, and what parts they had in All American Trash. Without further adieu, let’s jump right into it.

VOCALISTS

Kevin Abstract

Kevin Abstract is probably the most “famous” member of Brockhampton.

He is currently embarking on a US tour with The Neighbourhood. He released a few EPs such as the Kevin Abstract EP, The Schoolbus Chronicles, and IanLovesYou. Following these releases, he dropped his debut full length album MTV1987. Kevin tells the album’s story over soft, synth driven production. Kevin is currently working on his next album, They Shoot Horses. The first single, Echo, was released in November of 2015. The album is currently slated for a 2016 release.

UPDATE: Kevin’s album “American Boyfriend” is now available on all major music services

APPEARS ON: Michigan, Breakfast, Lost In Love



Matt Champion

Matt Champion was the last person to join Alive Since Forever before they rebranded to Brockhampton. He has released a few loose tracks, and is currently working on his debut album Punks. Among the tracks he’s released are El Dorado, Burn, Punks, and You’re Too Cool For Me. His music is soft, melodic, and atmospheric. He sings and raps in his deepish, almost zen like voice, with lyrics focusing on subjects like love, drugs, and heartbreak. Punks is currently slated for a 2016 release.

APPEARS ON: Palace, Home, Poison



Dom McLennon

Dom is arguably the best rapper in the group. His flow is quick and sharp, and his lyrics are clever and well thought out. He has two projects under his belt, Sandy Shore Motel, and Thesis. He is also a member of the mysterious collective Jupiter Thief, whose other members remain anonymous.



APPEARS ON: Flip Mo, Cotton Hollow



Merlyn Wood



Merlyn Wood is one of the more eccentric members of Brockhampton. I mean, they’re all pretty weird and unique, but Merlyn just has has a very loud and bold aesthetic. From his large afro, to his raspy and near-screaming delivery that sounds like Young Thug and Kanye had a baby that joined a hardcore punk band, Merlyn Wood is definitely one to watch. He has released a few loose singles on his Soundcloud such as FYE and Lazy Wood. He also had quite a lot of mic time on the newest Brockhampton mixtape, even having his song “Flip Mo” used as the tape’s first single.

APPEARS ON: Ben Carson, Infatuation, Flip Mo, Cotton Hollow



Joba

Joba, quite literally, has the voice of an angel. He croons over synthy, soulful production, which is usually handled by himself. His most popular track, Sad Saturdays, has over a hundred thousand plays on Soundcloud. He was also featured on the Brockhampton mixtape pretty heavily, and his track “Lost In Love” was a fan favourite from the project. He is set to release an album this year, and you definitely need to be keeping your eyes peeled for it.



APPEARS ON: Palace, Lost In Love

Ameer Vann

Ameer Vann is the best lyricist in the group, and it’s not even close. His grimey delivery exposes stories that are often times as dark and depraved as a Bret Easton Ellis novel. Most of his material talks about depression, drugs, women, and love. It sounds pretty run of the mill, but he talks about these topics in unique and interesting ways, painting pictures using only his words.



APPEARS ON: Ben Carson, Breakfast, Poison

Bearface

Bearface is a producer and a vocalist, so he could really fit within either category, but since he’s on the cover of the tape I thought I’d include him as a vocalist. He’s made a name for himself doing remixes and covers, with his Hotline Bling cover being one of his most popular tracks. He’s from Belfast, which gives his voice an interesting sound. His songs are atmospheric and dreamy, with his voice often being drenched in reverb. He uses his voice as an instrument and let’s it blend in with the rest of the arrangement. Bearface has a lot of potential, and he could definitely put together a solid debut.

PRODUCTION TEAM



Romil Hemnani

Romil is like the Timbaland to Kevin Abstract’s Justin Timberlake. He produced the entirety of Kevin’s debut, and has worked with him many times since. He provides stellar production for both people inside and outside of the collective. He’s provided production and co-production on quite a few Brockhampton releases such as Punks by Matt Champion and Stowaway//Backhome by Dom McLennon. His production is synth driven, but that’s the only constant in all of his work. He is versatile and can do pretty much any track. He can do bangers like Drugs and Hell off of MTV1987, and he can do slower, more R&B driven tracks like Anna by Jon Waltz. Romil is easily the most talented producer on the come up, and he has a bright future ahead of him.





Kiko Merley

Kiko Merley’s work is a little harder to pin down, both in terms of actually figuring out what he’s produced, but also his style. He’s provided production for the Allan Kingdom and Kevin Abstract collaboration “The Potion”, as well as BET I, a Brockhampton posse track, and Kevin’s NOT ON DOASM 02. His style is a little darker than that of Romil and Albert, often focusing on distorted bass and simple, dark melodies. Kiko’s production works really well with Ameer and Merlyn. His beats are interesting enough that he could easily make his own solo album.

Jabari Manwa

Jabari came all the way from Grenada to live in the Brockhampton house. That’s pretty impressive, and I admire his commitment to the cause. He hasn’t produced much for the group, but he worked on BET I, which is an absolute masterpiece production-wise. Hopefully, now that he is living in LA with the rest of the group, we’ll be able to hear some more music from Jabari.



BEHIND THE SCENES



Anish

Anish is Brockhampton’s manager. He does management stuff, like booking shows, lining up interviews, etc. That’s about all we know about him.

Robert Ontenient

Robert Ontenient is a web developer in charge of most of Brockhampton’s online presence. He created the Brockhampton website, Kevin Abstract’s website, and likely works on a lot of behind the scenes stuff. A big part of Brockhampton is image and social media presence, so Robert is clearly a highly integral part of the group.



Henock Sileshi

Henock is a graphic designer who handles all of Brockhampton’s designs. Whether it’s promo-images, album and single covers, or merch, he’s likely the mastermind behind it. Henock has had a huge hand in cultivating Brockhampton’s image. He also designed Post Malone’s album cover, and all of his single covers prior to that. Henock has big things in his future.



FORMER MEMBERS

Rodney Tenor

Rodney Tenor, originally known as MiC Kurb, is a rapper, singer, and songwriter. His smooth inflection and soulful vocals fit right in on All American Trash, and his singles Sex Club Radio and Prognosis Hypnosis are perfect summer tracks. Keep your eyes peeled on Rodney, he has the potential to be a star. He left Brockhampton for unknown reasons in 2016.







AFFILIATED ARTISTS



Teo Halm

Brockhampton affiliate. Actor and producer. He is doing some production work on Kevin Abstract’s upcoming album.



Roy

Roy is a singer, producer and songwriter. He is currently doing production work on They Shoot Horses.

Allan Kingdom

Rapper affiliated with Brockhampton. Worked with Kanye West on All Day and has 2 solo mixtapes under his belt.



Hopefully you have a bit of an understanding of who Brockhampton is now. They are a complex group of individuals, all with unique roles and responsibilities within the group. Each member is an integral part of the collective. If one of them falls, they all fall.



This will likely be Brockhampton’s big year, what with so many releases on the horizon, so now is your time to get on the bandwagon before it starts moving full speed.



STREAM/DOWNLOAD ALL AMERICAN TRASH: http://brckhmptn.com/

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/brckhmptn

SOUNDCLOUD: http://soundcloud.com/brockhampton