By Kyle Mantha

When I first heard of Brockhampton, they were a scrappy little internet music collective called “AliveSinceForever.” The group had a ton of members, and to tell the truth, I don’t remember all of them. They were simply a bunch of kids who met on a Kanye West fan-forum and decided to make music together. I loved how organic they felt. Kevin Abstract’s MTV1987 and Dom McLennon’s “Thesis” were the only notable projects the collective had really released. The efforts were amateurish and youthful but there was so much potential buried within. I knew that these kids would be special, but I didn’t realize just how special they would be.



Sometime around 2015, AliveSinceForever rebranded as Brockhampton. They trimmed the fat, dropped a bunch of members, and started to move as a unit, rather than a loosely-collected group of kids hanging out on the internet. They moved into a house in San Marcos, TX together, and began dropping some of the most inventive rap music I had ever heard.

It was around this time that I started to follow what these guys were doing very closely. I became a superfan. I threw down dozens of questions on Kevin Abstract’s ask.fm, desperate for any info I could get on upcoming projects. I interacted with the group on Twitter, and they usually responded. They were like that with all of their fans. Always down to chat, always down to answer a question. Kevin would often post his phone number on Twitter, taking time to FaceTime with fans, including myself on one occasion. It was this kind of personal connection that lead this group to having one of the most devoted fan-bases in hip hop.

If you head over to Kevin Abstract’s Twitter page, you can see that his replies are often filled with the type of feverish idol-worship typically reserved for major pop stars and movie icons. This kind of loyalty and feverish support is what allows Brockhampton to actually turn profit from their off the wall creations. They started an organic movement, rather than just trying to appeal to anyone who would listen. Once the rabid support was there, all they had to do was come together and create great content.

In the Saturation documentary that was released with the group’s third album, there is a scene where the entire Brockhampton crew is sitting in the living room of their South Central LA home, plotting what to do next. Kevin complains that they don’t have a coherent direction. Eventually, someone suggests that they just make a flyer for a yet to be released album, put it on Twitter with a release date, and try to have the album done for that date. There would be no pussyfooting, because they had exactly 2 months to try and make something special. There was no time to sit around, no time to waste.

The group immediately hunkered down and began working. Beats would boom out of producer Romil’s bedroom, often with the entire 17 man roster crammed into the tiny space. Lyrics were written on huge whiteboards so everybody could see what was going on. It was this kind of encouraging, creative environment that allowed Brockhampton to release not one, not two, but three stunning albums, all within one year.

In early April, news broke that Brockhampton had signed a fifteen million dollar deal with RCA Recordings. From the beginning, I knew these guys would be huge. Their goal of being the biggest boyband in the world was not unrealistic. They had the charisma, talent, and vulnerability to make it happen. I’ve seen these incredible artists put everything they have into this movement, and its amazing to see it all finally come to fruition. The future is brighter than ever for Brockhampton, and I can’t wait to see where they go from here.