When co-founder Brockhampton Kevin Abstract began posting mysterious posts on his social media, many fans wondered what this could mean. His last album was back in 2023 with Blanket and had only released a few singles in 2024. After weeks of mystery, the American Boyfriend artist revealed a brand new album to the world, BLUSH. But it was what came with the album announcement that really shocked fans, a new music collective.
The announcement left asking fans wondering if this new group was Brockhampton 2.0. With each new revelation of the collective, it became clear this amassing group was always truly different and what Abstract always wanted. According to Kevin, the group will be more of a rotation style lineup than the static roster of Brockhampton. Seems the multi-talented artist sees creative freedom as the focal part of the collective.
We see the unofficial official debut throughout BLUSH. Kevin Abstract brings together some of music's underrated artists such as singer Dominic Fike, rapper JPEGMAFIA, fellow Brockhampton co-founder Ameer Vann and many more. Despite the big names, the collective has tons of local artists based in Texas, showcasing Kevin's goal in uplifting the next generation. Releasing BLUSH under his new independent label, Juno Records, Kevin Abstract steps into the driver seat once again for a luminous display of collective creativity in recent years.
The album opens up with a 20 sec intro. The Spanish intro plays like a quick pulse to the system, almost waking up the listeners to the incoming experience. Ronan Jean Paul, an Argentina artist, sings, "Tiempo derrochado / Potencial gastado / Mal dolor de clavo /Pinche los ojos de aquellos que hicieron pensar / Que más vale anza en el arca / Que ojos negros en la cara."
The translation of the lyrics is: "Wasted time and potential; agonizing nail pain; pierce the eyes of those who deceived us into believing Penny in the ark surpasses the black eyes on our faces." Spoken like a warning, the intro gives a glimpse into the coming music.
The opening track is "H-Town," a lo-fi rap track that puts the focus on Lone Star State. Aside from Kevin, the track features our first look at members of the collective. Hailing from Kevin's hometown, the Corpus Christi rapper SoGone SoFlexy flexes his chops. The rapper proclaims, proudly, of his hometown over a sick production from Will Noyce and bigkid. While short in arrival, SoGone SoFlexy leaves an impact felt throughout the track. Also making their BLUSH debut is Love Spells and Ameer Van. Hearing Ameer Van on a track with Kevin evokes Brockhampton memories not felt since the early days of the boy band.
The laid-back guitar focused track "Copy" and "Danny's Track" throw a few more members into the party "Copy" sees rapper E. bleu sing the chorus as Kevin, Love Spells and SoGone SoFlexy are back trading verses. The head nodding track shows Kevin Abstract isnt afraid of switching up the genres a little. While it may seem out of place in the beginning, "Copy" is one of the most sound on the entire project. "On Danny's Track," the song gives underground rap superstar Danny Brown a minute to dazzle fans. Much like Andre 3000's solo track on Frank Ocean's Blonde, Brown creates out of nothing as the track seems to fade seamlessly into "Yoko Ono." Singer Makana XO closes out that track with a short verse that neatly puts the bow on a hazy haunting track.
From the very first intro, Kevin Abstract does what he does best, elevates the skills of his peers. With Brockhampton, the constraint and pressure seemed to, at times, entrap the co-founder in a web of his own creative making. A rotating collective has been in the works, even during the Brockhampton days. The new collective, the independence is on full display. It allows Kevin to take a more backseat and not feel like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. A mixture of veterans and newcomers make for a crossbreed of various musical dynamics and relationships. Even in the presence of legends, the newcomers hold their own as seen on "NOLA."
Teaming up with JPEGMAFIA, newcomers Truly Young and Lif3files provide their voice in harmonizing vocals. More dance than the other tracks on the album, its sound works for the type of sharp wit, fast rapping style of JPEGMAFIA. Bringing his trademark rapid fire lyrics and off-the-cuff verbs, it's hard not to replay this track back.
What's great about this new music collective is Kevin looked outside of his scope to find new artists looking to capitalize on their shot. In the weeks leading up to the album release, Kevin Abstract posted an hiring post for fellow creatives looking to add their flair to his collective. Not just for musical artists, Kevin looked to build this project from the ground up with the emphasis on originality and creativity. From writers to photographers, the collective leader really valued the input of the community, even asking the internet to come up with their image of BLUSH is.
The second back half of the album continues to reinvent itself almost as a living, breathing organism. The lead single, "Geezer" gives the album a sunny top down, highway, road trip sound. One of the first two tracks with Kevin and Dominic Fike on the album, the pair just works. The single debuted with a fun music video as they traded verses.
BLUSH is an album but also a second chance for Kevin Abstract. The now defunct Brockhampton filled a major void in years of OFWGKA. With superstar rapper Tyler The Creator's collective, the carefree and freedom of expression played a major role in the development of the members. From a TV show on Cartoon Network to a full-blown clothing brand, Odd Future stayed true to themselves.
When Brockhampton hit their stride, the group followed that game plan. As with any group of highly creative artists, things began to take a turn for the worst. It seemed the losses begun to outweigh the wins. The reason for the fallout will stay and die within the members of Brockhampton. With BLUSH, Kevin Abstract is taking what he learned and applying it in a way that helps bridge the gap between creatives while giving a huge platform for the up and coming.
Even with the album out, the mystery and roadmap is locked away in Kevin's mind. When he decides to reveal more, we will be waiting. Until then, BLUSH is a stunning display of Kevin Abstract's multi hat ability that does a job of giving creatives space among their idols.
BLUSH is available on all music platforms now.
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Photo Credit: Jack Balaban
