The group released their first mixtape All-American Trash in 2016. Their debut album SATURATION was released on June 9, 2017, followed by SATURATION II on August 25 and SATURATION III on December 15, 2017. On March 30, 2018, BROCKHAMPTON announced that they had signed a record deal under RCA Records.
In the summer of 2018, the group parted ways with vocalist Ameer Vann over accusations of sexual misconduct. Their album which was set for release, titled Puppy, was thrown out after the incident. Three tracks from the album were reworked and released over subsequent weeks throughout the summer, including “1999 Wildfire”, “1998 Truman” and “1997 Diana”
On September 21, 2018, the boyband released their fourth studio album, Iridescence, recorded in London's iconic Abbey Road Studios over ten days. It was their major-label debut, as well as their first album since Ameer Vann's departure following sexual misconduct allegations.
The album marked BROCKHAMPTON's first number-one album, as the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Chart. The album sold 101,000 copies in its first week and was released just weeks before the band embarked on their first tour without ex-member Ameer.
BROCKHAMPTON returned in 2019 which a string of singles, “I Been Born Again”, “If You Pray Right”, “Boy Bye”, and “No Halo”. GINGER is the fifth studio album by American hip-hop collective Brockhampton. It was released on August 23, 2019, through the band's label Question Everything and RCA. It features slowthai, Deb Never, and the band's members.
2020 was the first year since 2016 that they did not officially release a project; instead, Brockhampton began streaming weekly on Twitch and Instagram to DJ and premiere new songs, which would also be posted to and deleted from their YouTube channel regularly. However, none of these songs were officially released on streaming services due to challenges with sample clearance. This era was dubbed "TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES".
In 2021, BROCKHAMPTON returned with their sixth album, Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine, released on April 9th. The singles for the album included “Buzzcut” and “Count On Me”. The album included features from Danny Brown, JPEGMAFIA, A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg, SoGone SoFlexy, Charlie Wilson and Baird.
On January 14, 2022, the band announced that they would no longer be performing as a group and would go on indefinite hiatus after their 2022 Coachella performances. On April 16, 2022, during the first of said Coachella performances, BROCKHAMPTON announced a final album that would arrive the same year. The title of this album, The Family, was revealed in late October, and the album was released on November 17, 2022. However, the band announced another surprise follow-up album TM that would release the following day, November 18, 2022.
LIQUID
BROCKHAMPTON Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I moved around a lot, I did a lot of fightin'
I met my friend Ian, I seen a lot of cyphers
I did a lot of writin'−
Watch my uncles duck indictments
I'm used to ramen noodles, victims of mental illness
Products of neighborhoods with broken souls and wounded spirits
Started gettin' paid (Nigga, you broke,) shit's already borin'
Dashin' to the money like a hyphen
Fuck a pipe dream, man, had this shit when I was in my diapers
Burnin' through my diapers, hot shit
It was hot shit, back when niggas lookin' for the Loch Ness
Stuck 'round dip spittin' assholes, make they mamas bashful
Got holes in my pockets so my shoes full of cash though
Cigar, Fidel Castro, car full of Castrol
See the sunset when I backstroke, can't swim but I could act though
I was playin' rock paper scissors with imaginary friends
Imagine havin' no friends, ay
I was playin' rock paper scissors with imaginary friends, ay
Imagine havin' no friends, man
I was playin' rock paper scissors with imaginary friends
Imagine havin' no friends, man... ay, ay
Imagine havin' no friends, man
In BROCKHAMPTON's song LIQUID¸ Kevin Abstract reflects on his upbringing and the struggles he faced growing up. He talks about growing up in a broken household, where his parents would fight constantly, leading him to move around frequently. He then met his friend Ian, who introduced him to the world of cyphers and writing. Kevin then reflects on his past and the people he grew up around. He talks about his uncles ducking indictments and his experiences with poverty and mental illness as products of broken neighborhoods with wounded spirits. The lyric "Don't judge me by appearance (I moved to California) / Started gettin' paid (Nigga, you broke,) shit's already borin'" reflects on the judgment he faced growing up and his desire to prove everyone wrong by pursuing a successful career in music.
Kevin then talks about his relentless pursuit of success, stating that he's "dashin' to the money like a hyphen," indicating his determination to make it. He reflects on his early childhood memories, burning through his diapers, and having a dream of success from a young age. He also talks about being broke and having holes in his pockets before he started making money from music. He then talks about enjoying the finer things in life, such as smoking cigars and driving fast cars.
In the chorus of the song, Kevin reflects on the loneliness he faced growing up. He talks about playing rock paper scissors with imaginary friends, indicating that he had to make his own entertainment due to the lack of friends in his life. He ends by saying "Imagine havin' no friends, man..." highlighting the struggle he faced growing up and the importance of having strong relationships in one's life.
Line by Line Meaning
I grew up all alone, my mom and dad fightin'
I had a lonely childhood, with constant fighting between my parents
I moved around a lot, I did a lot of fightin'
I was constantly moving to different places, and had to fight a lot to survive
I met my friend Ian, I seen a lot of cyphers
I met my friend Ian, and together we witnessed many rap battles
I did a lot of writin'
I spent a lot of time writing and developing my skills as a rapper
Watch my uncles duck indictments
I had family members who were involved in criminal activity and had to avoid getting caught by the law
I'm used to ramen noodles, victims of mental illness
I grew up with limited resources and many people around me suffered from mental illness
Products of neighborhoods with broken souls and wounded spirits
The people around me were affected by their difficult environments and struggled with their mental and emotional well-being
Don't judge me by appearance (I moved to California)
Just because I moved to California, don't make assumptions about me based on my appearance
Started gettin' paid (Nigga, you broke,) shit's already borin'
I've started to make money, but people still try to bring me down by calling me broke and I'm getting bored of it
Dashin' to the money like a hyphen
I'm moving quickly towards making more money
Fuck a pipe dream, man, had this shit when I was in my diapers
This is not just a pipe dream, I've been doing this since I was very young
Burnin' through my diapers, hot shit
I started rapping since I was young and have been killing it ever since
It was hot shit, back when niggas lookin' for the Loch Ness
I was the real deal even back when other rappers were still searching for their identity
Stuck 'round dip spittin' assholes, make they mamas bashful
I was hanging around with a group of rappers who were vulgar and made their own mothers feel uncomfortable
Got holes in my pockets so my shoes full of cash though
Even though I have holes in my pockets, I managed to gather enough money to fill up my shoes
Cigar, Fidel Castro, car full of Castrol
I'm smoking a cigar that makes me feel like Fidel Castro, and my car is full of Castrol oil
See the sunset when I backstroke, can't swim but I could act though
I can't actually swim, but I can pretend to do so and enjoy the sunset in the process
I was playin' rock paper scissors with imaginary friends
I was so lonely that I ended up creating imaginary friends to play with
Imagine havin' no friends, ay
It's hard to imagine not having any friends to talk to or play with
Imagine havin' no friends, man
It's a sad and lonely experience to go through life without any friends
Imagine havin' no friends, man... ay, ay
It's a painful thought to think about what it would be like to have no friends
Writer(s): Dominique Simpson, Jabari Manwarring, Matthew Champion, William Wood, Russell Boring, Ameer Vann, Clifford F Simpson
Contributed by Kaelyn I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.