DeShawn Lindsay Jr

Staff Writer

Brockhampton’s fifth album “Ginger” was released on August 23, 2019, but the build-up for this album began years prior. The “World’s greatest boyband” released 3 consecutive albums from May 2017 to August 2017 in an eight-month flurry that ended with them cementing themselves as a staple in music for years to come. While recording what was supposed to be their fourth album “Team Effort” news broke of former bandmate Ameer Vann’s allegations of sexual assault. This sent the band reeling causing them to hastily release their fourth album iridescence in a place where making more music was the last thing they needed. After a lukewarm reception, the band took a year-long pause to gather their feelings and thoughts and tell the world how they were feeling, and this is what you get from Ginger.

The album begins with the dreamy sound of Deb Never singing “I don’t know where I’m goin’, If I gotta take the high road, I’m rolling”. The choice to start the album with a proclamation of uncertainty helps convey the feelings of the band after a tough year and a half. The opening track ‘No Halo” starts the album with a dreary feel showing what the next 45 minutes will feel like. This Depressing feel continues through the song “Sugar” but hits a wall during the song “Boy Bye”. The subject matter of the bands struggles with depression and dealing with the things thrown at them. Dom McClennon begins the song with “ Everybody asks me how I deal with my depression said look man I ain’t got an answer to your question”. This line continues that feeling of weight that has been placed on the band being shoved into fame and having it seemingly all collapse in a matter of days. “Boy Bye” is arguably the brightest track on the album and even though the interesting sample playing through the song and interesting drums and hi-hats the song manages to be an introspective look on the group members state of mind and upbringing. The only break from this theme is Matt champions where he delivers a humorous verse that mentions the infamous “Yeti” and cult classic film “ Mean Girls” Regina George. The highlight of this album is the seventh song “Dearly Departed”. This song provides a look into the mind of a group of people who’ve been through too much within the last year of their life.  Every member of the band on the song delivers a heartfelt verse concluding with Dom McClennon delivering a scathing verse lamenting former bandmate Ameer Vann. Dom concludes his verse Slamming the studio door and throwing the headphones he was using. Ginger concludes with the song “Victor Roberts” A song about Dom Mclennons friend of the same who dealt with adversities leading to him giving up music. Brockhampton lets Victor Himself conclude their album telling his story with Dom Mclennon saying “Sometimes you gotta pass the mic…I have to give this man a chance to tell his story”. 

During interviews about this album, the guys said they were making an album for the summer, something that’s happy and lighthearted, what they gave us is the opposite. Ginger is the album you listen to on a drive late at night while thinking introspectively about life up to this point. Ginger is Brockhampton’s most mature album, the album where they arrive as artists and creatives who are starting to actually understand that not knowing is alright as long as the journey makes you learn. From the hard-hitting rap songs to the slow and introspective, this album is the most cohesive the bands been. Through the adversity, they’ve faced together and trials they’ve gone through as a band, the boys have never been closer to one another and you can hear that on Ginger.