Iridescence – Brockhampton Album Review

Track List

New Orleans
Thug Life
Berlin
Something About Him
Where The Cash At
Weight
District
Loophole
Tape
J’Ouvert
Honey
Vivid
San Marcos
Tonya
Fabric

With various personal problems going on behind the scenes, Brockhampton’s fourth studio album, Iridescence, is a raw, emotional journey splashed with themes of resentment, hope and reflection. The album boasts a change in direction for the Texan Hip Hop group; an album full of interesting and impressive audible tricks and styles paving the way for a whole new direction for the group.

The album is essentially split into three distinct sounds. The opening track New Orleans boasts one of them; a distinctly muffled, distorted bassline accompany hard-hitting lyrics with echoes of anger filtering into the deliberately placed words. The second leans much more into R&B territory as seen in Tonya – a soulful female chorus accompanied by slow rapping or singing and a chilled bassline. The third is a mix between the two; a sound that draws from both styles to meet somewhere in the middle.

Of course, because of this noticeably distinct sound there will inevitably be some people alienated by this fresh approach to hip hop. The lyrics are personal, reflecting on issues the group have had to deal with as of late including one of their vocalists leaving the group. Some of the tracks, most noticeably J’Ouvert, are incredibly powerful with lyrics spat with such venomous fury it’s a wonder the sound isn’t more distorted than it is.

Going into this expecting to hear the best hip hop album of the year  is sure to set you up for disappointment, especially given the recent hype surrounding this one. While the experimental sound and explicit lyrics work well to showcase Brockhampton’s impressive range, it’s also quite the polarising album and one you’ll either love or hate. Regardless of whether you take to the group’s new sound, the raw, lyrical content and interesting stylistic clashes make it one of the better hip hop albums released this year and well worth checking out.