On January 14th, Brockhampton (stylized BROCKHAMPTON) announced that they were ending. They released a statement claiming that after their performance at Coachella this year, they were going to call it quits, closing off their twelve-year career. 

Brockhampton started as nothing more than a dream; bringing together a diverse, eclectic group of individuals that came from different backgrounds, upbringings, and ambitions all set out to create music. Led by Kevin Abstract, the group originally formed through an online forum called “KanyeToThe” and started out with the name AliveSinceForever. Now, they have over six million monthly listeners on Spotify, have topped Billboard charts, and are many people’s all-time favourite artists. 

Going through the years of their musical journey, it is interesting to see how they’ve evolved through their albums. Their first mixtape, All-American Trash, is unique and unlike anything else we have seen in mainstream media. Whereas their last album, Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine, is more poppy and upbeat. With their enormous roster, it is amazing to see how many voices, creative minds, and beats are layered on top of each other; almost as if one is working against the other yet together at the same time. 

I think it’s safe to say that I was disappointed when they dropped the ball about their indefinite hiatus. Not sad, not depressed (though of course there was a little bit of that), just disappointed. While I knew that Brockhampton wasn’t going to last forever, their hiatus was sort of a punch in the face. Over the course of their journey, I remember reading so many articles about how after Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine, we would be getting one more album. Just one more and then they would disband as a group. We were all just waiting on the edge of our seats for this one grand finale to our twelve-year following and just like that our hopes were dashed, bam! It’s almost like the ending came out of nowhere and Roadrunner as the last album seems incredibly unfinished. With the cancellation of their tour as well, due to COVID-19, the last time most of their fans have seen them live was in 2019. Their last performance at Coachella will most likely be one to remember, but it is unfortunate that only a small percentage of their fanbase will be unable to make it to California. 

It’s safe to say that this is an unusual farewell, maybe even more unusual than me taking the day off of school to go cry in my bed when One Direction broke up. And while I will cherish the six albums we’ve received throughout their career, a part of me will always question; why did it have to come to an end in this way? 

HEADER IMAGE SOURCE: BY TIANA LAM