BROCKHAMPTON
Credit: The Fader
This unique 14-member boy band/hip-hop collective has been making waves, since their SATURATION trilogy last year. The band put out three albums in one year, still leaving fans wanting more, after their final release in December 2017.
Highlight tracks of their discography would be “JUNKY” — an emotionally-moving song that talks about various issues, such as homophobia, sexism, alcoholism/drug abuse, among other things. In this song, members are vulnerable and talk about their demons they struggle with. With lines like, “Why you always rap about bein’ gay? / Cause not enough n***** rap and be gay / Where I come from, n***** get called ‘f*****’ and killed” and “Where the respect? Is your a** human? / Respect my mother, ‘spect my sister, ‘spect these women, boy.”
If there’s one reason to love BROCKHAMPTON, it’s because they’re raw and honest, and they’re changing the way we know hip-hop. Especially with famous rap group Migos’ homophobia streak, when BH talks about issues they can relate to, along with members of their audience, it shows where they stand on important issues that affect people around the world.
PRETTYMUCH
Credit: Billboard
PRETTYMUCH, a boy band curated by Simon Cowell in 2016, just released a music video for their new single titled “10,000 Hours,” and fans are raving about it. The diverse band has been releasing singles, since their debut “Would You Mind” in July of 2017, and have grown since then.
Members include Austin Porter, Nick Mara, Edwin Honoret, Brandon Arreaga and Zion Kuwonu. The group is famous for their stunning harmonies, reminiscent of ’80s and ’90s boy bands. “Would You Mind” starts out with a capella harmonies between all five members; it feels like you’re listening to an unreleased Boyz II Men single. The song has a lovely bridge that has a mixture of smooth harmonies with heavy hitting electronic drums behind them.
Along with their outstanding singing skills, they can dance too! Mara was a former member of the ICONic Boyz and was eager to share his skills with the rest of the group. What makes PRETTYMUCH so different than other boy bands is that they’re bringing back older characteristics from bands people loved decades ago and incorporating them into their new music. Whenever one of their songs comes on, I feel like I’m being teleported to a ’90s TV dance show. With them planning to release an album soon, I’m excited to hear what else they bring to the table.
If there’s an itch you need to scratch that can only be cured by talented artists, try listening to PRETTYMUCH and BROCKHAMPTON. You’ll definitely get something out of it.
Cover Image Courtesy of Spotify
