SATURATION II by BROCKHAMP TON

BROCKHAMPTON

SATURATION II

Andrés López Editor

When I first discovered BROCKHAMPTON in early 2018, I was blown away. I remember watching the music video for GUMMY, the opening track of SATURATION II, when Ameer Vann’s verse came on. Immediately, I was hooked. The group burst onto the rap scene in 2017 with their SATURATION trilogy, three stellar albums all released in the span of just one year. While all of their albums are great, in my opinion SATURATION II is the most consistent out of all of them. Offering back to back bangers, this album simply has no misses. SATURATION II offers a variety of fun alternative rap songs, which is just what I needed back in 2018, as I could not find respite from the boring, repetitive trap I kept seeing blow up. I enjoy trap now, but BROCKHAMPTON sparked my love for alternative hip-hop. Some songs such as “JESUS,” “GAMBA,” “SUNNY,” and “SUMMER” stray from their usual energetic formula to create a bit more variety, as these songs are a bit more somber and emotional compared to the upbeat rap tracks. Across the album, the lyrics range from braggadocio, to experiencing racism and homophobia, to relationships, and more. This wide range in lyrical content keeps the album fresh. The many members of BROCKHAMPTON all bring their own unique contribution to the album as well. While the vocalists absolutely kill it, the unsung heroes of this album are the producers: Romil, Jabari, and Kiko. The instrumentals absolutely define the album, are just so refreshing, and provide a sound that you can only get from BROCKHAMPTON. I am generally pretty critical of albums, but this is about as close to a 10/10 as you can get for me. Honorable mentions go out to SATURATION III by BROCKHAMPTON, Piñata by Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, and Isolation by Kali Uchis.