‘Boy Bye’: New From Brockhampton

By carolinianweb on August 28, 2019 • ( 0 )

Ronaldo Martinez
Staff Writer

The third single from Brockhampton’s new album ‘Ginger’ dropped August 15, a little over a week before the album itself. Much like the previously released singles, ‘Boy Bye’ harks back to the upbeat sound of the Saturation trilogy. Producers Romil, Jabari and Kiko excellently created an ominous vibe through the beat alone. The vocals were delivered by none other than Dom McLennon, Matt Champion, Kevin Abstract, Merlyn Woods, Bearface and Joba.

Out of the three singles already released, this one may be just the single to turn the heads of hip hop fans that are not too familiar with Brockhampton. The unique and energetic beat paired with the fast-paced verses by the vocalists generates something that listeners will definitely want to dance to and put on repeat. However, at two minutes and twenty two seconds it leaves more to be desired specifically from the vocalists.

The beat on ‘Boy Bye’ is much different from the three single previously released. Unlike ‘If you Pray Right’ and ‘I Been Born Again’, it’s more racey, and feels somewhat ancient. Listening to the outro gives off the vibe of something you’d expect from the instruments of an Egyptian ceremony.

The fast paced melody forces the vocalists to keep up by having them recite their lines considerably fast, creating a contrast between their vocals and the beat. The energy of the chorus rectifies that contrast, and the distorted singing in the fourth verse acts as a sort of landing zone for the outro. As the song concludes, listeners are left with Jobas singing reminiscent of what Brockhampton produced on Face off of Saturation I.

The song opens up with a verse from Dom, who has one of the lengthier verses on the track. Dom starts his verse on a negative note, where he discusses his depression and how he consoles himself through it.

In the next line, he claims that if he knew how to successfully deal with his depression, listeners would most likely never hear from him again. This line offers a dichotomous interpretation of what he’s saying. On one hand, this line could be interpreted as saying if he knew how to properly deal with his depression, he would not have the need to write it down and rap about it any longer. On the other hand, it could be interpreted as a suicidal claim, where Dom takes extreme measures to solve his depression. However this theory can be squashed when he claims, “that’s a promise not a threat”.

Further into the verse Dom makes references to celebrities such as Johnie Cochran. Dom says “I go Johnie Cochran when I raise up my defenses”. Cochran, of course, being one of the defense lawyers who worked for O.J. Simpson in his controversial court case back in 1995. Cochran was well known for often successfully acquitting his clients. In the judicial world, he was a force to be reckoned with. Dom believes as much when he says he raises up his own defenses in a similar style, possibly citing his depression again, and how he prefers to keep the aid of third parties away.

Matt continues Doms energy into his own verse which is riddled with pop culture references. Notably the line “…goofy ass boy, look like Elmer Fudd cousin” where he references the famous and underwhelming Looney Tunes character. He says this in reference to those who doubt simply don’t like his style. He also references the 2004 film Mean Girls, specifically the character of Regina who is particularly dramatic, as he states.

Kevin’s diminutive verse kicks off by referencing his mother, who has caused much stress in his life as he’s stated in several of his other songs. This time he relates his feelings of trauma directly to his mother by rapping ‘Trauma got me fucked up, my momma got me fucked up’. However he finishes off his verse with a resolution by mentioning the fifteen million dollar deal Brockhampton worked out with RCA Records.

The song finishes out beautifully through the catchy vocals of Joba and Merlyn, where Joba utilizes his unique singing voice to create a sort of fade out for the song, where as Merlyn interjects with his own ad libs. The combination of their two voices adds spice to the song that’s somewhat intangible.

All in all, the song is most definitely worth a listen, and is also worthy of being a regular song to jam in the car on the drive to work. It scores a solid 8/10, and insinuates that Brockhampton’s upcoming album, ‘Ginger’, is going to be their best work yet.