Hip-hop collective Brockhampton is back with a new single, “1999 WILDFIRE”. The song was premiered on their Beats 1 radio show “Things We Lost in the Fire Radio” last Friday, June 6th. The day before it’s release, Kevin Abstract tweeted implying that the group would be releasing “new music all summer” leading up to the release of their fifth album The Best Years of Our Lives, the first album since the release of the Saturation trilogy that brought the group to fame last year.
The song begins with a head-bobbing beat under a spoken-word clip by producer Jazze Pha, who introduces Brockhampton before the song breaks into an energetic, catchy hook sung by Kevin Abstract, who makes the most of voice editing to give the chorus even more dimension. Contrasting the higher register of the chorus, Matt Champion’s deep and mumbling voice opens the first verse. Russell Boring, better known by the name Joba, raps the second verse and with a clear and crisp delivery, and tells a fairytale-like story of his call to join something bigger than himself, most likely referring to his role in Brockhampton and his consequent fame. The chorus returns and brings a sense of familiarity; you can’t help but sing along.
Dom McLennon, arguably one of the most underrated rappers in Brockhampton, sings about his career similar to Joba’s previous verse, however Dom includes the facet of how race plays into success in America. Ciaran McDonald, better known as Bearface,’s soulful falsetto in the fourth verse breaks up the rhythm of the rap verses with melody and bass-heavy instrumentals. The chorus plays a final time before the end of the song, this time with more melodic instrumentals before Matt Champion’s voice repeats and fades away with the beat.
“1999 WILDFIRE” seems to be exactly what Brockhampton fans were looking forward to. Many fans were upset to learn that the new album, previously said to be called “Puppy” and set to release in June, was postponed due to allegations against a now former member of the group. Brockhampton has made it clear that this setback will have no effect on their music, and “1999 WILDFIRE” shows the group has the same creative spirit as before.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments and take a listen here:
