Brockhampton is a boyband led by American rapper Ian Simpson, whose stage name is Kevin Abstract. The band consists of 14 members who, for the most part, met through an online Kanye West fan forum called “KanyeToThe” after Simpson posted “Anyone wanna start a band?”  The internet has come to know Brockhampton as “the hardest working boyband in show business,” a title well deserved for the “culture shifting” hip-hop music collective.

Iridescence is the band’s fourth studio album after the “Saturation” trilogy; it is the band’s first album to ever reach #1 on the Billboard 200. Following is Saturation II, which peaked at #57, and Saturation III, which peaked at #15.

Critics have described the new album as “boldly electric” and “surprisingly deep.” One critic by the name of Chris Bound even called it a “shape-shifting juggernaut.” Something that I, and many others, can 100% agree on.

Iridescence is an album unlike any other, the listener can first hear this in the shift from “NEW ORLEANS” to “THUG LIFE,” the first two songs on the album. All of the songs are connected and tell a story, it gives each person in the band an outlet to express their hardships they’ve faced getting to where they are now; “WEIGHT” containing, by far, the most emotionally vulnerable verse on the entire album.

In this verse, Kevin Abstract raps about times he’s felt inadequate, explaining how he struggles to help his bandmates with mental illness and how he feels like he’s the worst in the boyband. Abstract also confronts the shame he experienced with his adolescent girlfriend before he knew he was gay.

If it were up to me, I’d say Brockhampton is the best boyband to ever walk the face of planet earth. Though “Iridescence” is an amazing album, it extends further than just that. Every album they have ever created has been an outright masterpiece. I can guarantee that you will never find another boyband like Brockhampton because unlike One Direction or NSYNC, teenagers are able to relate to both the members in the group and the music they create. The boys in Brockhampton don’t shy away from important topics that almost every teenager has had to face at one point in their lives, may that be sexuality, mental illness, drug addiction, etc., they’ve got at least one song that tackles it. Their music provides a safe place for many, which is really all some people need.

Listen to “Iridescence”: