BROCKHAMPTON

A left-field hip-hop act whose material ranges from ominous posse cuts to light R&B ballads, BROCKHAMPTON prefer "all-American boy band" to "rap group" as a designation. After their 2016 debut, they issued a trio of chart-climbing albums -- Saturation, Saturation II, and Saturation III -- within a six-month span in 2017. The group's first lineup took shape on New Year's Day 2015 in San Marcos, Texas, and by the end of the year BROCKHAMPTON prevailed as winners of the VFILES Loud! talent search. This enabled them to issue the single "Dirt" via Fool's Gold, after which they self-released the mixtape All American Trash in March of 2016. Their widely distributed debut full-length album, Saturation, arrived in March 2017 and featured the input of members Kevin Abstract (Ian Simpson), Matt Champion, Romil Hemnani, JOBA (Russell Boring), Dom McLennon (Dominique Simpson), Ameer Vann, and Merlyn Wood (William Wood). iridescenceThe band swiftly followed up with Saturation's sequel -- Saturation II -- later that summer. The effort entered the Billboard 200 just outside the Top 50. That winter, the boys issued their third album of the year, Saturation III. The final installment in the series was also their highest charting to date, peaking at 15 on the Billboard 200 and at number five on the R&B/hip-hop chart. In early 2018, as the group's star continued to rise, BROCKHAMPTON parted ways with Vann after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. Forging ahead, they entered the studio -- recording at Abbey Road and their Hawaiian base -- and released their fourth album, iridescence, in September. Their first for RCA, iridescence debuted at the top of the Billboard 200. GingerThe following year, in addition to a hit solo album by Abstract, the crew issued Ginger, featuring the singles "Boy Bye," "If You Pray Right," and "I Been Born Again." Featuring appearances by Deb Never, slowthai, and new member Victor Roberts, the set debuted at number three on the charts.