Brockhampton: The All-American Boyband

Spectacle in Context

Pough (2004) makes an important qualification about spectacle in context to counterpublics. She writes for Black rappers’ counterpublic that:

Spectacle, however, becomes a double-edged sword, because while without it rappers would have no vehicle to represent to the public at large or themselves, with only spectacle and no semblance of the political projects inherent in other forms of Black public culture the rappers risk becoming stuck in forms of publicity that have limited usefulness. (2004, p. 30)

Spectacle is a powerful tool for visibility and argument in as much as the purpose behind it has the political semblance that Pough describes. There is clear evidence that spectacle in Brockhampton’s music is being used to challenge dominant conceptions of boybands and also the life worlds that fuel these conceptions. In their video for STAR, multiple members have their skin painted blue (a reoccurring aesthetic choice made by the band) and are wearing their signature orange jumpsuits, like those worn by inmates. This is a strategic use of spectacle where the band is playing on the matching outfits often worn by boybands but are also making a political statement about identity by painting their skin blue and dressing up in clothing you may expect of someone in prison. Brockhampton is using spectacle to get the attention of individuals. Once they have that attention, they are saying something about their boyband identity and the larger cultural narratives that are used to exclude people like this from boybands. It is not spectacle for spectacle’s sake, as is the case when traditional boybands dabble in spectacle. They want attention because they have something important to say.  

Brockhampton’s use of spectacle also has a participatory element. For example, in their music video for NEW ORLEANS, a song that covers themes including the colonization of Africa, self-love, projection, and religion, hundreds of fans surround the members as they rap their portions of the song. The fans that surround the members are dancing and singing along in exaggerated ways. It is difficult to say whether the fans’ use of spectacle is inherently political (rather than an attempt to be featured in the music video). We can understand their use of spectacle as a response to the members’ use of spectacle, which is motivated by political projects. 

Looking at Brockhampton as a counterpublic to traditional boybands and the ideals they represent helps us to better fully understand the band’s creative projects (i.e., music videos). Pough (2004) writes that spectacle “is limited because it works only as long as the group attempting to impact the public sphere controls the gaze. As soon as the spectacle is co-opted, it ceases to be effective.” (p. 30) Taking Pough’s statement a step further, once spectacle is co-opted or mediated through an outside source, the underlying “semblance of the political projects” becomes obfuscated. This can be seen throughout the history of Hip-Hop. Media has repeatedly used the cultural, lyrical, and thematic norms of Hip-Hop as a means of vilifying rappers (Lewis, 2003). Publications have vilified acts of spectacle strategically used for political endeavors as a means to repress those sentiments and decrease their effectiveness. 

For example, when Geraldo Rivera, well-known journalist and frequent FOX news commentator, said the now infamous line, “Hip-Hop has done more damage to Black and Brown people than racism in the last ten years,” he was weaponizing the spectacle that Hip-Hip artists often rely on. Rivera went on to say that through relying on an aesthetic of low-hanging pants and visible tattoos, Hip-Hop artists have contributed to minority communities’ inability to “participate in mainstream society” (HuffPost Live, 2015). In this case, Rivera is taking an example of spectacle (i.e. low-hanging pants) and vilifying it as poor role-modeling behavior. He is divorcing Hip-Hop artists’ aesthetic decisions from their political motivation, which can be interpreted as an act of defiance against westernized and white style norms. In other words, media can render the political projects underlying rappers’ use of spectacle invisible by placing them in negative cultural narratives. The story goes from rappers using explicit lyrics to make bold and profound political statements to rappers using explicit lyrics because they only care about attention and are interested in violence. The story remains focused on spectacle, but because the public sphere controls the gaze, the meaning of the spectacle changes.

Brockhampton fits within this historical context of vilification and the “attention-seeking” narrative. It would be quite easy to watch a Brockhampton music video wherein members are wearing shiny, silver jumpsuits and running around with masks over their faces and categorize them as a bunch of young artists just seeking attention. Attention is certainly a part of spectacle because without it counterpublics like Brockhampton are largely invisible. This was especially true early in the band’s career. However, as previously outlined, Brockhampton’s use of spectacle is also inherently political: they are trying to change standards of perfection and acceptability that emphasize whiteness and heteronormativity. This aspect of their use of spectacle is easily lost when viewing their music video through the lens of mass media. Recognizing Brockhampton as a counterpublic is useful in that it better positions society to see the political and cultural conflicts the band is addressing through their music and lyrics. It also helps society to recognize that Brockhampton’s use of spectacle is not just distinct from that of traditional boybands. Warner (2002) writes that counterpublics’ discourse, “is not merely a different or alternative idiom, but one that in other contexts would be regarded with hostility or with a sense of indecorousness” (p. 86). When placed in the context of mainstream media, Brockhampton’s use of spectacle is regarded with hostility and becomes part of the “attention-seeking” narrative.