BROCKHAMPTON’s new song “WEIGHT” has been hailed as the emotional centerpiece of the group’s latest album iridescence, and it’s not hard to see why. The track begins with a heartfelt verse from Kevin Abstract, who reflects on coming to terms with his sexuality, while Joba and Dom McLennon deliver lyrics about pondering your self-worth and finding inner peace. One lyric in particular, however, immediately grabbed fans' attention for its reference to BROCKHAMPTON photographer Ashlan Grey, who offered an official response soon after the album’s release.
On his verse, Kevin Abstract seems to imply that Grey struggles with self-harm:
‘Cause I’m still worried 'bout when Ashlan finna put the razor down
So I don’t really give a fuck about what story they done spun
Yesterday, Grey responded to the lyrics on Twitter, confirming that Abstract had his blessing to share the story and reflecting on his personal struggles:
Thank you for all your concern. For all the love you’ve been sending. It hasn’t gone unnoticed. When I first heard the verse it immediately had my blessing. Still to this day and for every day moving forward it will have my blessing. A Realization that some of the things I do scare people who care about me. It scares me too sometimes. The only thing I ask now that you know is that things don’t change between us. I'be been breathing a little deeper. Mellowing out. Getting outside of my head when necessary. And clean for a couple months. I’m okay. And it’s safe for us to assume I’m okay from this point out. Until stated otherwise. nonetheless I’m still here. Living. Breaking. Soaking everything in. Day by day. Forever and always.
This isn’t the first time a member of BROCKHAMPTON has opened up about self-harm issues. On 2017’s SATURATION track “TRIP,” Dom McLennon rapped about cutting himself during a dark time in his life:
Everybody smilin', I don’t see what’s funny
Everybody friends, guess I wasn’t lucky
Family full of athletes, I was kind of chubby
Shit was never sunny, wrists were sorta bloody
Lick my wounds with honey, save me for the vultures
I’m fallin' in the void, I don’t know what I discover
He later reflected on the issue in a now-deleted open letter after a fan told him how much she “appreciated my candid honesty about self-harm.”
“WEIGHT” has already earned over 77,000 pageviews on Genius, making it the fourth-most-popular song off iridescence on the site. BROCKHAMPTON’s Romil Hemnani recently revealed that he created the vocal scratches for the song on the same equipment The Beatles used for their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band:
Listen to the song above and read all the lyrics to BROCKHAMPTON’s “WEIGHT” on Genius now.
