Kevin Abstract

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Kevin Abstract at a concert with Brockhampton
Kevin Abstract at a concert with Brockhampton
Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Arizona baby
  US 53 05/11/2019 (1 week)

Clifford Ian Simpson (born July 16, 1996 in Corpus Christi , Texas ), better known by his stage name Kevin Abstract , is an American rapper , singer, record producer and media artist . His breakthrough came in 2016 with his second studio album American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story . He achieved particular fame as the mastermind of the hip-hop collective Brockhampton .

Life

Clifford Ian Simpson was born in Corpus Christi , Texas , in 1996 . He grew up as the youngest of several siblings with his single mother. After seeing the film The Social Network , he decided, against his parents' wishes, not to go to college and pursue an artistic career. At the age of 15 he ran away from home and lived for a year with a friend's family in the mostly white suburb of The Woodlands . He then moved to live with his older sister in Georgia before returning to Texas with a view to his music career. In an interview in 2016, he stated that he was still in contact with his parents, although his relationship was never particularly close.

Career

Simpson started making music at the age of eleven by rapping on YouTube instruments and uploading his first tracks to Myspace . At the age of twelve he took his stage name Kevin Abstract and founded the hip-hop collective AliveSinceForever together with internet friends , from which Brockhampton would later emerge. In 2013 a self-titled EP was created . One day before his 18th birthday, Kevin Abstract released his debut album MTV1987 . The album, mainly produced by Romil Hemnani , received mostly positive reviews and made it onto a few year-end lists, including those from Spin.com .

After releasing his first material with his self-proclaimed boy band Brockhampton and moving from San Marcos to Los Angeles , he supported The Neighborhood on their European tour in 2016 . At the end of the year his second solo album American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story was released , on which he first publicly confessed his homosexuality . The album reached number 17 on the Heatseekers charts and was a small breakthrough for the artist. The executive producer was Michael Uzowuru, who became known through his collaboration with Frank Ocean and Vince Staples . Over the next two years, Abstract enjoyed great success with Brockhampton, including the Saturation trilogy and the number one album Iridescence .

In April 2019, he returned with his third solo album, Arizona Baby .

style

Kevin Abstract moves musically between hip-hop , pop , R&B and alternative rock , although his songs have a dreamy, introspective quality. As influences he mentions artists as diverse as Will Smith , David Bowie , Kanye West , Future , Frank Ocean , Kid Cudi , Tyler, the Creator and the Goo Goo Dolls , Sunny Day Real Estate and Vanessa Carlton . He owes his stage name to his admiration for a boy named Kevin and the description of his music by a friend as "abstract". His texts reflect topics of growing up such as depression , relationships, drug abuse or his position as a social outsider . He processed his coming-out in several songs on the album American Boyfriend , for example in Papercut , Miserable America and Empty . His preferences for Americana and youth culture also become clear in the many self-made music videos . He is also inspired by Paul Thomas Anderson's films . Kevin Abstract's hallmarks are his often colored dreadlocks and headbands .

Discography

solo

Studio albums

  • 2014: MTV 1987
  • 2016: American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story
  • 2019: Arizona Baby

Mixtapes and EPs

  • 2009: KevinLovesYou
  • 2010: The Schoolbus Chronicles
  • 2011: Pink Elephants
  • 2011: BeyondOurDreams
  • 2011: Imagination
  • 2013: The ASF EP
  • 2013: Kevin Abstract EP
  • 2015: Kilmer
  • 2019: Arizona Baby
  • 2019: Ghetto Baby

Brockhampton

  • 2016: All-American Trash (Mixtape)
  • 2017: Saturation
  • 2017: Saturation II
  • 2017: Saturation III
  • 2018: Iridescence
  • 2019: Ginger

Web links

Commons : Kevin Abstract  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kevin Abstract in the US charts (Billboard)
  2. ↑ Calum Slingerland: Brockhampton's Kevin Abstract Addresses Ameer Vann's Sexual Misconduct Allegations. Exclaim !, May 24, 2018, accessed April 25, 2019 .
  3. ^ A b c Marc Palatucci: The Early Rise of Kevin Abstract. Office Magazine, 2016, accessed April 25, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e Rebecca Haithcoat: Kevin Abstract: 'When you mention Bieber, Lorde, One Direction: I want to be on that list'. The Guardian , April 6, 2017, accessed April 25, 2019 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e Meet Kevin Abstract, The Post-Everything Kid Making Songs For Outcasts. The Fader, November 15, 2016, accessed April 25, 2019 .
  6. ↑ a b c Micah Peters: The best thing Kevin Abstract ever did for himself was run away from home. For the Win, February 3, 2016, accessed April 25, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Craig Jenkins: The Boys in the Band Brockhampton is not your typical 13-member genre-defying rap collective-slash-multimedia empire. Vulture, November 27, 2018, accessed April 25, 2019 .
  8. ^ A b c Paul Simpson: Kevin Abstract - Biography. Allmusic , accessed April 25, 2019 .
  9. ↑ American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story. Billboard , accessed April 25, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Abstract, Kevin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Simpson, Clifford Ian (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American rapper and record producer
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1996
PLACE OF BIRTH Corpus Christi , Texas , United States