Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine features the likes of A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg, Charlie Wilson, and JPEGMAFIA next to newcomers like Baird and fellow Corpus Christi rapper SoGone SoFlexy, who is signed to Kevin Abstract and Romil Hemnani’s new label, Video Store.
Following the commercial success of Ginger and its standout single “Sugar,” BROCKHAMPTON’s lives were knocked off the tracks as the world shut down last March. Over the following year, the members of the group found themselves further removed from each other than they had been since moving to Los Angeles together in 2016, each grappling with the weight of isolation, identity, and unexpected personal loss. As fate would have it, the headwinds of 2020 served as a potent reminder of the strength of friendship. The album’s tone reflects the highs and lows of the period from which it was born — both tragic and celebratory, built around the recurring theme of finding “the light” in your life. As such, Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine is equal parts braggadocio and empathy — the once young, wide-eyed boyband returns more self-aware and self-assured than ever before.