Saturation (Brockhampton album)

Saturation (stylized in all caps) is the debut studio album by American rap collective Brockhampton, released on June 9, 2017.[2][3] It's part of the Saturation trilogy, together with Saturation II and III. It primarily features Brockhampton members Kevin Abstract, Merlyn Wood, Dom McLennon, Matt Champion, Russell "Joba" Boring, and former member Ameer Vann. Group member Bearface also contributes to the album's closing track. Production was primarily handled by Romil Hemnani and Q3—a production duo consisting of Jabari Manwa and Kiko Merley, with additional production contributions by Joba, Bearface, and Rome Gomez.

Saturation
Studio album by Brockhampton
Released	June 9, 2017
Studio	Brockhampton Factory, South Central, Los Angeles, California SARM Music Village, London, United Kingdom (only "Waste")
Genre	Hip hop
Length	51:02
Label	Brockhampton Empire[1]
Producer	Brockhampton Kevin Abstract (exec.) Romil Hemnani (also co-exec.) Joba (co-exec.) Bearface Q3 (Jabari Manwa Kiko Merley) Rome Gomez (add.)
Brockhampton chronology
All-American Trash (2016) Saturation (2017) Saturation II (2017)
Singles from Saturation
"Face" Released: May 6, 2017 "Heat" Released: May 16, 2017 "Gold" Released: May 23, 2017 "Star" Released: May 30, 2017 "Boys" Released: June 1, 2017 "Fake" Released: June 6, 2017

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
HotNewHipHop	[4]
Pitchfork	6.5/10[1]
Pretty Much Amazing	B-[5]
RadioUTD	[6]

Saturation received general acclaim from music critics upon its release. DJBooth's Brent Bradley praised the group's chemistry, noting that "With Saturation, Brockhampton has cemented themselves as a force to behold, the next in an all-too-short line of examples in which groups manage to fully realize their dynamic potential".[7] For RadioUTD, Roman Soriano referred to the group's members as "highly talented", continuing that "it’s incredible to think that this was put together in just three and a half weeks, given the complexity of this project", praising its "powerful lyricism, great storytelling, and ... cohesive but diverse sound".[6] In a less positive review, Pitchfork's Matthew Strauss called the album a "split between effortless cool and empty platitudes", praising the group's stylishness and assertiveness, but criticizing the album's less aggressive moments as "sappy", revealing "the collective’s lyrical weakness".[1]

Year-end rankings

Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
BrooklynVegan	BrooklynVegan's Top 50 Albums of 2017	12	[8]
Clash	Clash Albums of the Year 2017	11	[9]
Vinyl Me, Please	The Best Albums of 2017	25	[10]

Track listing

Album credits adapted from official liner notes.[3]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Heat"	Ameer Vann William Wood Dominique Simpson Russell Boring Matt Champion Ian Simpson	Romil Hemnani	4:32
2.	"Gold"	I. Simpson Vann Wood Champion D. Simpson Boring	Q3 (Jabari Manwa Kiko Merley) Hemnani^[b]	4:26
3.	"Star"	I. Simpson Vann D. Simpson	Manwa	2:41
4.	"Boys"	I. Simpson Vann Wood D. Simpson Champion Boring	Manwa Hemnani^[a]	4:38
5.	"2Pac"	Vann I. Simpson	Kiko Merley	1:02
6.	"Skit 1"	I. Simpson Robert Ontenient Manwa	Hemnani	0:19
7.	"Fake"	I. Simpson Vann Wood D. Simpson Isaiah Merriweather	Q3	4:36
8.	"Bank"	I. Simpson D. Simpson Vann	Manwa Hemnani^[a]	3:16
9.	"Skit 2"	I. Simpson Ontenient Manwa	Hemnani	0:16
10.	"Trip"	I. Simpson Vann D. Simpson Boring	Hemnani Kiko Merley^[a]	3:23
11.	"Swim"	I. Simpson Wood D. Simpson Boring	Hemnani Q3^[a]	3:33
12.	"Bump"	I. Simpson Vann Wood Champion D. Simpson	Hemnani Joba^[b]	2:38
13.	"Cash"	I. Simpson Wood Vann Boring D. Simpson	Hemnani Manwa^[a]	3:15
14.	"Skit 3"	I. Simpson Ontenient Manwa	Hemnani	0:39
15.	"Milk"	I. Simpson Vann Wood Champion D. Simpson	Hemnani Q3^[a]	4:55
16.	"Face"	Vann Boring D. Simpson Champion	Kiko Merley	4:19
17.	"Waste"	Ciarán McDonald	Bearface Rome Gomez^[a]	2:34
Total length:				51:02

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer.
• ^{^[b]} signifies an additional drum programmer.
• All tracks are stylised in all caps.

Personnel

Brockhampton

• Kevin Abstract – performance (tracks 2–5, 7, 8, 10–13, 15), executive production, creative direction
• Ameer Vann – performance (tracks 1–5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16)
• Merlyn Wood – performance (tracks 1, 2, 4, 7, 11–13, 15)
• Dom McLennon – performance (tracks 1–4, 7, 8, 10–13, 15, 16)
• Matt Champion – performance (tracks 1, 2, 4, 12, 15, 16)
• Joba – performance (tracks 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 13, 16), additional drum programming (track 12), additional vocals (tracks 7, 12), additional keys (track 16), co-executive production, mixing, mastering
• Bearface – performance (track 17), production (track 17)
• Romil Hemnani – production (tracks 1, 6, 9–15), additional production (tracks 4, 8), additional drum programming (track 2), co-executive production, recording engineering
• Q3 – production (tracks 2, 7), additional production (tracks 11, 15)
  • Jabari Manwa – production (tracks 3, 4, 8), additional production (track 13), additional synth (track 1), performance (tracks 6, 9, 14)
  • Kiko Merley – production (tracks 5, 16), additional production (track 10), performance (track 7)
• Henock Sileshi – creative direction, graphic design
• Ashlan Grey – photography
• Robert Ontenient – webmastering, performance (tracks 6, 9, 14)
• Anish Ochani – management
• Jon Nunes – management

Additional personnel

• Rome Gomez – additional production (track 17), additional vocals (track 17)
• Nick Lenzini – creative assistance
• Kevin Doan – creative assistance
• Chris Clancy – management
• Kelly Clancy – management
• Brian Washington – management
• Craig Marshall – legal counsel
• Orienteer – publicity

Charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ)[11]	8

References

1. "BROCKHAMPTON: SATURATION Album Review". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2017-06-25.
2. Renshaw, David (June 9, 2017). "Brockhampton Shares Debut Album Saturation". FADER. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
3. Ontenient, Robert. "SATURATION". Archived from the original on 2017-06-10. Retrieved 2017-06-09.
4. Goddar, Kevin (Jun 8, 2017). "Brockhampton - SATURATION". Hot new Hip Hop. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
5. "Review: Brockhampton, Saturation / Saturation II". prettymuchamazing.com. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
6. Soriano, Roman (2017-06-13). "BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION". RadioUTD. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
7. "BROCKHAMPTON 'Saturation' Cheat Code Album Review". DJBooth.net. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
8. BrooklynVegan Staff (December 22, 2017). "BrooklynVegan's Top 50 Albums of 2017". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
9. "Clash Albums Of The Year 2017". December 19, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
10. Penn II, Michael (December 20, 2017). "The Best Albums of 2017". Vinyl Me, Please. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
11. "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. June 19, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.