BROCKHAMPTON, “If You Pray Right” (Question Everything/RCA)
First off, I generally have no time for boy bands. Second, I am skeptical of groups who use all caps in their names; it smacks of self-importance. Third, I think prayer is delusional bullshit and religion a dangerous scam. Yet, against great odds, BROCKHAMPTON’s “If You Pray Right” is track of the day. I’m as shocked as you are. How did we get to this unexpected conclusion? It took a while.
In 2017, I read former Stranger intern Anna Kaplan’s feature on BROCKHAMPTON, but I failed to investigate further. Turns out, this sprawling, multi-racial collective is deeper than your average boy band, exploring serious themes such as rape culture, wealth inequality, and queerness in the rap biz from a critical perspective that scans as subversive compared to much mainstream hip-hop.
Sonically, “If You Pray Right” bears a slight resemblance to the plodding minimalism of Snoop Dogg and Pharrell’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” but the former’s woozy tuba and trombone parts lend it a stranger aura. The main synth motif is morose and chilling enough to grace a Michelangelo Antonioni or Bernardo Bertolucci film, while the rhythm’s as slow and methodical as a prisoner’s trudge to the electric chair. (The track includes a sample of Three 6 Mafia’s “Break da Law ’95’,” an equally morbid joint.) “If You Pray Right” isn’t your standard-issue, Dom Pérignon-popping party music. As a bonus, having five MCs spitting verses lends the song a Wu-Tang Clan-esque kaleidoscope of timbres and perspectives.
No matter your thoughts about religion, this snippet from Dom McLennon’s opening verse is impressive: “Spin my words around as if you wanted a mandala for Nirvana/Singin’ a sonata towards our karma/Did a rain dance, bringin’ commas from Tacoma to Oaxaca/I got spirits in my heart that make my mind move like it’s water/Flow into the moment and avoid the melodrama.” The coda veers into a silk-sheeted R&B reverie, adding yet another odd twist to what will likely be an anomalous hit. Respect, BROCKHAMPTON.
