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On Friday, Kevin Abstract will release his first solo LP in four years. The former BROCKHAMPTON bandleader has been teasing this release for ages on social media, and now he’s finally ready to deliver. Since announcing Blanket last month, he’s put out singles like his life depends on it—dropping “Blanket,” “Running Out” and “What Should I Do?” in rapid succession, all of which arrived without a shred of rap inclination in sight, instead concentrated in alt-rock and dream pop. Now, he’s ushered in the most hip-hop-centric single from this cycle yet, though it’s fully ingrained in the colors of the pop spectrum’s kaleidoscope. “Madonna” is, immediately, one of Abstract’s most passionate and impressionistic offerings to date, a tune akin to the emotional magnitude of 2019’s ARIZONA BABY.
“Madonna” is a big-budget track, too. It features production from Abstract’s longtime #1 collaborator Romil Hemnani, as well as Harry Styles’ two closest co-writers, Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson. Their pop brilliance and propensity for making bold, beautiful and accessible tunes shines immediately, and it opens Abstract’s artistry up into something we’ve rarely seen from him. It’s full of soul mentality, as Abstract’s vocals surf through a handful of octaves, interchanging between an auto-tuned bliss and an epic, unforgettable soprano. “Xs and Os like she’s playing PlayStation, blue bubble green and she left the conversation,” Kevin Abstract’s flow goes. “Love comes and goes, she hits the road, fucking somebody else in the gas station.” Johnson offers keyboard-playing and harmonies, while Hemnani’s drum programming is intimate and immense. And Harpoon’s lead acoustic guitar, it’s the catalyst that drives the entire track forward and packs it with a radiating warmth.
Blanket is out November 3 via RCA. Listen to “Madonna” below.