Brockhampton’s “Dearly Departed” Lyrics Meaning
As we all know, “dearly departed” is a term used to refer to a loved one who has passed away. However in this song, Brockhampton are using the phrase primarily in a figurative sense (although Matt Champion does give a shoutout to his late grandparents). Rather, the consensus has been that the track is about another artist who is very much alive, by the name of Ameer Vann. In fact Ameer is one of the founding members of Brockhampton who was promptly dismissed from the group in 2018 due to allegations that he was misconducting himself sexually. His departure affected the remaining members both emotionally and professionally. And some were clearly more impacted than others – thus this song.
So the parts of this track we are going to focus on are the ones allegedly relating to Ameer Vann. Kevin Abstract and Matt Champion do deal with other topics. For instance, Kevin alludes to his motivations and work ethic. And Matt harps on a similar theme, of his goal to properly take care of his family. But in terms of Vann, we can see that they both were attached to him. Abstract in particular has been known to have been bothered by his departure. Indeed he refers to Ameer as his “best friend”, one that he has ‘lost’. In other words, asking his own homey to leave Brockhampton has taken a negative toll on their relationship.
Matt Champion sees things differently
Matt Champion takes more of a defensive and advisory tone. For instance, he states that the whole misconduct situation may have been brought upon by “lies”. He then advises Vann to “stay alert” and reminds him that “only one life is offered to you”, insinuating that he should therefore use his own wisely. Indeed the latter part of Champion’s verse has a general-cautionary feel about it.
Dom McLennon
Meanwhile, it seems that Dom McLennon is the only artist who actually focuses on Ameer Vann throughout his entire verse. And he definitely does not share sentiments similar to the other two artists. Instead, he is basically accusing Vann of being a backstabber and immature.
The former accusation comes from an incident which Dom also spoke about in the past, where he accuses Ameer of setting up one his (Dom’s) friends to get robbed. And when he had done so, it had negative repercussions on McLennon’s relationship with said friend. And in terms of the immaturity issue, he also states that it is actually Brockhampton who has to deal with the consequences of Ameer actions, not Vann himself. This is apparently due to Ameer not standing up to “face the truth”. Thus Dom states that Vann had “never learned how to be a man”, as in lacking the courage to deal with consequences of his own actions. And he concludes the whole tirade by stating his disinterest in ever mending his relationship with Ameer.
Conclusion
And all of these diverse sentiments are brought home in the chorus, where Joba refers to Ameer Vann as the “dearly departed” – as in someone who is gone forever – and tells him to “look what you’ve started”. Basically all of the painful, worried and angry emotions on display are seemingly the direct results of the actions of someone who isn’t even around anymore. And, especially on varying emotional levels, Brockhampton is still very much dealing with the aftereffects of his actions when he was present. Moreover, McLennon in particular insinuates that the repercussions they have to face as a result of his behavior are also having a lasting, negative effect on their professional lives.
Writing Credits for “Dearly Departed”
This touching song was written by its vocalists:
- Kevin Abstract
- Matt Champion
- Joba
- Dom McLennon
In addition to the above, Jimmy Ledrac along with the track’s producers, Hemnani and Merley also co-wrote the song.
Release Date of “Dearly Departed”
RCA Records in collaboration with Questions Everything, Inc. released the track on 23 August 2019. “Dearly Departed” is track number 7 on Brockhampton’s 2019 album titled GINGER.
“Dearly Departed” wasn’t one of GINGER‘s singles. GINGER was supported by these singles:
When did Ameer Vann leave Brockhampton?
Brockhampton announced Vann’s dismissal from the group on 27 May 2018. He had been a member of the crew since its founding in 2014. In fact even prior to 2014 he was a member of Brockhampton, when they were known as AliveSinceForever.
