Ameer Vann, former member of pop collective Brockhampton, has returned to the music industry following his sudden departure from the group over a year ago.
Vann was one of the founding members of Brockhampton and played a huge role in the production and release of their first three albums. In May 2018, many women previously involved with Vann, either romantically or sexually, went to Twitter and accused Vann of sexual misconduct.
Vann apologized to his accusers on Twitter and the group was adamant in their support for Vann. However, on May 27, 2018, Brockhampton announced via Twitter that Ameer was no longer in the group, saying, among other things: “We were lied to, and we’re sorry for not speaking up sooner.”
Since Vann’s departure from Brockhampton, many fans have taken to Twitter and other online forums voicing their opinions about the matter from both sides. Brockhampton themselves were also torn by the situation, causing them to cancel the remainder of their tour dates and scrapping any progress made on their upcoming album.
As a Brockhampton fan myself who has been following the boys since the days of their second album “Saturation II,” I had no idea what to make of the scandal at the time. I wanted to support Vann because it was clear in his lyrics that he was trying to overcome his inner-demons and redeem himself from his wrong-doings.
At the same time, I understand and support Brockhampton’s decision to remove Vann from the collective. They are a group that embraces progressive ideas, such as gender inclusivity and tackling toxic masculinity. Keeping someone like Vann in the group would contradict those foundational ideals.
To this day, the situation with Vann causes me inner conflict. I support the women that came forward against Vann. But the fact that other artists, like Chris Brown and Drake, can continue to have successful careers in spite of comparable allegations infuriates me to my core.
It’s almost as if people support the #MeToo movement when it’s convenient to them, but back out quickly when it starts catching up to their favorite icons.
But I digress, with Vann releasing a new EP (“Emmanuel”) on September 18, it has caused me to reflect on the situation once again. I never expected Vann to come back to music, let alone return to social media. This new EP was quite the surprise.
The way I see it, while I think his actions were wrong and he deserved to be kicked out of Brockhampton, I think Vann still deserves the right to continue a career in music. He no longer has the support of a major label. If he releases music on his own dime and accord, so be it.
Furthermore, if Brockhampton can openly criticize Vann in their music following his departure, Vann should at least be able to respond to them.
I will follow Vann’s newfound solo career and I’m interested in what he has to say well over a year after his departure.
Angel Ortega can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @AngelOrtegaNews.
