Heard & Live Nation Presents: Kevin Abstract – Blush Vol 1: “It Happened, I Swear” Tour at Brushy Street Commons (FKA Parish)

About the Artist: There’s something to be said about home — the notion of it, the comfort of familiar surroundings,
the memories of years gone by that can spur new creativity. Kevin Abstract tapped into the
abundance of his native Texas for his latest album, Blush, a 19-track collection of breezy rap songs
with pop ourishes. Inspired by a new habitat — or, rather, one he hasn’t experienced since
childhood — Abstract delves into the nuances of fractured relationships, the pain and confusion of
such breakups, and the healing that ensues. Because when you’ve had enough of places that were
never really yours to begin with, you can always go back to the source. For Abstract, that meant
moving back to the South, to the Corpus Christi area, and creating an album dedicated to his
hometown.
“I wanted to make a regional rap record,” he says of Blush. “My earliest memories, creatively,
romantically, all that stu all tied back here.” Abstract says he was inuenced by Kendrick Lamar’s
sixth studio album, the Los Angeles-focused GNX, as he assembled his own LP. “I loved how it felt
like what I would imagine his childhood felt like for him sonically,” he says. “So I was like, ‘I kind of
want to do that in Texas, but still pull from the pop music that I love that I discovered outside of
Texas.’” Abstract had been feeling trapped in L.A.; he moved there as a teenager and spent his early
adulthood in the city. “And when I came back home, I felt like a kid again,” he continues. “So it’s
easy to tap into words and feelings that feel more truthful that I want to be connected with the
music I’m making right now.”
One can hear this freedom and hometown allegiance right away on Blush, on a song like “Copy,”
where Southern twang and acoustic guitar-driven beats put listeners in the same city where Scarface
and UGK reign supreme. The track has the same wide open feel as the state itself, a place where the
hospitality is authentic and the bonds are stronger. “I lost my way in multiple ways,” Abstract says
of his reason for moving back to Texas. “I was just over breakups. Then I went home and saw
people who would accept me no matter what. And it made it easier for me to be creative.” Another
song, “H-Town,” holds special resonance with Abstract. It was the rst track he wrote for the
album. He loves the distortion of it and how the tempo vacillates, as if he were trying to gure
things out on the y.
Abstract cut his teeth in the area at the height of the blog era, when upstart musicians would
upload tracks to MySpace and receive direct feedback from fans. Then, before Abstract garnered
notoriety as a member of Brockhampton, he channeled his life experiences into the music, trying to
gure out his voice. You don’t forget formative moments like those. “I nd myself, even if I were to
go into the studio right now, subconsciously I’d be pulling from that part of my life alongside new
inspirations that I nd every day,” he says fondly. “I want to chase this momentum and creative
spirit I’m feeling right now and see where it takes me. I am letting the work guide me and I’m
letting love guide me.”
Blush, Abstract says, is the cathartic result of “a really bad crashout moment” in L.A. last year and a
subsequent show at Austin City Limits that led to an epiphany. While in Texas, he thought about
reconnecting with his long-time best friend, who helped Abstract ascend from one of the darkest
periods of his life. “He convinced me to leave L.A. and move into his crib,” Abstract says. Once
there, he started recording himself on borrowed music production gear. Watching his friend wake
up early — around 5 a.m., he says — and go out every day inspired Abstract to implement the same
rigorous practice in his own creative work. “It was very American,” Abstract recalls, “and I was like,
‘I should get up early and record. I’ll get up and just force myself to make things so I don’t want to
feel like I was wasting this time.’” When he wasn’t working on music in the house, Abstract drove
long distances alone, at which time he considered what he wanted to say to his listeners, removing
expectations of what others thought he should be saying. The isolation allowed youthful curiosity
to shine through: “I’m creating from a spot where I’m 8 or 9 again.”
Also in that silence, certain thoughts arose. “Get closer to God, the idea of God,” Abstract
remembers. “Get closer to raw creativity. Get closer to not being so held down by the way you think
you may be perceived by people who you’ve been spending months and years with. Rediscover your
voice and remember who you are.” In turn, Blush is what he calls a summer breakup album,
sonically lighthearted with a serious narrative. The LP, he says, is about him “breaking up with
multiple people, including myself, and then a romantic relationship that wasn’t meant to be, that
shouldn’t have even been a thing in the rst place.”
In the end, Blush represents new personal and professional beginnings for Abstract. Not only does
it reach him at a time when he needs it most, it arrives when the world could stand a respite from
the turmoil here and abroad. By telling an honest story about his own upheaval, it stands to help
those going through similar strife, a charge to keep going when challenges seem insurmountable.
“I’m coming back home and I want to give back to this place that clearly made me who I am, and I
want to bring these people along the journey,” Abstract says. “I just want people to enjoy the music
and to feel good. I hope it helps people get through some bullshit. Music is such a unier and it
brought me closer to old friends, so I hope this nds its way into people’s homes and helps in
whatever ways they need.”