Spune Presents Kevin Abstract - Blush Vol 1: "IT HAPPENED, I SWEAR" Tour at Deep Ellum Art Co. on August 13, 2025! *This show is 18+. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by parent or guardian. 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 flourishes. 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 stuff all tied back here.” Abstract says he was influenced 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 first track he wrote for the album. He loves the distortion of it and how the tempo vacillates, as if he were trying to figure things out on the fly. 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 f igure out his voice. You don’t forget formative moments like those. “I find 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 find 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 first 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 unifier and it brought me closer to old friends, so I hope this finds its way into people’s homes and helps in whatever ways they need.”