Contrary to popular belief, there’s more to JOBA than killer vocals and breaking necks. Here’s everything you need to know about Brockhampton’s resident sound guru and ultimate X-Factor.
Who is Russell “JOBA” Boring?
Name: Russell Boring
Birthday: August 5, 1993
Sign: Leo
JOBA’s Soundcloud
JOBA’s Twitter
Russell Boring is a vocalist, sound engineer, and jack-of-all-trades for “The Greatest Boyband since One Direction of All Time”, Brockhampton. His stagename is JOBA, and he’s at the core of Brockhampton’s genre-bending sound.
Brockhampton is filled to the brim with talented creatives and larger-than-life personalities, but JOBA brings a certain skill set and attention to detail that sets him apart from the rest.
As the only classically trained musician in Brockhampton, JOBA acts as a musical swiss army knife that binds Brockhampton’s remarkable chemistry together. His fingerprints are all over the music they make and his dance moves are all over the stages they take. Whether he’s crooning vulnerably or screaming maniacally from a freezer, JOBA makes himself impossible to overlook.
JOBA on “SWEET“:
“Growing up my teachers told me
‘You better get them grades up if you wanna finish high school
And after high school, you better get a degree
Cause it’s a dog-eat-dog world, you could live in the street’
Flashback, I had my Walkman in the minivan
Listening to NSYNC, saw my name on the CD
Bleach blond tips, wanted to be JT
Wanted to do big things, had to fulfill a dream”
JOBA’s Backstory
Russell “JOBA” Boring was born in Houston, TX where he spent the majority of his childhood. Russell’s nickname “JOBA” allegedly came from his alias in a secret language that he and his brother invented when he was younger. As a teenager, Russell went to high school at The Woodlands High School in a suburb on the northern side of the greater Houston area.
Also in attendance at his high school was the Texas contingent of BROCKHAMPTON, including Kevin Abstract, Ameer Vann, Matt Champion, and William “Merlyn” Wood – although JOBA was a year older and a class above the rest of them at that time.
After graduation, JOBA went on to work at Number 6 Productions in Houston, where he would reconnect with Kevin Abstract, Ameer Vann, and Matt Champion as they worked on their early music. As a technically gifted audio engineer with his own home set-up, JOBA filled a huge need for the crew in their early days. Eventually JOBA went from supporting the guys professionally to working with them side-by-side by mixing, mastering, and producing music for other members.
JOBA and Brockhampton
As JOBA began building a tangible chemistry with the crew, Kevin Abstract invited him to officially join Brockhampton in 2015. JOBA accepted, joining the second and last wave of additions to the group along with Matt Champion, Bearface, Merlyn, Romil, and Q3. The crew moved into a house together in San Marcos, TX while JOBA was studying vocal performance in school nearby.
“I remember I was in school, and [Kevin] mentioned, “We need to move to L.A. Let’s move to L.A. in a year.” And I had like three more years left of school. And in that moment I was like, “Well, I guess I’m moving to L.A.” and kind of put school on the back-burner. And again, it’s because he has this conviction about him, and at that point everyone had that certain conviction and followed that, and now live by it.” – Russell “JOBA” Boring
JOBA’s Role in the Group
JOBA brings eccentricity, musicianship, and ambition to Brockhampton. One of his greatest attributes is his creativity. Along with Kevin Abstract, JOBA is responsible for many of Brockhampton’s most off-the-wall sounds. He also brings an aspect of relatability and emotional substance to a group that at times can seem larger than life.
When going through Brockhampton’s interviews, you notice that JOBA isn’t shy about what he wants out of life and he isn’t shy about the struggles he went through to make it to where he is today. Sometimes he comes across as vulnerable and nostalgic – other times manic and enraged. The meaning in his verses aren’t just about what he’s saying, they’re also about the feeling he’s communicating.
Thanks largely to JOBA and Dom McLennon, Brockhampton receives a great deal of praise for their propensity to open themselves up, be vulnerable, and shed light on mental illness through their music. JOBA, in particular, has used both his music and social media as an avenue to discuss struggles with behavioral issues like split personality disorder and bipolar disorder.
I just get pissed off sometimes. Still awkward, still self conscious about a lot of shit – often overwhelmed. Don’t want defense mechanisms to dictate my actions.
— JOBA (@JOBAISREAL) February 3, 2018
JOBA on “SISTER”:
“That’s why I’m pure to some, a psychopath to others
And grew up in counseling, flipping off my counselors
They gave me mood stabilizers but when I came off ’em, I was violent
Took the drugs that I wanted which didn’t help with the voices
They just grew louder and louder
They called the people who’d just chatter and chatter
I juggle all my personalities”
JOBA in Brockhampton’s Music
Russell “JOBA” Boring does it all. He plays the keys. He sings. He raps. He mixes/masters all their music. He produces tracks. Oh yeah, and he dances like EVERYONE is watching.
As the only classically-trained vocalist on the team, JOBA’s understanding of vocal delivery and harmonies is one of the biggest reasons that the group can’t simply be written off as a “rap collective”. If you’re hearing vocal harmonies on a Brockhampton track, you’re more than likely hearing a JOBA verse. When he takes off his singing pop-star hat, JOBA brings heavy, emotionally charged rap verses with bars that lodge themselves into your head for days. The sheer spectrum that this man’s voice covers on Brockhampton’s music is so broad that it’s nearly futile trying to give it justice through words.
But his contributions don’t just stop there. Russell “JOBA” Boring is also the resident sound guru and audio engineer for Brockhampton. Along with his talented ear, JOBA brings a certain level of professionalism and attention to detail that is absolutely essential to the in-studio Brockhampton sound. And, as the chief of mixing and mastering, nothing leaves the Brockhampton studio without JOBA’s stamp of approval.
JOBA as a Producer
In addition to acting as Executive Producer for All American Trash and Co-Executive Producer for all three SATURATION albums, JOBA has personally produced five of Brockhampton’s best tracks to date, including:
“When we dropped Saturation, we charted, and it was pretty high. It wasn’t for very long, but it was long enough to validate what we’d been trying to achieve… Being independent, and growing up with these people, and it starts out as a dream and you know you suck, but you keep working at it. And then when you see something like that it’s like, “Wow, this has actually kind of transcended the internet in a way,” because we’re actually reaching people.” – JOBA
JOBA’s Best Lyrics and Verses
“FACE”
“Please don’t make me wait long
I just wanna be your main one
Your main, your main one, mm-mm
See, I don’t want nobody but you, mm-mm
See, I don’t want nobody but you, mm-mm
I spent the day by my lonesome
Who do you call when there’s no one?
No one ever did what you did for me and did to me
My bed is cold and indented where you used to sleep
Tell me what you’re waiting for, shit
Tell me what I’m here for”
“SWAMP”
“You do not know me, don’t speak of my homies, you are a phony
Quit pinnin’ shit on me, you gon’ bring out the old me
You don’t wanna know what I wanna do when y’all talk down on my name
I don’t wanna see you in the street ’cause I might catch a case
People smile when they face to face (woo, woo, woo!)
Then turn their back and switch up words you say (ah, ah, ah!)
Running to the papers everyday (woo, woo, woo!)
I’m running to the paper anyway (ah, ah, ah!)”
“TOKYO”
“Too many things I’d rather do different
Woke up in a cold sweat, my emotions creepin’
Three o’clock on the weekend, might as well sleep in
Stay down for the count when, she hit me with the “what-ifs?”
And the “what-whens?” and the “what-thens?”
Wonder where my life went, living in the moment
I been thinking ’bout my time spent, are the bills paid?
Is it make or break? Will I find a way?
Are my feelings changed? Will I be okay?
I don’t know, but what I do know is, life don’t make sense
If you can’t pay rent, so I place my bet”
“JUNKY”
“Both pessimistic, drug addicted, caught in our feelings
We spit venom then stare at the ceiling wondering why
Both so submissive, take turns dominating, the light has been faded
This hate-fueled love, we don’t fake it, no givin’, just takin'”
“SWEET”
“It’s funny how things can change
Three hundred dollars to my name, left to Hollywood
I was living off Ramen and change
Five hundred dollars on these dinners, never have to pay
Growing up my teachers told me
“You better get them grades up if you wanna finish high school
And after high school, you better get a degree
‘Cause it’s a dog-eat-dog world, you could live in the street”
Flashback, I had my Walkman in the minivan
Listening to NSYNC, saw my name on the CD
Bleach blond tips, wanted to be JT
Wanted to do big things, had to fulfill a dream
One might say I was doomed from the get-go
But those same people assume, ’cause they’ll never know
What it’s like to be called to what’s not set in stone
I am one with the ebb and flow, that’s all I know”
“BOOGIE“
“Break necks, I’m the chiropractor
Come on down, you know I gotcha
Real shit, feelin’ saturated
Realign the spine, fuck the haters”
“JOHNNY“
“I’m a shithead son
And I’m bad at growing up
I’m a shithead son
And I’m bad at growing up
My life ain’t been the same, since my dog died, since my girl left
I quit drinking and drugging and still can’t get ahead
Been at a loss for words
It seems I’m destined to fall apart when I’m depressed
It’s all a test, scream at God from my bedside
I glue my hands together, life’s got me hog-tied
There’s no applause in the game of life, I just bought a car
And a new house, here’s the cost to prove it
I spin a little wheel when I’m feelin’ moody
And that’s like all the time, try not to mind the clock
Because my heart is ticking, I smoke a pack a day
And I wish I didn’t, having some trouble quittin’
I have a couple vices, we had that show on Viceland
I was hardly in it, most the time I’m hidden
Anxious, impatient and always wanting something different
I hate the way I’m feeling, I’m sick of chasing feelings”
“SISTER“
“I’ve got [censored] but she would never know
I like to hide them, so much I lose myself
That’s why I’m pure to some, a psychopath to others
And grew up in counseling, flipping off my counselors
They gave me mood stabilizers but when I came off ’em, I was violent
Took the drugs that I wanted which didn’t help with the voices
They just grew louder and louder
They called the people who’d just chatter and chatter
I juggle all my personalities”
“HOTTIE“
“How could I be better?
I paid the price in full, just to clear the record
Rewound just to fast forward
On the eight track, I stole from my grandmama
It’s hard to air out in deep water
You keep calling, I ignore it
Cleared my conscience in absurd ways
I do the things you hate, I’m changing every day”
“ZIPPER“
“I’m rolling down hills in a suit through the mud
Throw my dress shoes in a fire with the woods
Sit back and relax with the fumes of
Everything I hate in the world
Play Mozart, smoke my cigar on
My estate, keep the cars parked on the front lawn
Neighbors hate, place duct tape underneath their tires
And I wait”
Potential for Solo Career
Out of all the members of Brockhampton, JOBA’s prospects for a possible solo career after the group breaks up are among the brightest. His diverse technical skillset means that he’s fully capable of creating music entirely on his own, from beginning to end. His vocal talent and flexibility gives him the ability to successfully enter into just about any genre of music. Additionally, JOBA is becoming a better live performer – the last piece of the puzzle. During the Love Your Parents Tour, the growth in his on-stage charisma was palpable when compared to Brockhampton’s first major tour.
Based on his twitter history, we know that JOBA has a fully developed album that he’s been sitting on for nearly two years. Back in April of 2016, JOBA tweeted that he truly believes in the album he’s made and “can’t wait for the world to hear it.” Judging by the response he got from the people he shared it with, the album is something we all desperately need in our lives:
I’ve been playing my album for people I really respect and the feedback is honestly blowing me away….. FUUUCCXKJKKKJKK
— JOBA (@JOBAISREAL) February 10, 2017
Unfortunately, until we get that album (if we ever do), we only have an extremely small sample size of independent work to judge what a solo JOBA project would even sound like. Check out his only solo track to date, “Sad Saturdays”:
JOBA’s Best Twitter Moments
Before every show I think of the other shows in shit bars with people who’d rather drink in silence.
— JOBA (@JOBAISREAL) January 27, 2018
I still can’t casually listen to my verse on JOHNNY, it makes me so uncomfortable. I hope it helped someone.
— JOBA (@JOBAISREAL) December 19, 2017
One day there will be an army of Joba’s. This is only the beginning. Embrace your inner-Joba
— JOBA (@JOBAISREAL) September 2, 2017
My family is here tonight, can y’all help me make it look like dropping out of college was the best decision I’ve ever made? LYSM
— JOBA (@JOBAISREAL) September 20, 2017
CFG 2017 pic.twitter.com/mGXtN4p4X5
— JOBA (@JOBAISREAL) October 29, 2017
SATURATION SZN pic.twitter.com/n3tG4dtK8L
— JOBA (@JOBAISREAL) September 27, 2017
If people don’t understand you, that’s tight. Being understood is overrated.
— JOBA (@JOBAISREAL) December 17, 2017
— dumbass (@kevinabstract) December 28, 2017
Bonus JOBA Vids:
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