27-year-old Los Angeles singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Brandon has shared the second single from his forthcoming debut album, Before You Go, due May 9 via Secretly Canadian. ‘September’ serves as both a plea and a farewell, reflecting on love’s fleeting nature through haunting instrumentation and Brandon’s signature warmth.
The album’s title comes from its chorus lyric: “Can you hold me before you go?” Written at a time when he was trying to hold onto someone he knew was already slipping away, the song captures the quiet devastation of knowing a goodbye is inevitable, but hoping, for just a little longer, that it isn’t.
FLOOD Magazine called it “a highly contemporary offshoot of R&B,” and Brandon shared that the song “is about moving into the unknown. There can be so much uncertainty in relationships. I think sometimes dwelling in uncertainty can make you go crazy. Trying to control the outcome of things you don’t have control over won’t get you anywhere, but all you can do is have hope that things don’t change, and if they do, they change for the better.”
The new single follows the impossibly catchy lead single ‘Right Back,’ a guitar-driven, alt-R&B track that recalls Blonde-era Frank Ocean and recent breakout stars Mk.gee and Dijon. Consequence named the song one of the week’s best, calling it “a soulful alt-pop track exploring a return to something that will inevitably end in more pain.”
Born to Trinidadian parents in Riverside, California, Brandon Joseph grew up in a family of musicians and all-around music lovers. His mom, a singer, inspired him at a young age to sing himself, joining the kids choir at his local church at the age of 7. From there, his love for music grew and became the epicenter of his life.
Written, recorded, and produced entirely in his home studio, Before You Go feels both intimate and expansive—raw, unfiltered, and deeply human. Beyond the record, Brandon is dedicated to breaking expectations—especially as a young Black artist in a world quick to box him in. “When people find out I’m a musician, their first assumption is that I rap, or make R&B music, based off of the way that I look,” he says. “But I want to inspire kids who look like me to make whatever music they want.”
WATCH OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR ‘SEPTEMBER’
Brandon stormed onto the scene in 2020 with the highly successful release of his Coming Clean EP, which garnered millions of streams and an outpouring of fans from the jump. Over the next few years, he released a string of singles before unveiling Blush in 2024—his bold, 4-track EP and debut on Secretly Canadian. Blush, a body of work rooted in folk and acoustic melodies, entangled with intricate vocal layering, expanded on Brandon’s songwriting and production and laid the foundation for this next chapter. Now, Brandon officially returns with Before You Go, a fully realised and personal portrayal of self. “Taking my time with this record—allowing it to grow and not rushing the process—has made me the happiest I’ve ever been with my music,” he says. And as he takes this next step, one thing is certain: this is only the beginning.
Before You Go doesn’t just document heartbreak; it embraces the complexities of love, the beauty of uncertainty, and the inevitability of change. When crafting his full-length debut — he aimed for a lasting sound that may live in a record collection forever. “A lot of my favorite artists are stuck like Gorilla Glue on the planet; they’ll never be erasable,” he offers. “I want to create timeless music like that too.”
The album is shaped just as much by past love as it is by moving away from home, losing friendships that once felt permanent, and struggling to redefine himself in the wreckage of change. Through it all, one lesson remains: the heart wants what it wants, even when logic and better senses say otherwise.
WATCH OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR PREVIOUS SINGLE
Looking back on the last six years, Brandon sees Before You Go as his most personal, fully realised work yet. “Taking my time with this record—allowing it to grow and not rushing the process—has made me the happiest I’ve ever been with my music,” he says. And as he takes this next step, one thing is certain: this is only the beginning.
And in many ways, it’s the realisation of a childhood dream. “In my 6th grade yearbook, I wrote that I either wanted to be a professional soccer player or a professional musician,” he adds with a smile. “And hey, I did one of them.”
Before You Go Album Art | Hi-Res Download
Tracklisting:
01 – You Look Like Love
02 – Right Back
03 – Serotonin
04 – 2 Good
05 – Incomplete
06 – Miss U
07 – The Sun
08 – September
09 – You
10 – Seeing Stars
11 – Her Too
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