Rap metal unit Dropout Kings pay homage to late frontman Adam Ramey on emotional video for 'Brace Yourself' • GRIMM Gent

Last year, trap metal progenitors DROPOUT KINGS dropped Yokai, the final record featuring enigmatic frontman Adam Ramey following his untimely passing. After bringing together a career spanning lineup of Kings current and past, the band took this celebration of Ramey‘s life on the road to share with fans as everyone tried to heal from the shock. Lauded by fans and critics alike, with Nu Metal Agenda stating that “the name Dropout Kings should be on more people’s lips, no matter what the band’s next move may be,” Yokai proved to be a unifying force to a hurting community. Today, the band releases an official music video for the track “Brace Yourself.” A mixture of concert, home, and performance footage, the video tries to encapsulate all the wonderful aspects of Ramey’s life as a member of the band, a member of a family, and a loving human being.

About the video, DROPOUT KINGS state:

“Music. Friendship. Purpose. For these reasons and many more, we come together as people. We find time to create, not just for ourselves, but in hopes it brings joy and inspiration to others. We struggle to express what we feel as we struggle in feeling it, pushing towards a light we aren’t always sure is even there. Yet, the art has a way of compelling us to heal through the process of both sharing and listening. A way of making family out of strangers and dreams from suffering. New people we meet turn into old stories we tell as we grow closer together, becoming the best reminders of both where we came from and where we want to go. It’s in this spirit that we ask you to look back with us at and share what made us who we are and our beloved King who started it all. Our brother, Adam Ramey. Brace Yourselves.”

Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, DROPOUT KINGS fuse the raw energy of nu‑metal and rap, a synergy Adam helped forge from the very beginning. Just weeks before his tragic passing on May 19, 2025 at age 32, Adam completed the finishing touches on what he considered the band’s most personal and powerful album to date.

Yokai is more than an album – it’s a legacy. Across its tracks, the influence of Adam‘s dynamic stage presence and lyrical authenticity resonates profoundly. The album channels the same heart‑pounding aggression and rap‑rock fusion that brought hits like “Virus” to the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts, but with an added emotional depth that can only come from one final shared chapter.

Order Your Copy Of Yokai NOW.

YOKAI TRACK LISTING:
“Black Sheep”
“Brace Yourself”
“Baka”
“F.T.W.”
“Devil Fruit”
“First Day Out”
“Guillotine”
“Fake It”
“Yokai”
“Eye Bleach”
“Deadname”

YOKAI is available in the following formats:
1 Digipak CD
1 LP Translucent Verde — Vetri
1 LP Solid Fuchsia
Digital Album

DROPOUT KINGS said upon the announcement of the album:

“It’s with an incredible mix of emotion and devotion that we announce the release of our new album, Yokai! However, so much more than just new music, this album is our greatest dedication to the late legend, new father and cherished brother, Adam Ramey. Not just entertainment, but a testimony to the ambition, struggle, pain and indomitable will that has made the Dropout Kings who they are. Not only a journey into the hearts and souls of the band during a time of their greatest loss as well as the experience of Trap Metal’s evolution, but the soundtrack to the realization of dreams and the defeat of nightmares across the world. We ask that you listen, enjoy and join us in the mission of not just uplifting and remembering the spirit of one of the best men we’ll ever know, but in creating a better world so that those like you, him and us can LIVE better and with brighter futures ahead.”