Hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, Bryson Tiller is hip-hop’s newest R&B rapper. Following his 2011 mixtape, KILLER INSTINCT VOL 1, Tiller just dropped his first full-length album on Oct 2nd.
Filled with sultry, smooth and polished sounds, Tiller’s debut album, T R A P S O U L, is an incredible start for the rising artist. Captured in the album name, the record is a perfect blend of melody, vocal harmonies and trap drums. With all of those musical elements combined, it’s hard to place the album in an existing genre. But Tiller’s self-invented “Trap Soul” is a perfect fit.
In the simplest terms, Tiller is a rapper and a singer. But as we’ve all seen, when rappers also sing, the final product can range from terrible to awkward to fantastic.
Lucky for us, Tiller is fantastic.
His sounds are more fine-tuned than PARTYNEXTDOOR (who relies more on synths than raw runs) and his bars reach Drake-level introspection. Throughout the album, Tiller talks about falling in love, failing in love, and his plans to dominate the industry. As a result, there is a diversity of emotions and sentiments expressed in the project. Tiller oscillates between Mr. Steal Yo Girl, (“Oh he mad huh, is he pissed off?/Too bad, n*gga should’ve been on his job“) in “Overtime,” to sensitive and vulnerable in “Open Interlude,” (“Ohh girl, I’ve been so afraid. Baby, I’ve been sufferin’, does that mean nothing?”).
There to contrast the in-your-feelings, R&B-esque tracks are hype anthems “Rambo,” “502 Come Up,” and “Sorry not Sorry.” These songs give listeners all the confidence they need to stunt. In “502 Come Up” Tiller explains, “And some say there’s levels to this sh*t/Damn look at all the levels that I skipped/Feeling like there’s a medal I should get.” Tiller has no problem championing his accomplishments and letting everyone know how hard he worked to achieve them. And with his popular record, “Don’t” hitting mainstream waves, we should all expect to hear and see more of him.
When listening to the album, it’s palpable how much time and effort Tiller put into the project. The level of artistry he demonstrates throughout T R A P S O U L feels rare, especially within an industry that often makes formulaic and uninventive sounds automatic hits, despite the minimal effort invested to create them. Tiller’s record, however, is different. Since it dropped, I’ve listened to it at least ten times, all the way through. It’s the kind of album you’ll want to blast in the car with the windows down, have on repeat while studying or turn up to at a kickback.
So if you’re looking for new music, treat yourself and download T R A P S O U L.
You can thank me later.
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