By Nandee Mignon
COLUMNIST
Louisville, Kentucky became the place that cultivated the soul, emotions and mind of the newest person on the R&B scene. Twenty-two-year-old Bryson Tiller is the newest face on RCA record and is making quite the buzz.
Singing first entered Tiller’s life 10 years ago. At the time, the music industry found itself with an abundance of R&B music being pushed through the airways.
Two artists in particular caught young Tiller’s eye. Platinum recording artist Omarion released his solo debut. According to Tiller’s interview with R&B podcast Red Light Special he said, “I would just find myself trying to sing that entire album. I just thought it was dope…”
R&B singer Chris Brown’s musical debut in November of that year also played a huge role in engraving singing into Tiller’s life. “What was crazy was that he was singing about stuff, and he was my age … singing about young love and stuff, it was crazy,” he added in the interview with Red Light Special. Once those albums were funneled through his headphones, Tiller found himself writing music and running to the studio. Or so he thought.
A couple years into his newfound love for music, he and his girlfriend at the time were expecting their first child. His daughter, Harley Loraine, was born, and that halted the Tiller music train. But after an unexpected break-up text, Tiller found himself alone and with the microphone.
At that moment he recorded “Don’t,” A spontaneously written, stand-alone project that was never re-recorded. “Don’t” became the song that made his name known. As a single, “Don’t” accumulated over 35 million streams over the past year.
Once “Don’t” caught the attention of the public, Tiller found himself getting offers from Timbaland to Drake. He then built on the success of the single and began work on his most popular work “T R A P S O U L.” While working on this piece, Tiller battled between offers for a record deal. While the co-signs from Timbaland and Drake were promising, it ultimately led him to sign a creative partnership with RCA records in August of this year.
“T R A P S O U L” caught everyone who listened to it off-guard. According to theboombox.com, “Fans may notice that “T R A P S O U L” takes on more of a rugged appeal than the soothing Trey Songz-esque mix-tape ‘Killer Instinct.’” The project features no collaborations, leaving room for the Louisville native to shine in his own right.
Several singles off of the project resonated with fans and caught the attention of everyone around, whether you were a fan or not. Speaking on the song “Rambo,” Tiller told Red Light Special, “I rapped on it because no one else was gon’ do it.”
“Sorry Not Sorry” proves to stand out among the 14-song track list as well. Sampling the classic video game “Street Fighter,” it is apparent who Tiller was speaking to from the moment he began singing. The announcer yelled “Fight,” before he came in, already setting the hostile mode for the song.
“Exchange” is another fan favorite. It speaks on the good times of a past relationship.
With personable lyrics and creative samples, there are certainly high hopes surrounding Tiller and what he can bring to the table in the future. There is a feeling that no matter what is thrown at him, he will deliver.