While it may have felt like nothing good came out of 2020, the music industry was one thing that seemed to succeed regardless of everything else happening. Music seemed to bring the world together despite all the tough times we were going through, giving us something to look forward to in a very crazy year.
One of the biggest stories in the music world in 2020 was the return of singer Bryson Tiller after a three-year pause, with his new album “Anniversary.” The album was released Oct. 2, 2020, the five-year anniversary of his highly acclaimed debut album “Trapsoul.”
Tiller released the deluxe version of his new album with five new songs Feb. 26. The Louisville, Kentucky native croons about love and heartbreak throughout the project with great production to bring it all together.
The standout track on the deluxe is “Still Yours,” which features Detroit rapper Big Sean. Tiller and Sean show great chemistry on the track, which samples Christopher Williams’“All I See.”
Tiller opens the track by asking his love interest to keep things honest with him. “Talk to me sweetie, speak how you feel (How you feel), and I need for you to keep it real with me, ’cause I’ma keep it real” sings Tiller. In the second verse, Sean joins in, where he raps “At the point where love gets replaced with resentment, I know time heals all, so just give me a minute.”
In the five years since his debut project, Tiller has changed immensely, and we see it in the second new song of the deluxe, “Timeless Interlude Part II.” On the song, Tiller reminisces about when he released Trapsoul, which eventually broke him through mainstream R&B. And that is what I think the biggest takeaway from Tiller’s new project is: growth. He is now 28 years old and has two children. Life moved fast for Tiller, and he has really matured within this whole album.
On the final track, “Like Clockwork,” we see Tiller finally embrace his R&B superstar role and leave behind his past doubts of whether music is really for him. “Man, I guess it all worked out. I’m gettin’ to it like clockwork now,” Tiller raps. It is safe to say that things have truly worked out for him. As of right now, he has two Grammy nominations, a number one album in his second project “True to Self” and he has a load of platinum records under his belt. It seems like he isn’t going to stop achieving these goals anytime soon, as he has spoken about releasing another album in the future, titled “Serenity.”
Bryson Tiller fans can see the progress he has made since they first met him when he was just 23 years old. Yet, it seems like he is still trying to grow, and there is nothing wrong with that. Tiller continues to grow as an artist and his new album really shows how comfortable he is at this point in life. I suggest listening to the original album along with the deluxe, just to see how far the R&B singer has come.
Rating: 7/10
This story was written by Rashad Alexander. He can be reached at [email protected].
