By Kelsey Purcell, Contributing Writer
Bryson Tiller released “Trapsoul” and long awaited, deluxe edition new album, “Anniversary.” Bryson Tiller is known to mix R&B and hip hop. His style of music is comparable to artists like PartyNextDoor and Roy Woods. He has a soft tone, smooth rhythm and incorporates a synthesizer to create a fusion of singing and rapping.
On Sept. 26th, Tiller dropped the deluxe version of his popular album “Trapsoul.”
New graf He tweeted “before we get into my new album, I wanna celebrate this special edition of my debut album Trapsoul.” New additions on the deluxe edition include “Rambo (Last Blood)” remix feat. The Weeknd, “Self-Righteous” and “Just Another Interlude.”
Singles, “Inhale” and “Always Forever” were also released earlier in September. His most recent album “True to Self” came out in 2017. Tiller has only released four singles, “Insecure” feat. Jazmine Sullivan, “Keep in Touch” feat. Tory Lanez, “Cancelled” and “Blame” since then. 2020 is a big year for the artist, as he has dropped a lot of new content after a significant stagnant period.
Tiller’s highly awaited new album, “Anniversary,” was released on Oct. 2, which is exactly five years after the release of his debut album “Trapsoul,” hence the name “Anniversary.” The 10-track album is approximately 30 minutes long. It was a surprise to fans that Drake was on the album. In fact, Drake isn’t the only artist who is featured on it. Tiller and Drake collaborated on the eighth track, “Outta Time.”
The first song, “Years Go By,” sheds a light on the pressure that Tiller had to release more music. It begins with a soft piano introduction, before shifting into the singer’s classic style of soul samples. Some lyrics include, “pressure on me whenever I’m flatlined down” and “the game called me and said come back right now.” He voices his thoughts about being pushed to come out with new songs. Tiller seems to have felt rushed to create during his long hiatus, which drove him further away. It’s an unapologetic piece that’s a good comeback from his three-year drought.
“Timeless Interlude” also begins with the gentle piano melody and an angelic backtrack before Tiller starts with the lyrics. He raps for most of this song, which highlights more of the hip hop style of the artist’s work.
Tiller mentions his religious faith in “Timeless Interlude,” he raps, “He said ‘look son, don’t be afraid of heights/ and don’t take prayer light/ keep me close and watch me change your life.”
Tiller raps about looking to God for advice on taking risks and keeping his faith. The beat drops around the halfway point and the rapping continues. At the end, the singing stops and the instrumental calmly dissolves out with the same hum of track from the introduction of the song.
The last song, “Next to You,” starts with a simple beat and a sample track from artist Owl Eyes in the intro. Tiller’s soft singing and animated vocals express heartbreak and the feeling of missing someone. The powerful instrumental continues through the whole song in the background, with an R&B sound. The soulful singing ends and the track gently fades out with the beat.
“Anniversary” is a moody album filled with instrumental, energetic beats, and lots of synthesizer. Tiller continues to blur the line between rapping and singing while combining hip hop and R&B. On Twitter, he also hinted on another album possibly set to release this winter, so stay tuned for potential new music later this year.
purcelkr20@bonaventure.edu
