FEATURE:
Revisiting...
Teyana Taylor - The Album
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I am recommending an album…
PHOTO CREDIT: Daniel Sannwald
from an artist who is bowing out of music. The amazing Teyana Taylor recently played the O2 Brixton Academy as part of a farewell tour. At thirty-one, she is retiring from music. Ground down and exhausted by the industry, it is sad to say goodbye to a true R&B great. Following the release of her second studio album, K.T.S.E. (2018), Taylor announced that she would be updating the album and re-releasing it in June or July. That never came to pass. In October 2019, Taylor revealed that she was working on a new album titled The Album. Not feeling happy with the previous album, Taylor revealed that she took more creative control on the album. This is a release where she has not compromised her artistic vision. It is such a shame that it is her final album. It seemed that, back then, Taylor was keen to release even more music and enter this new phase of her career. Rather than dwell on the retirement of a fantastic artist who we are going to miss, let’s focus on 2020’s The Album. I am going to bring in a couple of interviews before getting into the reviews. NPR spoke with Teyana Taylor about The Album and her regaining artistic control:
“Now, Taylor's out with her third record, simply called The Album. It features guest appearances from a slew of big names like Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott and Erykah Badu and she chose an important day for the album's release: Juneteenth. It's a day for observing the end of slavery in Texas, the last state to free its slaves.
Celebrating Juneteenth: A Reading Of The Emancipation Proclamation
"I personally felt like it was only right," Taylor says, "because it's a celebration for my culture and my people, to show that no matter what we go through, we always pull through."
But we started our conversation where the album starts, with the birth of her first child. Taylor didn't have time to get to the hospital, and she uses the recording of the 911 call in which her husband, NBA star Iman Shumpert, is learning how to help deliver their baby.
"Everything happened so fast," Taylor recalls. "I pushed one time, she came out. It felt like a movie."
Taylor says she wanted to have that 911 call on her last album, K.T.S.E., which was produced by Kanye West. She's been public about being really unhappy with her lack of creative control on that project. She says this new album is quite different.
"When people hear the album, they will understand what my frustration was with K.T.S.E.," she says. "Trying to put a lot of emotions through seven songs is tough. So now to have a full album, 23 songs, you get to literally express yourself and every single part of you”.
The Album was released on 20th June, 2020. That week, i-D spoke with an artist who was becoming a superstar. Something that she had always wanted to be or worked towards. It reinforces the sense of loss we are going to feeling knowing there will not be another Teyana Taylor album:
“It’s been nearly four years since Teyana Taylor gyrated her perfectly toned body across our screens in the tantalising music video for Kanye West’s Fade. More than 100 million YouTube views later, the Harlem born 29-year-old still has our full attention as she continues to push her creativity into every possible avenue.
Over the past few months alone, Taylor has done everything from drop her sensual Kehlani-assisted single Morning and direct a colourful music video for Wale’s Love… (Her Fault) to sign with IMG models and front the Jordan brand’s first ever-women’s capsule collection. Not to mention, she’s done it all while raising her four-year-old daughter Junie alongside her NBA-star husband, Iman Shumpert. When she declared “I do everything” in her 2018 song Rose In Harlem, she was speaking the truth.
Teyana wears cape Maison Margiela. Top Maison Alaïa. Bikini briefs Lido. All jewellery worn throughout model’s own.
PHOTO CREDIT: Mario Sorrenti
Inspired by the creative energy of Harlem, where she was born and raised, Teyana began performing at a young age. Dancing in the streets at neighbourhood block parties and singing along to the soulful R&B hits of Teena Marie and Tony! Toni! Toné! “My mom would play all these records, the greatest hits of the 90s, 80s and 70s,” she explains over the phone from Miami, where she spends most of her time these days. “And while the kids would play, I would literally have my ear against the wall just singing all the songs.”
It was during those years growing up in Harlem that she “got the swag, my aura, my vibes,” she says proudly. Teyana’s talent landed her a record deal with Pharrell’s Star Trak Entertainment at 15 years old. But even though she spent her teen years doing everything from teaching Beyoncé how to do the Chicken Noodle Soup dance to starring in her own episode of MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen, it feels like Taylor is just now becoming the superstar she was born to be.
“I had to grow up really, really fast,” Teyana says. “I sacrificed my social life as far as high school, prom, graduation and different things like that go. I learned so much, but there were definitely ups and downs.”
It wasn’t until 2014 that the world really got a true taste of her talent. After a decade of grinding, she finally released her debut album VII. The R&B record, released under Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music imprint, showcased the Harlem-native’s powerful vocals, captured her soulful 90s-inspired sound, and climbed to number one on Billboard’s hip-hop and R&B chart.
But it was her long-awaited 2018 album K.T.S.E. (Keep That Same Energy) that really affirmed Teyana’s status as one of the most eclectic and compelling singer-songwriters in music today. In just 22 minutes, Taylor jumps from crooning slow jams to upbeat dance tunes. She manages to reflect on her role as both a mother and wife, without ever compromising her sexuality.
“When I first came out, I was a virgin. All I knew was bikes and skateboards. Boys were yucky,” she explained. “I went from a girl to a woman, to a mom, to a wife. I literally just recorded that journey. I always wanted to be an artist that really felt what I was singing, which is the reason why I work off of emotion. If it’s not something I’m going through at the time, then it has to be something that I went through before.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Mario Sorrenti
In the years leading up to K.T.S.E.’s release, the multi hyphenate also found success outside of music, designing a collaboration with adidas, walking the runway at New York Fashion Week for Philipp Plein, and launching her all-female run production company The Aunties, which has been behind videos for everyone from Megan Thee Stallion to Schoolboy Q.
“Sometimes I love creating for others more than I love creating for myself,” Teyana – who goes by the nickname “Spike Tee” in honour of the Oscar-award-winning director Spike Lee – says. “With directing, I get to actually sit behind the lens and really help our artists bring a vision to life.”
Despite what some would view as setbacks, Taylor won’t let anything come between her and her creative vision. This year she’s set to appear in the upcoming Coming 2 America reboot and release her third record, The Album, following on from her incredible Lauryn Hill featuring new single, We Got Love. “I realised that I started to see the success that I worked for when I started to trust myself before I trusted other people,” she said. She shares this sentiment on her track Never Would Have Made It, where she sings, “Made a lot of decisions based on everyone but me. But now, I’m strong enough to let it go. I’m wise enough to take control…” Her words make it clear that even though she’s worked at this nearly half her life and reached some incredible heights, she’s barely even started”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Mario Sorrenti
A remarkable album where you can hear this R&B great coming to life and producing her very best work, I cannot recommend The Album highly enough.. A twenty-three-track opus that went to the top ten in the U.S. and features collaborators such as Missy Elliott and Ms. Lauryn Hill, The Album is one of 2020’s best – and a powerful and accomplished send-off from the incredible Teyana Taylor. This is what AllMusic said in their review:
“K.T.S.E. yielded a gold-certified, Top 20 R&B/hip-hop hit in the form of "Gonna Love Me." Despite those significant firsts for Teyana Taylor, the singer and songwriter had misgivings about the 2018 LP, the last in a sequence of five like-sized G.O.O.D. Music titles inevitably branded as an installment in the Kanye West-guided "Wyoming sessions." Taylor hits the reset button with The Album. Its title effectively brushes aside both K.T.S.E. and her fine 2014 debut, VII. Almost 80 minutes in duration, this set even dwarfs the aggregate of the two preceding releases as if to leave no doubt that it's her definitive and unrestricted work. Taylor furthers the notion by starting The Album with recordings of husband Iman Shumpert's marriage proposal and his 911 call in response to the unexpected natural birth of their daughter Junie. Soon enough, Junie -- a few years older -- introduces the misty "Come Back to Me," and then the tranquil "Wake Up Love" floats past with Taylor's husband the provider of a devotional guest verse.
After she revamps Erykah Badu's elusive-temptation tale "Next Lifetime" with a featured appearance from the originator, Taylor closes out the romantic segment with the Guy-interpolating bliss-out "Let's Build," duetting with Quavo in sincere and mellifluous style. Next is a grip of bedroom slow jams. None eclipse "Request" off VII, but the Kehlani collaboration "Morning" is a seductive delight, while the snaking (and accurately titled) "Boomin" is a treat for lovers of late-'90s R&B with explicit references to Blaque and much of the Swing Mob (plus an appearance from the latter's Missy Elliott). Confident diversions into breezy Afro-pop and underwater dancehall lead to a half-hour stretch covering various romantic woes. Taylor confronts, pleads, departs, regrets, and more, delivering a couple of her most riveting performances on "Concrete," all toxicity and torment, and "Still," a strong contender for the surrogate Jazmine Sullivan ballad of 2020. The Album is rounded out by an up-tempo trifecta that with each verse and chorus, all the way through Lauryn Hill's closing words of wisdom, increases in power”.
I am going to finish off with a review from CLASH. Although not all the reviews for The Album were hugely positive, most of them were. I think this is an album that everyone needs to hear. It is a remarkable swansong from a modern-day icon:
“This month of June belongs to one woman and woman only, and that’s Teyana Meshay Jacqueli Taylor.
Undeniably flying the flag for Harlem, Teyana has kept us on our toes this month leading up to the release of her third studio album 'THE ALBUM'. From announcing her collaboration with M.A.C Cosmetics for the launch of a 90s inspired make-up collection to the unveiling of her second pregnancy with husband Iman Shumpert and daughter Junie, G.O.O.D Music’s fiercest alumni has been patiently waiting to release her anticipated album.
Descending on Juneteenth (June 19th), a day of celebration and commemoration at the end of slavery for Black people in the United States, the album comes at an essential time across the globe with the #BlackLivesMatter movement playing a significant part in today’s climate for justice.
Following the release of her 2018 second studio album 'K.T.S.E.', 'THE ALBUM' is a vibrant and stalwart symbolism of Teyana’s unapologetic, bold blackness. From the hard-hitting ode to Grace Jones on the cover to the troupe of Black artists she recruited for the album, Teyana has delivered her most sonically solid album to date.
From Erykah Badu to Missy Elliott to Lauryn Hill, 'THE ALBUM' accouches '23' lyrically soothing and engaging tracks that fulfil all your fantasies and appreciation for Black womanhood. The intro delineates the mood with recorded audio clips from Teyana’s life, including her marriage proposal and a 911 emergency phone call of a frantic Iman during the home birth of Junie. 'Come Back To Me' featuring Rick Ross and Junie and 'Wake Up Love' featuring husband Iman serves a personal love story from Teyana to her nearest and dearest.
There’s a profusion of standout tracks that invite you into Teyana’s world of emotions, sex and vulnerability starting with the track four 'Lowkey' – a partnership with the First Lady of Neo-Soul Erykah Badu. The soulful silky track samples lyrics and elements from Badu’s 1997 single’ Next Lifetime’. Teyana’s tale of love from a horny perspective takes you on the first journey of passion as she sings “I want it but this ain’t the right time the damage is so fine so take me tonight… and I’m horny, a lot on the night, please don’t play with my mind ooh I gotta decline. What if I see you next lifetime? I’m fucking wid you; I promise you’ll be mine”. The ear-pleasing delivery of 'Lowkey' carries a continuous theme of sampling throughout the album.
From Mase’s 'What You Want' to Lauryn Hill’s 'Doo-Wop (That Thing)' to Blaque’s '808', you can hear the evolution in her creativity as an artist. Teyana’s trajectory in R&B thus far has been a reliable performance. Tracks like '1-800-One-Nite', 'Mornin’ and '69' carry her effortless vocals well allowing her more libidinous side to take centre stage while being accompanied by crisp drums and light guitars.
Other tracks like 'Killa', which features Afrobeats artist Davido sees Teyana dig deep into her roots, giving us an African beat with muted modern hip hop elements. Much like 'K.T.S.E.', 'THIS ALBUM' features substantial producing from Kanye West as well as MIKE DEAN, Seven Aurelius, Hitmaka, Cardiak, Boogz, Bizness Boi, Johan Lenox, E*Vax, NinetyFour, NOVA WAV, Baruch “Mixx” Nembhard, Tune Da Rula, and Miguel Jimenez.
'THE ALBUM' is full of themes and statements. Tracks like 'Wrong Bitch' are clear cut reminders that her womanhood, blackness and common sense is not a political playground. “You got the wrong, wrong bitch; you got the wrong bitch yeah” she lightly sings as she reminds you “baby you could be replaced, that’s where you’re making a mistake if you don’t think I won’t skate on you”.
The motivational spoken word outro provided by Ms Lauryn Hill at the end of 'We Got Love' will leave with goosebumps as she preaches self-love, the significance of family, her definition of success and how happiness is the most important thing to her. In Bare Wit Me, she does that actually by showing her more vulnerable side. “I never let my guard down, but you steady trying to wife it oh, don’t you see that I got baggage, my hearts way hard to manage”.
My only critique for the album is its length. Twenty-three songs seemed a bit excessive to me. However, it’s clear from the first listen that this album serves as Teyana’s most personal steady project yet. Teyana has been marching to the beat of her drum since her introduction to the world back in 2006, and she’s kept her foot on our necks ever since. This album is Black Woman Magic at its finest, and it’s become even more apparent since 'K.T.S.E.' that she has left the tutu and the cotton candy from 'My Super Sweet Sixteen' in her past.
This a grown woman ready to continue her reign over R&B. We have no choice but to stan.
9/10”.
Such a remarkable artist whose final release, The Album, is a real treasure. If you have not heard it before, then go and listen to this amazing album. I can appreciate why Teyana Taylor has had to retire. She leaves behind three incredible albums. As a successful actor, we will definitely be seeing more of her on T.V. and film. Sadly, The Album is Taylor’s goodbye to music. And what a goodbye it is! For those who have not heard her 2020 release, and go and check it out. The Album is something that…
EVERYONE should hear.