For My R&B Lovers: T R A P S O U L
My Initial Introduction to Bryson Tiller + His Brand New Project
Tuesday, October 14th, 2025
Friends & Kin,
How are you? I sincerely pray you’re all doing well, or at the very least filling your cups with joy whenever you can. Exploring creative ways to harness happiness and peace within your capacity grows more important by the hour while navigating turbulent times. I know it’s a struggle for many of us to step away from our ever-busy personal lives, work desks, passion projects, or step back from being hyper-attentive to continuous catastrophe. While the pursuit of our goals and the channeling of our passions is vital, I think it’s equally crucial to recognize the importance of taking care of yourselves as best as you possibly can along the way. Long walks, dinner and drinks with friends, cuddling up on the couch and boo-loving, touching grass, gathering with family, all of it. Please don’t forget to treat yourselves kindly. Life is far too precious not to.
One of my favorite practices that assists in filling my cup and shifting my being toward a serendipitous state is consuming music, old and new. This practice grows more fond when an all-time favorite artist of mine releases a new, highly anticipated project.
The first time I ever heard a Bryson Tiller song was via SoundCloud in 2015. I was back home in New Jersey enjoying the entire month of June that I had off from college football training. Summer breaks meant so much more back then. Living my best 20-year-old life filled with zero responsibilities aside from staying in shape for the upcoming season, I had just received my driver’s license that summer and was electrified by the notion of finally being able to legally drive. My friends sometimes make fun of me till this day for obtaining my license so late in life (they already had theirs for several years by the time I got mine).
I remember borrowing my mom’s silver Honda CRV to go pick up a girl I was dating from North Bergen. I dearly missed seeing New York City illuminate the atmosphere from across the river, so I figured we’d go for a scenic drive along Boulevard East. Even till this day whenever visiting home, I always take the scenic route. It often serves as a much needed reminder that I’m beyond fortunate to be born and raised in Hudson County. The view never gets old.
We parked on 38th street facing the river and admired the panoramic skyline view while catching up. We spoke about life at college (she studied at Rutgers), friends and family, the joys and pains of early-adulthood and so much more. It had been months since we last spent time together. My SoundCloud playlist loomed in the background playing some familiar tunes by relevant R&B artists of the time. Chris Brown, Miguel, Sevyn Streeter, Teyana Taylor, Trey Songz, Jhené Aiko, Tory Lanez. Then an unfamiliar voice blared through the speakers, shifting my attention for a moment.
The opening drums at the beginning of a song called Don’t by some kid named Bryson Tiller sounded off, imposing an unforgettable introduction to a new form of R&B on us both. The eventual single quickly made its way onto national airwaves and proved to be inescapable for many people throughout the summer. In my small bubble, I vividly recall hearing it in department stores, coffee shops, shopping plazas and even Chipotle. Women in my realm didn’t shy away from voicing their obsession with the song all over Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter.
Through a few interviews and articles I learned a tiny bit of information about this random kid from Louisville who appeared shy and unsure regarding the direction of his career. No glitz. No glam. No major co-sign, yet. No glaring indicators of superstardom whatsoever. Despite this, Bryson’s debut song was so good that it still managed to amass notable anticipation from peculiar audiences who were keen on consuming new R&B music.
Several months later and a few weeks into fall semester, I purchased an Apple Music subscription for the first time at a student discount of $4.99. Who else remembers opening the app for the first time? Younger folks seem to be indifferent toward the orthodox ways of music consumption now, but at the time - a one stop shop with access to any song you wanted to listen to was both groundbreaking and stress-relieving for us college kids, considering the fact that we no longer had to illegally download music from sketchy sites that left your laptop in shambles if you clicked on the wrong link. Some of the software we utilized back then to download music onto our phones was prone to inflicting viruses on our poor MacBooks. Such high stakes back then, all for the love of music. I opened the app and saw the cover art for the debut studio album by Bryson called T R A P S O U L that was available to add and download, and did so immediately. I pressed play as I kicked past red and yellow leaves that were scattered across campus, crunching and cracking them with my tennis shoes along my route to the football field for practice. The rest was history.
In hindsight, I thoroughly believe the release of T R A P S O U L ten years ago was the impetus that transformed the entire landscape of contemporary R&B into what it is today. The drums he utilized, the classic neo-soul samples he flipped, the keys in which he sang combined with the bars that he rhymed with vigor were masterful displays of penmanship. The musical production felt reminiscent of 1990s engineering by Missy Elliot, Timbaland and Tank, especially on some of those early Missy albums, while simultaneously feeling experimental. It felt like we were listening to a fresh take on all the complexities of romance and love that’s already been sung about for thousands of years. It somehow felt new. Mind you - he kept most of the songs on T R A P S O U L to a running time of about three minutes a piece, managing to deliver two verses, two hooks and a bridge all within several minutes.
Doing this cohesively from top to bottom not only helps with retention, but I think it also assists with gaining replay value over time. Something awfully difficult to do when making art for a generation that’s always overwhelmed with distractions. The concept of singing and rhyming over musical production that blends hip-hop and R&B has of course been frequently done for decades before the 2010s, and masterfully so in many cases. But to successfully do so on your first album is unprecedented.
Ten years removed from our introduction to Bryson Tiller, through multiple phases of ups and downs in his life and career, he’s returned with his latest project titled Solace & The Vices. In all honesty it’s my favorite project of his - by far, since the release of T R A P S O U L. My deep resonation with it is heavily based within the top half of the double disc album, specifically the first 11 songs. This section of the album is where you can pleasurably hear that classic Bryson sound that unfortunately seemed lost for a few years. Except this time, his lyrical approach seems far more authentic.
A few themes of the album involve brutal honesty about one’s flaws and vices, taking ownership of the ways in which you’ve poorly behaved. It sounds like his therapist has been transparently putting him in check as they continue to work through so much more. And it sounds like rather than avoid or hide from it, he’s diving head first into his river of issues with pure intentions to fix it, while letting us know that he’s still liable to conduct toxic behaviors along the way. Hence the word Vices in the album title.
Rather than ramble on about what I enjoyed the most in the first half of the project (I also enjoyed the second half but I can definitely understand why it might not be for everyone since it contains him rhyming full-time), I’m dropping links to some of my favorite standouts below, along with some sequences of lyrics from separate songs that contain the themes previously mentioned. If you’re on your commute to or from work, headed to the gym or out for a long walk, I highly recommend tuning in. I’m confident you’ll find something to enjoy, and hopefully spot a song that resonates with you during this season of your life. Salud.
“Being honest, keeping it real
I’m done cheating, I’m done lying
I’m sorry, baby
I was so mean to you
I’m in agreeance with you, girl
I shouldn’t have sold a dream to you”
~
“You had my back against walls,
I had nobody else to turn to
I had no choice but to return you
feed you to the streets, oh baby
I can’t find no peace when I’m with you,
I turn to pieces
how can I survive under your false pretense?
your scheming, your uncertainty?”
~
“Matter fact, tell the fans why I went missing
somewhere with you cuddled up kissing,
watching these young n**gas run up millions,
never had money, don’t know how I’m feeling,
got a lot of folks who depend on me,
if you had money, would you spend on me?
or take that shit and run with it?”
Standouts from Solace:
Favorites from T R A P S O U L:
Thank y’all so much for tuning in again. Your attention could be anywhere else in the world right now. And for that, I’m eternally grateful. I love seeing your recommendations and comments regarding all things music - even alternative, pop and rock! I listen to a bunch of genres outside of my favorites. I just really love R&B lol. But please do send anything you’re listening to lately that you think people would enjoy. Y’all have definitely shared some gems here in the past, so keep ‘em coming!
See y’all back here again next week - same time, same place.
Love,
Zay 🖤
Okay so “Don’t” gave me the confidence to leave an abusive relationship I was in so that song holds so much weight in my heart. I love TRAPSOUL so much! I have the vinyl and listen to it regularly!!! The new album I’m loving so far but I think it’s the man, anything Bryson Tiller I think I might just love.
I listen to this album from when it was released till date. 💪