In recent years, the strategy of surprise releasing an album has become more and more commonplace, especially as artists try to adapt to the changing music market. At a time when fans have such immediate access to music and thus demand instant gratification, surprise releases keep fans on their toes and create excitement, instead of leaving them waiting for a specific day to arrive. On Friday, May 26, 2017, emerging R&B star Bryson Tiller was the latest to surprise his fans with an album. Tiller released the highly-anticipated "True to Self" a whole month ahead of its original June 23 release date.
Tiller's sophomore effort
"True to Self" is the Louisville singer's second studio album, serving as the follow-up to his breakout project "Trapsoul" released in 2015. "Trapsoul" put Tiller into the spotlight, in large part due to the project's two most popular songs, "Don't" and "Exchange".
With his Instagram announcement of an early release of "True to Self", Tiller also provided his thoughts on what this album means to him, sharing that "when you are true to yourself, you are completely honest with what you feel, deeply value, and desire. It also means communicating your feelings wholeheartedly both with yourself and others, allowing the truth to flow through you and into the world."
The album is led by single "Somethin' Tells Me", for which Tiller also released a music video, available for viewing now on YouTube.
A new vibe
In contrast with his first album "Trapsoul", "True to Self" features a more upbeat and energetic vibe, with lyrics that Tiller would describe as "a lot more mature than they were before." Furthermore, he delves deeper into the nature of his relationships, and the result is a highly personal, concise effort. In an interview with Billboard, Tiller explained that on this project, he's "painting the picture for people to just sit back and listen" and try to visualize everything that he's saying.
On the project, Tiller utilizes his signature "trapsoul" sound, in that he sometimes sings, sometimes raps, and a lot of the time combines the two. The blending of singing and rapping has become a popular trend in hip-hop/R&B, and Bryson Tiller is one of the more proficient artists to have adopted the style.
Only time will tell how "True to Self" stacks up against "Trapsoul", and how the album will advance Bryson Tiller's promising career.
"True to Self" is now available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music, and is available to purchase on iTunes.
