When the Orion Sun-sampling “Whatever She Wants” reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 (chart dated March 16), Bryson Tiller not only earned his first unaccompanied Hot 100 top 20 hit in nearly a decade, he also pulled off the feat with a sound that notably diverged from the sultry trap-inflected R&B that brought him past chart wins in 2015’s “Don’t” and 2017’s “Wild Thoughts” (with Rihanna and DJ Khaled).
Although it’s parenthetically titled “Bonus” and tacked at the end of the album like a victory lap of sorts, “Whatever She Wants” acts as the thematic anchor for Tiller’s new eponymous LP. Led by a trio of singles, including “Whatever She Wants,” “Outside,” and “Calypso,” Bryson Tiller, the Grammy-nominated R&B star’s fourth studio effort, finds its namesake flaunting the different multitudes of his sonic profile. From less emotionally conflicted Trapsoul variants to big swings at drill-inflected R&B and frothy top 40 tunes, Bryson Tiller aims to use sonic experimentation to ground Tiller’s monogamous devotion to his lover.
“Attention,” the album’s first full-length song, immediately steers the album into that lane. “And baby, when you put it on, there’s no competition/ I watched you make an entrance/ Yes, and you can tell by my description (You fit it well and, girl)/ I will never fail to mention (How you polish every detail),” he croons over relatively sparse production from Syk Sense. It’s a fine opener, one that transports listeners to the murky Trapsoul soundscapes he revisited on his last LP (2020’s Anniversary), and course-corrects from the needless computer theme that sporadically appears throughout the record. The utility of “Attention” lies in Tiller’s songwriting: He emphasizes the allure of one particular woman across the track, driving the album several hundred miles away from the deluge of “toxic” womanizing male R&B that’s driven the genre for the better part of the last decade – a wave Tiller’s own Trapsoul is a part of, in some regards. Bryson Tiller is all about loving one woman, reminding her why she stands above the rest and taking pride in spoiling her, simply because it’s something you genuinely love to do.
“Attention” is a solid entry point that gives way to more arresting tracks: On “Prize,” he employs his most impressive flow over a string-laden beat that recalls late-’00s Usher, and “No Thank You” is a cut tailor-made for day-one Tiller fans who relish his inimitable brand of sing-rapping. Prior to this record, Tiller was toiling away on his Slum Tiller mixtape series, and much of Bryson Tiller descends from that work. Take “F4U,” the album’s penultimate, Jodeci-sampling track, for example: It’s not explicitly in Slum Village’s jazz-rap wheelhouse, but Tiller’s approach to rapping on this cut – some of his best on the entire record – is clearly informed by the time he spent flexing his rap muscle on that SoundCloud mixtape series, as of course is “Whatever She Wants,” the album’s crown jewel of “spoil your girl” anthems.
That highlight also finds intriguing complements in “Rich Boy” and “Ciao!” The former, which lifts Rich Boy’s “Throw Some D’s,” pauses the celebratory energy of “Whatever She Wants” and opts for a shadier, dirty-macking approach. “Do the most for you, I do it in random/ He a joke to you, should be doin’ stand up/ He don’t put spend it on you (Huh), hold that s–t for ransom / If you don’t f–k with broke n—as, ladies, this your anthem,” he spits. The latter, an enjoyable take on drill-inflected R&B, with writing contributions from the Grammy-winning Leon Thomas III, finds a markedly more dejected Tiller brooding over being financially taken advantage of. “Ciao” takes a second to find its grove, but once Tiller pairs his layered background harmonies with those crisp snares, it makes for an impressive textural contrast.
In addition to his flirtation with drill on the new LP, Tiller also dips into another regional sound that has been dominating hip-hop recently. The Clara La San-assisted “RAM,” the only proper song to explicitly nod to the record’s underbaked computer theme, finds Tiller using Jersey club’s pounding drums to soundtrack the neurotic feeling of needing to remember why you’ve entered and chosen to stay in a relationship. “RAM,” along with the witty, Victoria Monét duet “Persuasion,” is among the LP’s best offerings, underscoring Bryson’s tendencies to deliver his best work when he’s pushing himself vocally. It’s the same reason why “Find My Way” and “Undertow” will stand as career-best vocal performances; not only do his dizzying riffs tastefully decorate his immersive melodic lines, but help underscore a level of vulnerability that strengthens the gravity of his explorations of monogamy.
Bryson Tiller is a solid record that honors the mid-2010s break out star’s roots while also showcasing how wide-ranging his versatility can be. Some of those options – like “Calypso,” a summer anthem-in-waiting that has nothing to do with actual calypso music – are easy winners, while others (album closer “Assume the Position” is an absolute dud that’s reminiscent of the worst of Chris Brown’s early ’10s run) fall a bit short. The record, like most albums these days, could have benefited from some trimming — some of the interludes add nothing of substance and the relative lack of variance in subject matter makes the 19-track set feel redundant quite quickly.
There may be several songs on this record destined to own the warm-weather months, but Bryson Tiller is built to last through any season. This one’s for the real lovers, and no one sounds more in love – or more happy about being in love – than Mr. Tiller.
