June 25 2018 — Back in 2014, Teyana Taylor released her debut album, VII, to well-deserved commercial and critical acclaim. We here at SoulTracks anointed one of the tracks an “Instant Classic” and rated the album one of the best of the year, and since then have followed Taylor’s career with interest as she made guest appearances on others’ records and released her own superb mixtape, The Cassette Tape 1994. But for reasons we don’t understand, a new full-length album was long-delayed, and it appeared that the focus was being placed more on Taylor’s beauty than on her obvious musical talent, with heavily-publicized appearances as a seductive dancer in a Kanye West music video and as the star of her own reality TV show on BET.
June 25 2018 — Back in 2014, Teyana Taylor released her debut album, VII, to well-deserved commercial and critical acclaim. We here at SoulTracks anointed one of the tracks an “Instant Classic” and rated the album one of the best of the year, and since then have followed Taylor’s career with interest as she made guest appearances on others’ records and released her own superb mixtape, The Cassette Tape 1994. But for reasons we don’t understand, a new full-length album was long-delayed, and it appeared that the focus was being placed more on Taylor’s beauty than on her obvious musical talent, with heavily-publicized appearances as a seductive dancer in a Kanye West music video and as the star of her own reality TV show on BET.
But thankfully for R&B/soul fans, Taylor has returned to music with a fury on her newly-released second album, KTSE, produced by West. The record shifts the focus back to where it should be, on Taylor’s voice and musicianship, which both are in delightful form. We feature here the track “Gonna Love Me,” an ever-so-smooth, mid-tempo ballad which places Taylor’s smokey, nuanced and textured vocals front and center. Enjoy.
By Robb Patryk
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