Bryson Tiller – True To Self (Album Review)

Is there anyone in the industry cooler than Tiller? I remember becoming a huge fan of his when he did his BET performance in 2015: He had no background singers, no dancers, just him and a mic – this made the performance feel like such an authentic experience. Judging by this album cover, you can…

Is there anyone in the industry cooler than Tiller? I remember becoming a huge fan of his when he did his BET performance in 2015: He had no background singers, no dancers, just him and a mic – this made the performance feel like such an authentic experience. Judging by this album cover, you can tell Tiller will put more of his deep down thoughts into each song, granting fans an opportunity to know a little more about the Louisville kid.

TOP 5 SONGS

 

5. SELF-MADE

This song is Tiller kicking ass and taking names, as he raps over this charged up beat.

Tiller aims at his naysayers on this song, rapping with this arrogance that will make you want to square up with him.

While I prefer Tiller singing, I do think his rap swag on this song is the real deal.

Does Gucci even get that type of recognition anymore? Tiller bragging about a brand that I don’t even want bruh.

4. RUN ME DRY

Doesn’t this song sound all nice and sunny? He’s actually talking about a girl that took all his money, but you will never know because you’re too busy shaking your ass.

I had no clue that Tiller could do a Riddim joint like this, let alone do it well. He really knows how to create that herky jerky sound that is simply gold for club-goers.

So is Tiller talking about his ex-girl or a stripper? Or is she a stripper ex-girlfriend? Here is why i ask that: In one sense he complains about how this girl took all his money, but then in another sense he talks about her swinging around and s–t…. Either he’s talking about a stripper, or him and his girl like going to the damn playground for their dates.

This s–t is dope, and can easily be a number 1 selection for me.

3. DON’T GET TOO HIGH 

Bryson is really good at going from singing to rapping fluently right? On this song, both the club Tiller and the passionate Tiller go back and forth, making sure they don’t step on each others toes.

When Tiller sings, it sounds like he’s trying to give this special girl advice (in a nice way); when he starts to rap, he sounds agitated, coming across like the girls father; when he sing-raps, he plays self-endorser…. This girl is getting someone with about three personalities!

This is another one of those tracks that are super unique.

2. SOMETHIN TELLS ME

‘Somethin Tells Me’ is a sensual track by Tiller that will resonate with commercial R&B fans all over.

On the verses, Bryson pours his heart out about some things that has made him feel a bit paranoid about his current relationship. He knows he messed up, and is curious to know if she is ready to give up on him by now.

I absolutely love the lyrics on this song, as it is some real n—a s–t us dudes think about when we know we messed up in a relationship.

1. YOU GOT IT

This is signature Tiller: Something really catchy, but meaningful at the same time.

Tiller really gets into his emotions on this song, pouring out every style he has in his arsenal. It almost seems like his different versions of vocals is passing the baton to each other, allowing each to have a chance to say something good about this female that he’s scouting (how good do you have to be musically to pull that off?)

Tiller definitely sounds like he got hit with cupid’s arrow on this song.

SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. RAIN ON ME (INTRO) (4/5)

2. NO LONGER FRIENDS (4/5)

3. DON’T GET TOO HIGH (5/5)

4. BLOWING SMOKE (4.5/5)

5. WE BOTH KNOW (4.3/5)

6. YOU GOT IT (5/5)

7. IN-CHECK (4.5/5)

8. SELF-MADE (4.9/5)

9. RUN ME DRY (5/5)

10. HIGH STAKES (4.2/5)

11. RAIN (INTRO) (N/A)

12. TEACH ME A LESSON (4/5)

13. STAY TRUE (4/5)

14. STAY BLESSED (4.7/5)

15. MONEY PROBLEMS/BENZ TRUCK (4.7/5)

16. SET IT OFF (4.8/5)

17. NEVERMIND THIS INTERLUDE (4/5)

17. BEFORE YOU JUDGE (4.8/5)

18. SOMETHIN TELLS ME (5/5)

19. ALWAYS (OUTRO) (N/A)

OVERALL RATING (8.3/10)

My homie brought up an astounding point about Tillers last album ‘Trapsoul’: He said the album literally gets better every time you hear it, and I agree with him completely. I think this album will have that same effect on you, as each song feels like it will take some time to fully be comprehended.

As a whole, this album flows very well to me: You can definitely listen to it without shuffling, but if you are easily annoyed by moping, it can be a bit much for you if you listen to it straight through. If you are a real one, there is a special song on this album that will relate to you; that special song would probably differentiate depending on who you talk to. With that being said, everyone will love the big hits on the album.

The one thing I really like about this album is the subject matters he decided to talk about: You can tell the man understands the nuances of love, cause he is able to get very distinctive about the many different episodes he’s had with his past lover(s). Never have I heard an artist talk about some of the more private relationship issues like Tiller did on this album.

Here is my one knock: I love my mans Tiller, but too many songs sound Drake-like on this album to me. There is a certain format Drake uses when he sings, and Tiller uses that format on multiple songs (Lets keep it real with ourselves folks). I know Drake’s style is hot, but I also think it’s obvious when it is stolen.

Overall, this is a very solid album that truly embodies the character of Bryson. I feel like we got to know a little more about the kid, as he let his guard down a bit.

10 responses to “Bryson Tiller – True To Self (Album Review)”

  1. Cosmic Avatar
    Cosmic

    Set it off should be a 5 lol

    Reply
    1. Cosmic Avatar
      Cosmic

      also I likd this better than T R A P S O U L

      Reply
      1. The Widows Peak Bandit Avatar
        The Widows Peak Bandit

        It’s a lot more dynamic then T R A P S O U L to me. When it is all said and done, I think it will be better too.

    2. The Widows Peak Bandit Avatar
      The Widows Peak Bandit

      You know what!? I had Set it off on my top 5 earlier! lol I went back and forth with that one for sure.

      Reply
      1. Cosmic Avatar
        Cosmic

        Lol that sample is amazing !

      2. Cosmic Avatar
        Cosmic

        and agreed in due time it will be better!

  2. M Avatar
    M

    This is a horrible review. I can guarantee no professional critic will give this album an 80. The only people who believe this album is >68 are those who are bias and just go off hype. This album was a huge letdown.

    The entire album sounds the same, in fact I think 17 of the 19 songs are in D and F#. The subject matter is appallingly repetitive and he lacks the flare he had on tracks such as “Don’t”, “Rambo” and “Exchange”. It’s just a really poor album.

    And lastly, if you average out the ratings you gave for each of the songs, you get 9.5/10 total for the album. So clearly even though your average song rating was 4.74/5 you still rated the album 8.3/10 that makes zero sense. You have no business reviewing albums, aside from the fact that you’re clearly influenced by hype, you also don’t have an analytical approach

    Reply
    1. The Widows Peak Bandit Avatar
      The Widows Peak Bandit

      Thank you for the comment (I truly appreciate it!) !!!!

      To say the album is a huge letdown is saying a bit much… Is it repetitive? A little bit; but not enough to penalize it significantly like you did though.

      For you to say that 17 of 19 songs are a D or F is an outlandish statement, and borderline something you should be put in jail for saying. I do not think he lacks flare on this album – I think because it’s his second time around, we are used to his style by now, so it is not as much as a pleasant surprise as the first time around (I am actually ok with this particular comment… the 17 out of 19 songs being bad is borderline insane.)

      I am glad you pointed out my point scale, because it gives me a chance to explain it to the people! (I encourage discussion, and I am hopping that we can talk about it if you disagree in the comment section.) See M, the songs individually are good to me, but in terms of the body of work as a whole, it does lack creativity (which I semi stated in the review when I mentioned it sounded too drakish) One of the biggest thing I deduct major points for is creativity, and I didn’t find the songs to be that creative. Overall means overall; that’s factoring a bunch of things, not just analytical…. So don’t focus too much on the numbers…Cohesion, Flow of the album, individual song, energy, creativity all are key in my overall rating…I’ll give you a good example: I’ve listened to Travis Scott’s “Birds In the trap sing etc’ album way more than ‘To Pimp a butterfly’, and I find it more enjoyable song to song than to ‘Pimp a Butterfly’, but does that mean it is better than ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ as a whole body of work? No it is not buddy.

      Some won’t like your opinion, some won’t like mines, and some won’t even like the ‘professionals’ opinion…. But it’s an opinion, the beauty of music right?!

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  3. Mack Avatar
    Mack

    This album is nothing near TRAPSOUL period. Yall are just trying to find great in someone you liked from a previous song a while ago. This album is really disappointing because he just like many artists who had strong first projects were only great because they were starving. Once they started eating and digesting success, the crap created in the future was just that. Ok and maybe its not crap but you are clearly lying to yourself if you can truly say you weren’t looking forward to another Dont or Exchange inspired TRAPSOUL2 album with the simplistic clarity of melody over trap beats and a brother with good and bad intentions flowing verses of honesty and lies to cover real life emotions and situations. TRAPSOUL was a soundtrack that we have all lived. This crap is the commercial result of success.

    Reply
    1. The Widows Peak Bandit Avatar
      The Widows Peak Bandit

      Thanks for reading, and for providing a well-thought out comment. (I Really appreciate it!)

      There is a thin-line between what you expected from an artist, and the actual music that comes out. Jay-Z started out a cold drug dealer on ‘Reasonable Doubt’, and by the time he released ‘BluePrint 2’, he was this rich dude that talked about high fashion (a lot)… Was his lyrical ability/rapping skills diminished? No, I actually think he became better lyrically, cause he was speaking some futuristic s–t that his old fans had to get hip to to enjoy. With that being said, Tiller has lost some of that ‘real ass dude from around the way’ hunger he had from his last album content-wise (especially on his rapping s–t), but the quality of music to me is still pretty good. To me, Tiller can still nail a melody, still hit us with bars, and still make his words resonate just as effectively to me. I feel like you can’t penalize an artist tremendously cause he didn’t drop exactly what you wanted him to drop, focus more on the quality of music.

      I stand by my statement earlier, and that is that I think the album will grow on people.

      I do not think you are wrong at all in how you feel, but I will say this…. Music growth is the most unique in art, and sometimes your favorite artists will deviate from what made you like them because they feel it is the next step in their career that they need to take…. (Hell, I am still waiting for Carter II Wayne to come back to the game!) My advice is to give the album some time, and hopefully our ears will adjust.

      Reply

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