If you’ve been looking at what your friends are listening to on Spotify or turned on Beats 1 Radio for just 15 minutes in the last few months, you’ve probably heard or at least heard of Bryson Tiller. Since releasing his debut album, “Trapsoul,” the buzzworthy 23-year-old singer/rapper and Louisville native has had a near meteoric rise, going from relative unknown to Drake-cosigned star occupying the upper echelon of the Apple Music and Billboard Charts.
In anticipation of his show this Friday, March 4 at the House of Blues, RedEye has broken down everything you need to know about him. Check out the list below.
7. He worked at Papa John’s
We all have to start somewhere. Before he became famous and toured the country, Tiller held jobs at Papa John’s and UPS. He tweeted about his time there, writing, “8 months ago @iWorkTheHardest and @ContactSwad3 gave me 600 dollars to buy studio equipment and I made ‘Don’t.’ life is so crazy.” He’s also mentioned in interviews that he spent time living out of his car before his music gained traction. Hard work does pay off.
6. Drake and Timbaland are fans
Last year, both Drake and Timbaland lent out cosigns to the rising artist. In fact, it was a phone call from Timbaland himself that made Tiller quit his day job. He revealed to Rolling Stone, “Actually, I wasn’t even going to quit my job, but Timbaland called me — we have a mutual friend — and he was like, ‘Yo man, you need to work in Miami.’ Next thing you know, he said, ‘You should quit your job,’ and I quit my job instantly.” He added, “I flew down to Miami. That was the point when I knew it was going to be a career.” While Timbaland ended up giving production credits to “Trapsoul,” Tiller has yet to release a collaboration with the Toronto superstar.
5. Tiller is just as good at rapping as he is singing
Just listen to his competent flow on “Exchange” or his spitfire rhymes on “Ten Nine Fourteen.” Like many artists inspired by Drake and by Kanye West’s “808s and Heartbreak,” Tiller shows that his voice is versatile enough to occupy different lanes.
4. Don’t confuse Tiller’s “Trapsoul” sound with Chicago MC Tree’s “Soul Trap”
Tiller describing his sound as “Trapsoul” isn’t the most unique designation for his brooding brand of R&B because Chicago rapper Tree already has laid claim to “Soul Trap.” Tree’s gruff delivery and blunt lyrics are basically the opposite of Tiller’s undeniable smoothness. Listen above.
3. He once deleted his breakout hit “Don’t” from SoundCloud
What would become his most famous song was close to being wiped off the Internet. He told Vibe, “I actually uploaded it to SoundCloud twice. I deleted it and then a bunch of people were telling me I should put it back up. I uploaded it again on October 9, 2014.” That decision, obviously, worked out. “I mean, it was still hard but to get here, all I had to do was make music and give it my all. I was actually listening to it not too long ago and it was all just so surreal.”
2. “Don’t” now has millions of streams and became Beats Radio 1’s second “World Record” ever.
Apple Music might be the biggest driving force behind Tiller’s rise. The streaming service, which reportedly boasts upwards of 11 million subscribers, has been repping his music hard since July. “Don’t” was DJ Zane Lowe’s second “World Record” ever, and “Trapsoul” has pretty much been on the front page of the site since it dropped in October.
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1. Tiller still has a lot of room to grow
“Trapsoul” is a very competent and mostly engaging listen with four songs (“Don’t,” “Exchange,” “Been That Way” and “Ten Nine Fourteen”) that stand out as the best of the bunch. The rest of the offering, however, is sometimes very middle of the road and meandering. While it exudes more promise than quality, with that voice and people like Drake and Timbaland backing him, things can only get better for the young singer.
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