When’s the last time you heard an actual R&B Album that you actually liked? I’m not talking about something as general like the latest Bhris Brown album, or the latest Ne-Yo album. We’re talking about a brand new R&B artist who could actually sound good on a beat and sing songs that you could relate too. I don’t remember the last time I was able to do that.. But let me let y’all in on a secret.

Bryson Tiller just did that for me. You may have seen his picture with a red filter over it or maybe you’ve seen your #WCW quote him under her fire instagram posts last week. Bryson is the newest R&B sensation from Louisville, Kentucky. He isn’t backed by any major crew — no MMG, no OVO, no Roc Nation behind him. Shit, not even the dudes at Def Jam invested in this kid before he blew up. But Pen Griffey decided to take all that ammo, turn around and put out one of the strongest projects in 2015. It isn’t perfect, not at all. But my homeboy knows how to make some songs, knows how to get my cheap ass Apple headphones rockin’ and writes all the lyrics that my fake crushes can put under their instagram. Best thing about it is after I listened to TRAPSOUL, I felt like I could relate to that shit exactly.

TRAPSOUL is a great body of work. To be honest with you, I was taking a look at the kid after those OVO boy put me on. That plus his sampling of Aubrey’s So Far Gone cut Bria’s Interlude had me anticipating TRAPSOUL like a motherfucker. Let’s get this started.

I believe that Young Tiller had an idea when he started doing TRAPSOUL. The guy was smart. He embodied the sound of today, grabbing a little bit of that Trap sound that Metro & Future have made so popular in 2015 alongside with his sick pen game and made something that is truly worth listening to. When you first hear Tiller you may not think that is voice is all that — and it very may well not be anything special. This is his first real body of work with a push behind it. But the guy can write a song and that is very apparent on the cuts that truly stand out . Don’t, Exchange, Rambo, Sorry Not Sorry… these are all cuts that can have the “hipsters get along with them hood niggas”, as my boy Aubrey said way-back-yonder.

Listening to TRAPSOUL as a full body of work is truly an experience. From Intro (Difference) all the way to Right My Wrongs, everything feels like it falls into place with one another. You never feel that abrupt transition you experience with some of the Breezy albums or even some of those true nitty-gritty hip-hop albums. TRAPSOUL sounds like it’s all meant to go together, which is what I love to hear. Nothing is a better experience than an album that sounds like it was meant to be listened to all at once..but at the same time have that fucking BANG when they are played individually.

Back to where I was going.. TRAPSOUL starts off strong, letting every dude know they’re not going to get his girl. This mysterious girl — whom I don’t believe really exists — is someone Pen is constantly singing too. But I don’t even really care because honestly, it makes for good moments when I’m sitting at home vibing out to it. He keeps his sound consistent throughout the whole album, making a cool 14 tracks that sound great and don’t get too repetitive.

I don’t want to make it seem like I love this whole thing and there isn’t anything wrong with it though — there is much that could be polished. There are some rough tracks and some moments that don’t really sound that great when I’m high listening to this project. But that doesn’t take much away from the idea that this thing is actually a project that is a great listening experience..and truth be told that’s what we aim to have in 2015. Not all projects excel and not all projects are something we want to hear fully. But this is one of those special little items.

In conclusion (because this is a music review and I believe at one point you’d like to see where I’m going with this), Bryson Tiller‘s TRAPSOUL is a great body of work. It has everything you want to hear in 2015’s version of R&B. Bryson was smart enough to take some fire beats, some fire lyrics, put it all together and make it sound good. At the end of the day, that’s all I want to see in music. It’s dope to have an artist know what the public wants to hear and actually deliver. Shout out to Tiller. You did an amazing job, man.

Stand Out Tracks: Exchange, Don’t, Sorry Not Sorry, Rambo, 502 Come Up.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.