Teyana Taylor 'VII' Review

   

If the title of your album is VII it would seem like this is your seventh LP being released doesn't it? In the case of Harlem born Teyana Taylor, it represents the years spent in the music industry prior to her now released debut VII (G.O.O.D./Def Jam). While this may seem like a long time to release a project, the patience shows throughout, as Teyana Taylor has perfected her voice in a way that shows promise in the future.
     The album opens up to a jazzy interlude "Outta My League", as Taylor finds a man that she feels she doesn't deserve. "Just Different" takes on a different approach in subject matter, but still keeps the jazz feel. Matter of a fact, the song even brings to mind early Mary J Blige in mood. "Still love in my heart/It's not the same/It's just different" sung as a woman who is tired of a relationship that once blossomed. The next track"Request" is seductive at best, as Taylor wants that special someone to request the role she should play in bed. Once again her vocal tone is so smooth that it's convincing as autobiographical (maybe it is?)
     The highlights of the album takes shape with "Do Not Disturb" a duet with Chris Brown. The drums along with the accompanying melody screams sex, and is sure to be a quiet storm favorite in the current playlist of radio rotation. As often as R&B artists try to submit to hip-hop beats, this is rather refreshing. The same can be said of "Broken Hearted Girl" which features fellow Def Jam artist Fabolous.
     "Put Your ove On" takes a backseat to the albums smooth feel, to bring in reggae influenced vibes that can give Rihanna a run for her money. Even as the 808's make you bounce to the groove, Teyana Taylor keeps her smooth vocals in tact with the previous album. This leads into the lead single "Maybe" (which should be a bigger hit) merging seduction and melody perfectly.
     Perhaps the biggest flaw of the album is its length. The project is only over a half hour long, and certain songs are cut short. In fact the previously mentioned "Just Different" and another "It Could Just Be Love" serve as interludes, whereas the full songs appear on the deluxe edition of the album. Who knows what the point of that is, but ridiculous comes to mind. Elsewhere the song "Dreams" adds to the album cohesiveness, but one cannot help to prefer the leaked altered version that was released last month online "Dreams of F*****g An R&B Chick".
     Give credit to Kanye West who oversaw VII for the cohesive effort, and while not a perfect album, Taylor shows promise as a singer, and will be a mainstay if the emotion that she poured into this LP is only the beginning of her artistry.