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Bryson Tiller Breaks Down T R A P S O U L pt.2

blame it on Dharmic X February 24, 2016
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Read part one of our sit-down with Bryson Tiller, here.

By this point, most readers are familiar with Bryson Tiller‘s improbable journey from an employee in the fast food world to becoming one of music’s brightest young stars. It is still breathtaking to observe in real time. Like Meka, I first saw Bryson live when he made his New York City debut at SOBs. He did two shows that night and it was impossible to tell which one was more packed, which group of fans more engaged. Bryson, backed by frequent collaborator J-Louis, held his own for both sets, with the fans singing word for word alongside him. SOBs hadn’t seen hysteria like this since PARTYNEXTDOOR made his own New York City debut there a year prior.

The following day I met up with Tiller at the RCA offices. Throughout our conversation, we talked about making of his debut album T R A P S O U L. It was a press day for the Louisville native, and I was the last interview before he would get a chance to grab some lunch and avoid the usual questions about not signing to OVO and being from Kentucky. Despite that, he provided plenty of insight into some of the most important records off T R A P S O U L.

Last night, I saw Tiller perform again in New York City. This time, it was the second of two sold out nights at the much larger Webster Hall, as part of his T R A P S O U L tour with THEY. Celebrities such as Jaden Smith, Hailey Baldwin, and Busta Rhymes were in attendance as Bryson performed with the same panache he displayed a few months months ago, but this time over one thousand people sang back in unison as he performed hits like “Don’t,” “Exchange,” and my personal favorite, “Sorry Not Sorry.”

In part two of the DopeHouse’s interview with Bryson Tiller, he talks about “Right My Wrongs,” “Ten Nine Fourteen,” and “502 Come Up.” — Dharmic X

Interview by Dharmic X, transcribed by EJ Blair

 

“RIGHT MY WRONGS”

PRODUCED BY THE MEKANICS & HOLLADAY

‘Right My Wrongs’ was a song where I just took advantage of what I was going through. I like to take breaks from music and live a little – but there are some times where I’m like, ‘I just need to capitalize on this moment right here and make a song.’

I got this long text message from somebody and I was just really sad about it. I read the text message, got on my microphone right away, laid melodies down, and started writing. I think if I had waited like three days after we’d resolved the issue it wouldn’t have been the same. I played it [the song] for her that day [I made it] and she was like, “Oh, okay.” We [still] talk about it.

 

“TEN NINE FOURTEEN”

PRODUCED BY SYK SENSE

‘Ten Nine Fourteen’ was a song that was necessary for this project to tell my story. A lot of people have been watching me grow since ‘Don’t.’ I just felt like I needed to put the growth into music so they could say, ‘Yeah I was there for this. I was there for that. I remember when this happened.’ I didn’t come with everything. I want people to remember that I worked to get to where I’m at. It didn’t just fall into my lap. Going through all the struggles that I went through was tough.

I want to make people feel a certain way. I want them to actually experience love again and want to be in love with somebody. I want them to be like, ‘Dang. He was going through this? I wish I had somebody to go through that with.’ A lot of guys have been coming up to me saying that my music has been helping them be more expressive. My music has been helping me too because I’m not that expressive with relationships, so I use my songs as an outlet to express myself.

 

“502 COME UP”

PRODUCED BY J-LOUIS & GRAVEZ

‘502 Come Up’ was the last song that I added to the project. I had originally made a rough version of ‘502 Come Up,’ but it was just ideas and stuff, and I thought, ‘Nah. It needs to be more turnt.’ Meanwhile, I’d been having that beat from my boy J Louis and Gravez. I was just like, ‘Alright. It’s time to use this beat now.’ At first I messed with that beat a few times and it just wasn’t coming out how I wanted it to. But then it came out that way. It was perfect.

I felt like that song was necessary because this is a great year for Louisville. We have people in three fields that a lot of people say you’ll never make it in. It’s hard to break into those industries: the NFL, the NBA, and the music industry. Three young black kids did that from Louisville, Kentucky this year. A guy named DeVante [Parker], he went to Miami [Dolphins]. D’Angelo Russell went to the Lakers. And I’m in the music industry now or getting into the music industry. We’re all just 22 [and] 23.