Bryson Tiller Essentials

Louisville’s Bryson Tiller rocketed out of obscurity in 2014, becoming R&B’s hottest new voice. All it took was “Don’t”, a juggernaut of a slow jam about a girl who deserves better from her man. Like Drake, Tiller can switch seamlessly from rapping to singing, often in the same verse. But he’s ultimately an R&B purist, known for flipping sultry vintage classics and updating them for the current day; check out 2016’s “Exchange”, a sexy fantasy about an old flame that samples K. P. & Envyi’s 1997 jam “Swing My Way”. His voice is classically beautiful, but he’s able to mutate it depending on the style or vibe of a particular song. That makes Tiller not just an enviable solo artist but an in-demand collaborator. Observe his star turn alongside Rihanna on DJ Khaled’s 2017 smash “Wild Thoughts”, or his plucking of a prized verse from Drake on 2020’s silky-smooth “Outta Time”. A full decade after first making his mark, Tiller returned to rapping in earnest on 2024’s “Whatever She Wants”, a woozy club track that made waves on global charts.