Bryson Tiller

A contemporary R&B singer/rapper who often gives off a wallflower baller vibe, Bryson Tiller pulls from '80s and '90s inspirations while continuing to evolve from the trap-rooted sound that provided him with his breakthrough. T R A P S O U L (2015) made the Kentucky-born artist a star with the diamond platinum "Don't," the Grammy-nominated "Exchange," and third multi-platinum hit "Sorry Not Sorry." The album was a Top Ten entry on the Billboard 200 and was trumped by the chart-topping True to Self (2017), a comparatively colorful follow-up. The H.E.R. duet "Could've Been" became Tiller's second Grammy-nominated recording by the time he scored a third Top Ten album with A N N I V E R S A R Y (2020), led by the platinum Drake collaboration "Outta Time." Tiller's next major hit came with "Whatever She Wants." Originally recorded for the second volume of his Detroit-inspired Slum Tiller mixtape series, it saw commercial release on Tiller's self-titled fourth album (2024). He has since issued Solace & the Vices, an hour-long album split between unassisted R&B material and a set of primarily rap-oriented tracks with guests such as Luh Tyler and T-Pain.

Tiller started singing and rapping as a high schooler in his native Louisville, Kentucky, and in his late teens released a mixtape, Killer Instinct, Vol. 1. He was just into his twenties when SoundCloud uploads such as "Don't," "Break Bread," and "Let 'Em Know" brought him greater recognition. Timbaland reached out to collaborate and convinced Tiller to quit his job to do so. Drake expressed interest in signing Tiller to his OVO Sound label, but after some deliberation, Tiller accepted an offer from RCA, and made his major-label debut in May 2015 with the commercial release of "Don't." The sparse ballad peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and eventually went multi-platinum). The full-length T R A P S O U L followed a few months later and reached number eight on the Billboard 200. Within six months, the album was certified platinum, supported by additional multi-platinum hits "Exchange" and "Sorry Not Sorry," the latter of which was co-produced by Timbaland. "Exchange," a number 26 pop hit, was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best R&B Song.

Featured appearances and non-album singles as a headliner led to the May 2017 release of Tiller's second album, True to Self. Another set dominated by thumping slow jams, it went straight to number one. Around the same time, Tiller was featured beside Rihanna on DJ Khaled's number two hit "Wild Thoughts." Additional featured appearances and other stray tracks preceded Tiller's third album. Most notable were duets with Jazmine Sullivan and H.E.R., respectively "Insecure" (for the soundtrack of the like-titled series) and the Grammy-nominated "Could've Been." Issued in October 2020, A N N I V E R S A R Y landed at number five and contained "Outta Time," featuring guest vocals by Drake and production from 40, Nineteen85, and Vinylz. A year later, coinciding with both Halloween and the tenth anniversary of his first mixtape, Tiller offered his second tape, Killer Instinct 2: The Nightmare Before. Another holiday-themed recording, A Different Christmas, was out the next month with Justin Bieber, Pentatonix, and Kiana Ledé on the guest list. The EP included mostly original songs and an update of "Winter Wonderland." In 2022, Tiller guested on Diddy's "Gotta Move On" and released the solo single "Outside," followed a year later by "Down Like That." Previously issued as part of the SoundCloud mixtape Slum Tiller 2, "Whatever She Wants" was given a wider release in early 2024 and became a significant hit, reaching the Top 20 in the U.S. and U.K. Tiller included it on his self-titled fourth album in April. Throughout the front half of 2025, he delivered a series of collaborative singles, including "Mini Kelly" with Rick Ross and "No Sharing" with Luh Tyler. They arrived ahead of Solace & the Vices, a conceptual album that landed in October. ~ Andy Kellman