Bryson Tiller, although he’s an artist I find myself overlooking at times, has never been one to disappoint fans with his music. His voice is just so pure, emotional, and passionate that you feel the pain and sensitivity he’s feeling no matter what he’s singing about. It seems like the topics he discusses seem to dive deep into relationships, more specifically trouble with the relationships he’s in, and these instances are things that people typically don’t open up about, but Bryson wears his heart on his sleeve and puts his all into every single song he puts out. This connects with fans on a deeper level, I believe, and this is what has created such a large and loyal following for the Louisville native.
Most recently, fans have been bombarding him with concerns about when his next album is going to arrive, and he broke his silence with a brand-new song entitled “Inhale” as well as an accompanying music video. It samples songs by SWV and Mary J. Blige off of the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, and this retro R&B sound is something that he truly stands out on, providing some nostalgia for this hiatus-breaking single. The hook is basically taken straight from the SWV hit “All Night Long”, but it paves the way for Bryson to come in and add his own spin on the song.
As Bryson sings in his verse, he never really holds out his notes for too long, but the naturally melodic nature of his voice adds such an elevated quality to the offering. He almost just raps, boasting quick bars at times while allowing the beat to occupy time throughout other portions. The pitch of his voice raises and lowers during certain moments, acting very wavy as he attempts to get his point across even further.
About halfway through, the beat begins to slow down as if things are going in slow motion, and the vocals follow suit at the same time as if a CD is scratched, causing the vocals to be distorted. This leads to the beat slowly but surely quieting down until it eventually cuts out completely, leaving us in our feelings just like Bryson is. As he makes his way throughout his original verse, Bryson second guesses all of the feelings and emotions that have gone into his relationship, not wanting it to come to an end but knowing that it seems inevitable at this point in time.
As the visual begins, the camera pans in on a house on a cliff, and as you peer into the home, one story is illuminated with red light as the rest of the rooms seem to have a blue tint to them. A woman pulls up to the estate and both she and Bryson seem to be excited for the night ahead. They get extremely close and intimate with one another, but the dim lighting allows for just enough lust to come through clear without getting too explicit or inappropriate. As his verse begins, however, they take their relationship to the blue parts of the house where things seem to begin to get angsty and complicated. Both Bryson and the woman seem to be frustrated with what is going on, burying their heads in their hands and looking irritated at how the relationship is turning out. When the beat begins to slow down, Bryson is sitting on a couch in the blue room as countless clocks rest on the wall behind him. They begin to melt in a quality similar to Salvador Dali’s artwork “The Persistence of Memory”, and time seems to start slipping away from him, which frustrates him even more, leading him to take one of these clocks and throw it on the ground.
While there is no story being told other than within the song’s lyrics, the emotions that are unfolding before your eyes in the music video are more than clear. The two different lights portray lust and conflict, adding some unspoken narration to the moments that play out in the relationship. Although the entire visual is very dimly lit, the themes that are being expressed come through clear as day, and this provides some much-appreciated plot to the story that Bryson is going into detail about in the song. Aside from the video, we are given some wonderful information at the end as a message takes over the dark screen, hinting at the fact that he has a new album on the way, and it’s going to arrive this Fall. While we wait for more updates on the project, refamiliarize yourself with Bryson Tiller and his brand-new single “Inhale” below.