Bryson Tiller On Kids Take Over

In this interview, Arshan sat down with Bryson Tiller to discuss his life following the April release of his self-titled album and gearing up for tour. The Kentucky-born singer and rapper emerged in the early 2010s with his single "Don't" and his debut album, TRAPSOUL, which garnered Grammy nominations and multi-platinum certifications. His subsequent albums, True to Self and ANNIVERSARY, reached number one and five on the Billboard 200, respectively. Tiller's collaborations, including DJ Khaled's "Wild Thoughts" and H.E.R.'s "Could've Been," further solidified his prominence. This April, he released his fourth album Bryson Tiller, featuring the hit single "Whatever She Wants."

In their conversation, Bryson discusses the importance of staying humble, his music becoming a soundtrack to many people's lives. He reminisces about the nostalgic impact of The-Dream’s “Falsetto” and shares he’s the most happy he’s ever been with the release of his new self-titled album, highlighting "Undertow" as his favorite track. He reveals how "Whatever She Wants" went viral organically, partly due to TikTok's influence along with his view on new-age music discovery. Tiller reflects on the adaptation of "Whatever She Wants" into a Bhangra trend by Indians and his experience working with international artists. He recounts the ordeal of having his self-titled album held for ransom, forcing him to buy it back before releasing it. Acknowledging his influence on R&B, while candidly addressing criticism and imposter syndrome he faced around his album True To Self, which he admits he doesn’t like much. Struggling to afford an Applebee's date and his love for Little Caesar's pizza. Balancing a 9-5 job while recording music was another challenge Tiller faced. He talks about sampling video game sounds in his music and his passion for gaming, with "Estate" being his favorite map in MW2. He even expresses interest in building his own video game. Looking ahead, Tiller plans to explore Alternative, Acoustic, and Rap music, and he enjoys remixing songs. He mentions his desire to feature on Lil Yachty’s “SOLO STEPPIN CRETE BOY” and PinkPantheress fandom. And offers advice for aspiring artists. The interview concludes with Tiller discussing the viral video where a DJ shouts a wild baby mother-involved comment before dropping into a Bryson track at a Halloween party.