Escape Room

Teyana Taylor’s fourth studio album commands an A-list cast of Hollywood talent (collectively owning an Oscar, seven Emmys, three Golden Globes and a Tony) helping the multitalented singer-songwriter to bring the intimate, complicated world of Escape Room to life. A charged R&B drama unfolds between scene-setting interludes narrated by stars including Taraji P. Henson, Sarah Paulson, Kerry Washington, Regina King and Issa Rae, as Taylor demolishes the fourth wall and opens the audience up to a front-row view of life in metamorphosis. The narrative that plays out across Escape Room runs parallel to events in Taylor’s own life, finding herself and falling in love again following her separation and subsequent divorce from former Brooklyn Nets player, Iman Shumpert. Opening track “Fire Girl” deploys a distorted vocal sample and lilting, Spanish guitar which lights a blazing trail of raw emotion that stretches the entire expanse of the album. “Long Time” simmers with regret, the KAYTRANADA assist “Open Invite” burns up with pure desire, while “In Your Skin” melts devotion. Although a turbulent ride at times, the gentle acoustic ballad “Always”, which strums the record out—ending on a message to their mother, read aloud by Taylor’s children—makes for a smooth landing, bringing the curtain down on a happy ending.