On Oct. 2, Kentucky-born R&B artist Bryson Tiller released his first studio album T R A P S O U L, which debuted at #11 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. Tiller first gained notoriety after posting his single “Don’t” to his SoundCloud page, which has reached nearly 33 million streams in total. Shortly after its release, Tiller was co-signed to both Timbaland and Drake and chose to sign with RCA records in late August.

The album laments a failed relationship, opening with “Intro (Difference),” in which Tiller immediately makes it clear that he is not over his ex. Smooth calming beats accompany the entire album’s plea for one more chance. It is masterfully pieced together, transitioning easily from song to song and leaving the listener with a broken heart on Tiller’s behalf.

Tiller annotates sections of his lyrics on genius.com, including the ending to the first verse of “Exchange.” The lyrics are as follows: “Everywhere she go / They playin’ my song / That’s why I say the things that I say / That way I know you can’t ignore me.” “That’s real,” Tiller wrote. “A girl will be listening to something like [the song] ‘Don’t’ and I’ll talk about her, and then she’s like, ‘OK, I know he’s talking about me.’ And that girl – nobody even knows that we talk to each other. But, she knows out of all those people listening to the song, that message is resonating with her.”

Tiller’s song “Rambo” received praise from Rambo actor Sylvester Stallone himself, who tweeted his support of the music along with a picture of a statue of the notorious character. “People please check out BRYSON TILLER NEW SONG CALLED. “Rambo”. YouTube Pretty amazing if I say so myself!! Great,” Stallone tweeted.

However, Tiller drops the ball on some of his songs and they begin to seem repetitive, each carrying a similar ‘take me back’ sort of message. He even takes a shot at rapping- but songs like “Ten Nine Fourteen” seem to act more as proof that he should stick to singing.

Overall, the album’s tranquil mood and calming vibes set Tiller up for great success as he begins his young career.