Biography
Teyana Taylor forged a winding route through R&B while maintaining parallel work as an actor, dancer, and choreographer, reaching the Top 20 with the candid VII in 2014, followed by K.T.S.E. in 2018 and the deeply personal, broadly ranging The Album in 2020, her third full-length for Kanye West’s Def Jam-backed G.O.O.D. Music imprint.
A native of Harlem, Taylor secured a teenage contract with the Neptunes’ Star Trak roster, helped spread the Chicken Noodle Soup dance, contributed choreography to Beyoncé’s “Ring the Alarm” clip, and gained wider notice via a 2007 installment of MTV’s My Super Sweet 16. One year after that broadcast debut she issued her audacious opening single “Google Me,” crafted with Ester Dean, Jazze Pha, and additional collaborators; the track peaked at number 90 on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop chart and preceded the 2009 mixtape From a Planet Called Harlem, after which her Star Trak tenure ended. Before the year closed she earned a co-writing credit on “So Cold,” a track from Chris Brown’s Grammy-nominated Graffiti.
The ensuing decade opened with decisive moves. Cast in her first acting part for Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming in 2010, Taylor also supplied vocals to Kanye West’s Grammy-winning My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. She then exited Interscope, Star Trak’s parent company, to join West’s Def Jam-affiliated G.O.O.D. label, appearing on its 2012 compilation Cruel Summer—a number-two hit that included her contributions to “Sin City” and “Bliss.” Another mixtape arrived that year, yet her official debut LP, VII, surfaced only in November 2014. Bolstered by the singles “Maybe,” which reached number 32 on the R&B/hip-hop chart, and “Do Not Disturb,” two entries among its numerous steamy ballads, the album entered the Billboard 200 at number 19.
A self-released EP followed in 2015, but three further years elapsed before the proper successor to VII, during which Taylor focused on raising her daughter with partner Iman Shumpert. She joined Meek Mill for tracks in 2017 and appeared with Fabolous and Jadakiss, then released K.T.S.E.—short for “Keep the Same Energy”—in June 2018. The final entry in a series of concise G.O.O.D. projects recorded and co-produced by West in Wyoming, after sets from Pusha T, West, Kids See Ghosts, and Nas, it debuted at number 17 and spawned the gold-certified “Gonna Love Me,” which peaked at number 19 on the R&B/hip-hop chart. Following scattered 2019 and early-2020 previews, most prominently the Lauryn Hill duet “We Got Love,” Taylor issued The Album on Juneteenth of that year.
A native of Harlem, Taylor secured a teenage contract with the Neptunes’ Star Trak roster, helped spread the Chicken Noodle Soup dance, contributed choreography to Beyoncé’s “Ring the Alarm” clip, and gained wider notice via a 2007 installment of MTV’s My Super Sweet 16. One year after that broadcast debut she issued her audacious opening single “Google Me,” crafted with Ester Dean, Jazze Pha, and additional collaborators; the track peaked at number 90 on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop chart and preceded the 2009 mixtape From a Planet Called Harlem, after which her Star Trak tenure ended. Before the year closed she earned a co-writing credit on “So Cold,” a track from Chris Brown’s Grammy-nominated Graffiti.
The ensuing decade opened with decisive moves. Cast in her first acting part for Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming in 2010, Taylor also supplied vocals to Kanye West’s Grammy-winning My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. She then exited Interscope, Star Trak’s parent company, to join West’s Def Jam-affiliated G.O.O.D. label, appearing on its 2012 compilation Cruel Summer—a number-two hit that included her contributions to “Sin City” and “Bliss.” Another mixtape arrived that year, yet her official debut LP, VII, surfaced only in November 2014. Bolstered by the singles “Maybe,” which reached number 32 on the R&B/hip-hop chart, and “Do Not Disturb,” two entries among its numerous steamy ballads, the album entered the Billboard 200 at number 19.
A self-released EP followed in 2015, but three further years elapsed before the proper successor to VII, during which Taylor focused on raising her daughter with partner Iman Shumpert. She joined Meek Mill for tracks in 2017 and appeared with Fabolous and Jadakiss, then released K.T.S.E.—short for “Keep the Same Energy”—in June 2018. The final entry in a series of concise G.O.O.D. projects recorded and co-produced by West in Wyoming, after sets from Pusha T, West, Kids See Ghosts, and Nas, it debuted at number 17 and spawned the gold-certified “Gonna Love Me,” which peaked at number 19 on the R&B/hip-hop chart. Following scattered 2019 and early-2020 previews, most prominently the Lauryn Hill duet “We Got Love,” Taylor issued The Album on Juneteenth of that year.
Albums
Singles
