One can say Teyana Taylor’s 2018 album was shakey, unfinished, and left by the wayside of Kanye’s Good Music albums. Taylor herself publicly expressed her displeasure with the roll out and finished product. However, it can also be said, that despite all of the missteps, Miss Taylor still possesses a body of work that has made an impact and people are still listening, and citing it as some of their favorite music.
Her music has such impact, that when she went on tour as an opener, she outshined the headliner to the extent that the crowd thinned out as she left stage. Miss Taylor shined so brightly that the headliner couldn’t stand it and eventually began treating her with contempt. This resulted in her leaving the tour, which caused the tour to be canceled all together.
Even though it’s one of the biggest critiques of KTSE, I feel the sequencing of this album contributed to the albums overall aesthetic. Reading through reviews, interviews, and public reaction shows that the overall consensus is that WTP does not fit, and felt out of place with the other tracks. Many notable male personalities admittedly skipped the song altogether, saying that it made them uncomfortable. The sentiments expressed towards the track definitely seem dismissive and uneducated on where or what exactly WTP sprang from.
Ballroom, or “drags” as some may recognize more easily, is the community, culture, and sound Miss Taylor puts on display for the listeners on WTP. An exuberant and thriving underground culture/community that society continues to try to marginalize and dismiss. Ball culture is built on resistance against mainstream society’s attempt to marginalize its people from embracing themselves by wearing clothes of the opposite gender, challenging the status quo and freeing themselves through performance and dance. While the attitude towards this vibrant culture has made its progress and we are beginning to see increasingly positive exposure in mainstream society, it’s a culture still fighting to be seen, respected, accepted, and paid its dues. WTP is its own world within the entirety of the album and forces the listener to take notice of the culture and community that Miss Taylor presents. The transition into the 8th track is not a closer but an opening into The Ballroom.
Check out Issues/Hold On on the Music to catch Feeling Playlist
You can learn more about Teyana Taylor here:
About The Curator - KA II
I was raised in a community that believes in and practices the act of love, spirituality, understanding, and openness. These beliefs and practices are my foundation in this life and continue to drive my pursuit of knowledge, wisdom, and freedom. I also come from a place where the gift of rhythm and movement are interwoven into each other and into the fabric of life. It is never one without the other.
Music and Dance are not just things we do and enjoy. They are a necessity. In times of joy we dance, in times of triumph we turn the music up a little louder, in times of stress and unbalance we close our eyes and dance. It is how we feel our emotions and what ignites our creativity, intellectual abilities, and the way we see the world. Without the two, life would have no color, art, love, or culture.
Music and movement have always been the guiding light of creativity and the master teacher, therefore I aim to share how they elevate my mind, heart, and soul to think wider and to think with compassion, wit, and intellect. I hope you enjoy the content. Peace