January 29th, 2021: What seemed to be another regular Friday evening became something more than ordinary, Brent Faiyaz reached into his bag of gems and dropped an emerald no one saw coming. His new single ‘Gravity’ featuring rapper, Tyler the Creator. It was a musical combination we thought we didn’t need but became one we couldn’t live without. This masterpiece was produced by DJ Dahi, an Inglewood-based producer best known for producing Kendrick Lamar’s song “Money Trees.” This is the first collaboration of Faiyaz and Tyler but hopefully, it won’t be the last.
Rolling Stone described the song as an “outer-space experience the moment you press play…with the addition of Tyler the Creator’s guest verse, it’s a timeless-feeling tune about being held down, even if you’re in orbit.” The song isn’t just a single, it’s an experience. Faiyaz uses the natural phenomenon of gravity as a metaphor for the girl who “hold me down like gravity.” He praises her devoted loyalty but expresses the crossroad he finds himself at. Faiyaz sings of uncertain love while bringing up the fear of commitment. He battles between choosing to commit to the relationship or pursuing his own endeavors, which in his case is his music career. Brent Faiyaz’s career has taken off and as he continues to grow as an artist, his ability to commit to a dedicated relationship is likely to change. Faiyaz dedicates this song to the person who held him down during his come-up, but also uses the song to let them go.
While we aren’t all-superstar musicians, this is something almost everyone can relate to. Balancing life, relationships, and love can be hard, but Faiyaz relays this hardship in a rhythmic manner that makes it much easier. The rhythm of the song draws you in to the point where you can’t help but sing along. Listening I kept thinking, “Brent has done it again.” Brent’s duality and vulnerability is what separates him from other artists and keeps me listening. It’s his willingness to earnestly share his own experiences through his melodic and creative penmanship that draws me in time and time again.
As we thought things couldn’t get better, Faiyaz reached in and dropped two sapphire and diamond singles to bless our ears just a little more. Two of the singles were leaked tracks that made their way onto Youtube, “Circles ft.Purr” and “Eden”. While “Circles” is not available on Spotify or Apple Music, Faiyaz did release a music video for the single directed by, Zhamak Fullad. The video plays on the song’s title, as the camera pans around Brent in a circular motion while he sings about the pressures to conform in life, “It’s like everyone wants you to think how they think & do what they say & stay out the way & if you don’t wanna they got a problem wit ya.” Brent Faiyaz didn’t stop there as he released two additional songs through a special Dropbox link, “Paper Soldier” and “Price of Fame”. With his honest approach on relatable issues and his undeniable talent, Brent is single-handedly resurrecting R&B and what it means to be a song-writer. Brent released his last album in 2020, “F*ck The World”, which included hits like ‘Clouded’ and ‘F*ck The World (Summer in London)’. While an expected release date for his next album has not been announced, fans are patiently waiting. Maybe we’ll get some more singles or even a “Gravity” music video. It’s not clear what’s next for Faiyaz, but I guess we’ll have to “Circle” back.
