''VII'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American recording artist

Teyana Taylor Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert ( Taylor; born December 10, 1990) is an American singer, actress, dancer and choreographer. In 2005, she signed a record deal with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint. Afterwards, she choreographe ...

. The album was released on November 4, 2014, by

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

and

GOOD Music GOOD Music (also known simply as GOOD, stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label signed an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with t ...

. Leading up to the album's release, Teyana released the mixtape ''

The Misunderstanding of Teyana Taylor Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert ( Taylor; born December 10, 1990) is an American singer, actress, dancer and choreographer. In 2005, she signed a record deal with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint. Afterwards, she choreographed ...

'' (2012), along with collaborating on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

'' Cruel Summer'' (2012). The album features guest appearances from

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper, songwriter and record executive. He rose to prominence as one-half of the hip hop duo Clipse, which was mainly active from 1994 to 20 ...

and

Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive. In 1996, Gotti released his debut album ''Youngsta's On a Come Up'' under the alias Lil Yo. He went on to re ...

. The album was executively produced by Che Pope & Teyana Taylor. Recording took place at Jungle City Studios in New York & KMA Studios, NYC, as well as The Kennedy Compound in North Hollywood, California & Labren Studio in Inglewood, CA. ''VII'' was promoted by the release of two official singles: " Maybe" featuring Yo Gotti and Pusha T, and "Do Not Disturb" featuring Chris Brown.

Background

In 2012, Taylor was released from her contract with Interscope and Star Trak. Taylor stated that she and Star Trak founder Pharrell Williams, have remained amiable since the end of their business relationship. She has credited him as a "big brother" and sees her early signing to Star Trak as a "blessing". Taylor has stated on many occasions that her release from the label was necessary because she wanted to have a level of independence in the music industry. In an interview with DJ Skee, Taylor mentioned that "when hewas signed for six years, hefelt like she couldn't do nything" and that she "couldn't prove to erfans that hehad the talent" and "couldn't sing from erheart." In an August 2012, interview with ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'', Taylor spoke about when she would begin recording the album, saying: "I start August 6. I’m so excited. I’ll be in the studio for a month straight. I’m going in. My iPod is full of Total,

112 112 may refer to: *112 (number), the natural number following 111 and preceding 113 *112 (band), an American R&B quartet from Atlanta, Georgia **112 (album), ''112'' (album), album from the band of the same name *112 (emergency telephone number), t ...

, and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

Mint Condition Mint condition is an expression used to denote the quality of a pre-owned good as displaying virtually no imperfections and being in pristine condition relative to its original production state. Originally, the phrase related to the way collect ...

and

Donell Jones Donell Jones (born May 22, 1973) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is most notable for the hits "U Know What's Up", " Where I Wanna Be", and his cover of Stevie Wonder's "Knocks Me Off My Feet". Jones' first studio alb ...

and

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

. That’s what I want to accomplish. I want that ‘90s vibe." As an

independent artist Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...

at the time of her release, she had begun preparing her second release, a mixtape titled ''The Misunderstanding of Teyana Taylor''. The tape drew influences from 1990s R&B legends like Lauryn Hill and

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

. The tape was released in the first half of 2012, and was preceded by the release of "Make Your Move" featuring Wale and "D.U.I." featuring

Jadakiss Jason Terrance Phillips (born May 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Jadakiss, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York. He began his career in the 1990s as a member of the rap trio The Lox, managed by Ruff Ryders and signed with Bad ...

and

, which was released on February 25, 2012. More positive reviews of the latter track note that "The Harlem songstress channels

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

as she glides over the smooth

Hit-Boy Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr. (born May 21, 1987), better known by his stage name Hit-Boy, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. In May 2011, he had signed a two-year deal with Kanye West's GOOD Music production branch. ...

-produced beat with her airy vocals, while fellow New Yorkers Fabolous and Jadakiss ride shotgun". After some time as an independent artist and taking time to find herself as an artist, Taylor signed a joint-venture deal with Kanye West's label

and

The Island Def Jam Music Group The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordin ...

, on June 14, 2012. Taylor had established a relationship with the GOOD family before her signing. As part of GOOD Music, Taylor appears on the GOOD Music

''Cruel Summer'', released September 18, 2012. She provides vocals for the opening track "To the World", with Kanye West and

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

, provides the hook and chorus for "Sin City", which also features

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

, Cyhi the Prynce,

Malik Yusef Malik Yusef El Shabazz Jones (born April 4, 1971) is an American spoken word artist, poet, rapper, writer, composer, producer and director based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Early life He was raised in Chicago's South Side neighborho ...

and Travis Scott, and also duets with John Legend on a song titled "Bliss". Taylor and Legend's duet on the album was highly praised, Erika Ramirez of Billboard.com notes that "Teyana Taylor's beautifully brash voice ... illuminates in the electric-guitar heavy,

Hudson Mohawke Ross Matthew Birchard (born 11 February 1986), better known by the stage name Hudson Mohawke, is a Scottish-American producer, composer, and DJ from Glasgow. He is known for his influential work in 21st century hip-hop and electronic music. A ...

-produced 'Bliss'." Trent Fitzgerald of Popcrush.com also complimented the duet, saying that he hoped to "hear more soulful duets from aylor and Legend" In addition to being featured on the GOOD Music compilation ''Cruel Summer'', Taylor soon began the process of recording her major-label debut album, to be released through GOOD Music and The Island Def Jam Music Group. On August 1, 2014, it was announced that that album would be titled ''VII'', and would be released on October 21, 2014, through Def Jam and GOOD Music. In an August 2014, interview with ''Complex'', she said that she would not let anyone hear the album before it was ready, saying: "They be like, ‘Well damn, T, can you send the album in? Can we hear something?. But I’m just like, 'I’ll send it in when it’s right.' I learned that from 'Ye. Like, he don’t care who is in the room. If he don’t feel like it sound right, you can’t hear it yet. When I played 'Ye the album, we all went over to his house. He was like, ‘You mind if I have a copy?’ I was like, 'I rather just get it right, then I'll give you a copy.' All he could do is laugh, because he knows I get it from him." In September 2014, the album was pushed back to November 4, 2014.

Singles

June 16, 2014 saw the premiere of the first single from the album, "Maybe" featuring

and

. On August 22, 2014, the music video was released for "Maybe" featuring Pusha T and Yo Gotti. On October 8, 2014, a music video was released for "Business". On October 14, 2014, the music video was released for "Do Not Disturb" featuring

. On October 21, 2014, the music video was released for "Broken Hearted Girl" featuring

. On October 28, 2014, the album's second single "Do Not Disturb" featuring Chris Brown was released.

Critical response

''VII'' received positive reviews from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 77, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 4 reviews. Kyle Anderson of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' said, "After an extended tour of duty on the guest-appearance battlefield—that's where she befriended mentor Kanye West—Taylor finally drops her official debut. ''VII'' lacks his boundary-warping weirdness, but she has a strong grasp on lush '90s-kissed R&B, especially on the stark, slithery "Business". Rachel Leah of

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

stated, "Overall, ''VII'' feels authentic and offers a much wider scope of artistry than we’ve seen prior from the Island Def Jam artist. Teyana’s growth is evident, challenging her singing capabilities while honing in on her ranges of comfort. Aside from the lack of significant risk-taking, Teyana Taylor generated a debut album that is honest and well produced. And while she takes absolutely no risks on the album, and her vocal range is limited, she never strays from what she does well. Nevertheless, it seems like she can now officially change her title from on the scene vixen to contributing musician to R&B."

Michael Arceneaux Michael Arceneaux (born April 12, 1984) is an American writer. He is the author of the 2018 essay collection '' I Can't Date Jesus'', a ''New York Times'' bestselling book. His second book is titled ''I Don't Want to Die Poor'' (2020). Early l ...

of ''

'' said, "Overall, ''VII'' makes for an impressive debut, though it remains to be seen whether or not audiences are willing to give her a real chance."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 19 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 16,000 copies in the United States in its first week. In its second week, the album dropped to number 78 on the chart, selling 5,000 copies. In its third, the album dropped to number 160 on the chart, selling 3,000 copies, bringing its total album sales to 24,000 copies.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. *Zach Atkinson - Cover Illustration, Logo *Craig Balmoris - Composer, Producer *Anesha Birchett - Composer *Gabriel Blizman - Composer *Blvck Amsterdam - Producer *Boi-1da - Producer *Chris Brown - Composer, Featured Artist *Kelvin Brown - A&R *Nick Brown - Assistant *Leesa D. Brunson - A&R *Cameron Chambers - Guitar (Electric) *Tarron Crayton - Guitar (Bass) *Jaramye Daniels - Composer, Vocal Producer *Vidal Davis - Composer, Producer *Fabolous - Featured Artist *Garnett Flynn - Engineer *Derek Folk - Executive Producer *Chris Gehringer - Mastering *Chris Hunte - Production Coordination *Jimmy Jaipur - Assistant *Keira Janai - Composer *Eric "Smash" Johnson - Composer, Producer *Terese Joseph - A&R *Brian Kennedy - Producer *Anthony Kilhoffer - Mixing *Kyledidthis - Art Direction, Design *L&F - Producer *Paul Lane - Package Production *Jonathan Lauture - Engineer *Brittany Mansfield - A&R *Brendan Morawski - Assistant *Mr. Franks - Producer *Baruch Nembhard - Composer, Engineer *Nikhil - Additional Production *Julian Nixon - Producer *The Order - Producer *Kyle Owens - Vocal Producer *Michael Piazza - Engineer *Adam Piccoli - Composer *Che Pope - Executive Producer *Noah Preston - A&R *Pusha T - Featured Artist *Raskind - Photography *Allen Ritter - Composer, Producer *Kyle Ross - Mixing Assistant *Harmony Samuels - Composer, Producer *Smallz - Photography *Nikki Taylor - Executive Producer *Teyana Taylor - Art Direction, Composer, Executive Producer, Primary Artist *Robert Thomas - Composer, Producer *Dan Tobiason - Engineer *Jon Jon Traxx - Musician *Meredith Truax - Photography *Yo Gotti - Featured Artist

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2014 debut albums Teyana Taylor albums Albums produced by Harmony Samuels Albums produced by Boi-1da Albums produced by Brian Kennedy (record producer) Albums produced by Dre & Vidal Def Jam Recordings albums GOOD Music albums Albums produced by Allen Ritter