Taylor Bennett • Broad Shoulders
Taylor Bennett is back and better than before. Since the release of his Mainstream Music project in May 2014, the talented young emcee found himself navigating through a series of life experiences and lessons. With Broad Shoulders, we finally see the end goal of that collection of experiences that manifest themselves in the young artist's latest full-length that dropped today.
The project was worked on feverishly between the past two Decembers and finds Bennett in a decidedly more based understanding of the world than he had on Mainstream Music. It makes sense too, at 19, Taylor's last year has been one of constant growth that has seen him graduate from high school, play his first out of town shows and begin creating an image for himself outside of his brother's looming shadow. On hand for Chance's SNL performance over the weekend, Bennett was all business in a fresh suit and tie, indicative in a lot of ways to how he approached is most recent project.
Broad Shoulders comes executive-produced by Tay Bennett Entertainment and UPNORTH Music and co-executive-produced by Joseph Cabey, Taylor's manager. It's obvious that the team has spent their time putting together an infrastructure that goes beyond music, something also evidenced by Taylor's signing of fellow local artist Morocco Brown. The approach to the project is very business-like as well, taking strategic steps to create a project that is hard for any hip-hop fan to ignore, especially at a time when his family's name has never shined brighter. Broad Shoulders also arrives sample-free, something important to Taylor that he mentioned in a recent Rolling Stone article as he prepares to follow in big bro's footsteps on a fully independent path.
The two singles from the release, "Happy Place" and "Broad Shoulders" featuring Chance opened up the full-length to go in a lot of different directions and boasting features from the likes of King Louie, Joey Purp, Donnie Trumpet, Jordan Bratton and the Social Experiment, it has the star power to match. With Taylor, we've never really been concerned on the if he would make it, always seemed like when thing and with this one, it might just finally be time.