After “retiring” from music in 2020, a reinvigorated Teyana Taylor has announced her return album alongside its first single. Escape Room is due in August via Def Jam Recordings and will be accompanied by a short film, while the music video for its first single, “Long Time,” arrived today.
The video features a cameo performance from actor Lakeith Stanfield, who portrays Taylor’s romantic partner in a “recap” of what’s happened “previously” in the buildup to the album, while the video itself finds Taylor running away from a Saw-like trap room, and dancing in a risqué ensemble. Musically, “Long Time” takes cues from house music — think of an extension of the sound of Taylor’s 2016 collaboration with Kanye West, “Fade.” Check out the trailer for Escape Room below.
Escape Room will constitute Taylor’s fourth album, following 2020’s The Album, as well as her return to music after feeling creatively overlooked and requesting a release from Def Jam in 2020. After announcing a farewell tour in 2021, Taylor shifted her focus, directing the videos and performances of a slew of female artists including Doja Cat, Coco Jones, Latto, and Summer Walker, in addition to taking on more acting roles, including one in the White Men Can’t Jump remake and Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming revolution comedy One Battle After Another. Taylor unofficially announced her comeback to music last January, teasing new songs on social media.
Escape Room is due in August via Def Jam Recordings.