Live Review: Bryson Tiller

Ahead of his scheduled set at Listen Out, American rapper and singer Bryson Tiller brought Trapsoul to the Sydney Opera House. His style, which has made him one of the biggest names in R&B at the moment, combines trap beats and rap with soul style singing.

With no support act, it was left to a DJ to get the crowd hyped up in the moments before Tiller took to the stage. He dropped one of the biggest hip hop songs right now, Cardi B’s Bodak Yellow which did the trick - the seated audience standing up to scream-rap every word of the hit.

He showed off his vocal chops with Don’t Get Too High. “Where my ladies at?” he called into the audience, eliciting deafening screams before he launched into No Longer Friends.

He noted that if you had told him two years ago he’d be performing songs he made in his living room at the Sydney Opera House he wouldn’t have believed you before every phone went up to record Exchange off his 2015 Trapsoul album.

He performed hit after hit - the rhythmically hypnotising Run Me Dry off the 2017 album True To Self following the slow, catchy Something Tells Me. Then the moment a lot of the audience was waiting for - the chorus of Santana’s Maria Maria played and everyone knew what was coming. The concert hall went crazy as the song transitioned into the chart-topping DJ Khaled, Rihanna and Tiller collaboration Wild Thoughts.  

He finished his set with what was his breakthrough single, Don’t followed by Set It Off, and made sure to thank his band and everyone for coming out to see him, telling everyone to get home safe before leaving the stage to cheers and applause.