When Kanye West stressed that Teyana Taylor‘s debut album, VII, was important for the state of R&B at her Los Angeles listening party last year, he wasn’t just blindly praising the young Harlem native he signed 5 years ago. VII has since been praised as a necessary refresher course in classic R&B by critics nationwide, and it earned Taylor a spot on the Hot 97 Summer Jam Festival stage, which is often a direct launching pad to the main stage of the world’s most notorious Hip-Hop and R&B concert.
After her performance, during which she ran through a bevy of her most popular songs, including what’s probably her biggest record to date, “Do Not Disturb.” As a quick surprise, Taylor brought out two-thirds of 90’s R&B group Total, who performed their hit single “Can’t You See,” and engage in a bit of “Kanye dancing.” Watch a brief clip of her performance above, and check out her comments on meeting the classic Total, and the music scene in her hometown of Harlem.
