Escape Room, <\/em>the\u00a0 title of which plays off the group game, chronicles the process of navigating grief, trauma, acceptance and new beginnings. Its lyrics and messaging are poetic, right down to its last line, delivered by her eldest daughter Junie Shumpert, who thanks Taylor for \u201ccoming back to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\tOutside of her rising acting career, most news concerning Taylor has centered around her love life; be it the divorce complications from former NBA player Iman Shumpert or her presumed new beau, Disney\u2019s Mufasa: The Lion King <\/em>actor Aaron Pierre. Throughout Escape Room<\/em>, it\u2019s apparent the conclusion of her marriage with Shumpert served as a muse, paired with the prospect of new love and possibility. Escape Room\u2019s <\/em>visual component \u2014 written and directed by Taylor under the credit \u201cSpike-Tey,\u201d and featuring Pierre and LaKeith Stanfield, who plays Taylor\u2019s fictious ex-husband \u2014 solidifies that sense even more. Taylor\u2019s lyricism is rooted in universal truths concerning the human process of loving, losing, healing, and starting anew.<\/p>\n\n\tThe 22-track album (which intersperses monologues between its songs) opens with Tariji P. Henson \u2014 Taylor\u2019s castmate in the recent Tyler Perry\u2019s drama Straw \u2014 <\/em>proclaiming \u201cEven love is something you must escape.\u201d The narration takes us into the album\u2019s first track \u201cFire Girl,\u201d where Taylor expresses her rage, posing the question \u201cAm I wrong for choosing violence?\/ Am I wrong for breaking windows, slashing tires, fucking up fire hydrants?\u201d A sentiment that seemingly pulls on a theme also found in Beyonce\u2019s 2016 Lemonade.<\/em> In its music video, Taylor struts down the street in crimson garments that only cover her womanhood, engulfed in flames although unconsumed by them.<\/p>\n\n\n
\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tThe other interludes, all penned by Taylor, are from the likes of Regina King, Issa Rae, Kerry Washington and Jodie Turner Smith \u2014 who like Taylor, divorced her husband Joshua Jackson, in 2023. They all represent\u00a0 a different emotion in the healing process, ranging from rage, to acceptance and maybe doses of comedic relief. Niecy Nash imparts realism, stating \u201cthe hardest part isn\u2019t the goodbye, it\u2019s the silence that follows,\u201d which leads to Taylor\u2019s first feature on the album \u201cHard Part,\u201d where she duets with Lucky Daye in a bluesy hymn, whose lyrics\u00a0 pull on the heart as the bass line prompts a head nod. Danceable heartbreak seems to be a theme here, found in the house music influenced \u201cLong Time,\u201d where Taylor croons about a relationship being over long before her decision to physically leave. Despite its somber lyrics, the song\u2019s beat will rightfully lead to voguing in a party setting. \u201cBack To Life,\u201d may possibly be the most vulnerable song on the project, with Taylor pleading \u201cWhy won\u2019t you love me back to life\/ I\u2019m dying\u201d In what feels like a final moment of desperation (Its visual-album counterpart shows Pierre scooping the lifeless Taylor from the ground and placing her in his confines to revive her, making viewers question where the line of fiction and realism is drawn.) The album pivots to a brighter and sexier future, with actress Tasha Smith calling for \u201cnew dick memories\u201d. \u201cPum Pum,\u201d featuring the notable Jill Scott and Tyla is a standout, getting to the heart of the matter, with Scott claiming her \u201cpretty kitty\u201d is \u201cpurring all over this album.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\t\u201cBed of Roses,\u201d is the kind of forward-looking R&B Taylor is known for, where aside from the sexiness, the promise of new love shines through, showing Taylor\u2019s new challenge of learning vulnerability after disappointment. For listeners \u2013 especially listeners with kids \u2013 who have loved and lost in big ways, \u201cAlways,\u201d featuring Taylor and Shumpert\u2019s girls Junie and Rue, will easily bring a tears to the eyes, as Taylor sings \u201cI still hope in the heart,\u201d a line that speaks to new love but also feels like a metaphor for always returning back to who and what grounds you to persevere.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tWhile the monologues arguably paint a better picture of Taylor\u2019s narrative when watching the video album in sequence, Taylor shines onscreen as well. Now on vocal rest, following a medical procedure done after the completion of Panic Room<\/em> in which benign tumors were removed from her vocal chords, Taylor\u2019s tenacity, vulnerability and creativity seems ever expanding, making her love history and any current dealings much less interesting than the artist herself. Balancing motherhood, career and love in the public eye, her example offers new narratives of the possibilities available to multifaceted Black women.
The irony of Escape Room, <\/em>is that it\u2019s not about Taylor running away from her hurt but rather towards it. It\u2019s a meditation of what liberation can be in love and life. Escape Room<\/em> challenges its listeners to understand that healing \u2014 be it heartbreak or bodily injury \u2014 is sometimes best done amongst your tight knit community, where those who love you best remember the pieces of your soul, putting them back together again. Throughout the project, Taylor leans on her creative peers, her new love interest and her children to hold her up as she offers a new expression of her authenticity in this moment. She is not bound to her past or your societal presumption and or expectations. As she has shown in her recent departure from music and potent return, her liberation comes from her mutability and power to change her mind whenever she is presented with new feelings and ideas. Junie said it best, \u201cThank you for coming back to music.\u201d Welcome home Tey \u2014 to the place within yourself and the new chambers in our hearts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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