After declaring a final album nearly a decade ago, Tyrese returns with Beautiful Pain on his label Voltron Recordz in partnership with Create Music Group.
The independently released double album consists of 17 tracks, including the previously shared singles “Love Transaction,” “Don’t Think You Ever Loved,” featuring Lenny Kravitz and Le’Andria Johnson, and the most recent single, “Wildflower.”
The latter track, which was co-produced by David Foster and Brandon “B.A.M.” Hodge, is a stirring cover of The New Birth’s 1973 track.
In his soulful rendition, Tyrese pays tribute to his late mother, Priscilla Murray Gibson, who passed away in early 2022 due to complications from COVID-19.
“Wildflower,” which received a short film that premiered via Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club, debuted at No. 20 this week on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart and was the most added song at R&B radio for the week dated Aug. 14.
Returning to the album, Beautiful Pain is filled with intricate, slowly unfolding musical arrangements that document the aftermath of Tyrese’s divorce in 2020.
The album showcases a lot of vulnerability and candor. Tyrese owns up to his mistakes on “Runaway,” featuring El DeBarge, and suggests that his ex was deceptive from the beginning on “When Was It Over.”
Another standout remake is “Neither One Of Us,” featuring Tamar Braxton. The two R&B singers covered the 1972 Gladys Knight & The Pips favorite, making it hard not to think of them as contenders for a future Best Traditional R&B Performance nomination.
Everything on Beautiful Pain isn’t Tyrese expressing his emotional pain. He and October London offer vocal seduction on “Bedroom Bully,” creating a blushing jam to take off the pillow-talk ambiance between lovers.
Then, there is also “Willing,” the organ-backed tune, on which Tyrese moves forward from his dark times, allowing someone new in, for whom he is grateful.
Additional guests on Beautiful Pain include saxophonist Kenny G and singer and songwriter Eric Dawkins.
Beautiful Pain is the follow-up to Tyrese’s 2015 album, Black Rose. The project debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and included the hit single “Shame,” which was nominated for two Grammys in the R&B field in 2016.
Tyrese might perform new music from his album Beautiful Pain when he hits the road with his TGT bandmates and Bell Biv DeVoe for The R&B Forever Tour later this fall.
The North American leg of the tour, powered by Global Events Production, will begin on Oct. 4 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
The tour will also feature Silk as a special guest and will make stops in Miami, Brooklyn, Greensboro, and Atlanta, where it will conclude Dec. 27 at the State Farm Arena.
In addition to celebrating the release of Beautiful Pain, Tyrese stars as Mercer in the new crime thriller 1992, which is playing in theaters now.
According to the logline, the film, executive produced by Snoop Dogg, “follows Mercer as he desperately tries to rebuild his life and his relationship with his son amidst the turbulent 1992 L.A. uprising following the Rodney King verdict.”
Stream Tyrese’s new album Beautiful Pain below.
