Concert Review: Teyana Taylor Check-Mates Red Bull Music Fest

Red Bull Music Fest is phenomenal. From Rosalia to FKA Twigs, it has offered some of the most imaginative artists of our time a platform to let their vision run. At times, when I go from Baby’s All Right to Barclays, I cannot help but think of funding; observing how incredible artists try to maneuver the trickiness of finances as they mold their artistic image. Hence, my love for RBMF was that it gave artists a free reign, of which Teyana Taylor dominated.

What makes me smile about Teyana’s performance is that you knew, from the minute she got on stage, she was living her dream. She IS an entertainer; spiritually salivating at the opportunity to hear a crowd sing to her tracks and cheer her name. Yet, Teyana’s performance was so fascinating because it artfully combined the two things Teyana is known for: smooth R&B and her body. It was a celebration of the sultriness of sex but done tastefully and tantalizingly. As gorgeous women displayed their bodies in movement and skimpy fashion, Teyana ripped away what we deem “scandalous” about sex and showed how fun and fabulous it is. 

When you love someone, sex is great and explorative, and Teyana made that clear when she bound her man, Iman Shumpert, and began a lap dance that revealed their chemistry is LIT. While I blushed at feeling like I had entered their bedroom, I also loved that Teyana went there and Red Bull Music Fest was like SURE! In a time, when NINE states are brazenly telling women they have no control over their bodies, Teyana Taylor’s show celebrated our bodies, our choices, and our sexual pleasures. Yet, there was nothing to fear or faint about; there was too much wonder going on to “clutch pearls.” The night was filled with kikis, a dancehall session, Vogue-level fashion, Method Man, Fabulous, a Nipsey Hussle dedication, and a chess-based theme that showed why the Queen always wins. 

I both adored and admired Teyana Taylor’s performance, which are sentiments that I do not think she gets enough of as an artist. Her music is some of the best R&B out there, yet discussion can, at times, feel too zoned in on the facf that her body is stunning. Hence, with the aid of Red Bull Music Fest, I loved that Teyana used her creativity and intelligence to show behind a woman’s body lies a great mind. For More Information On Red Bull Music Fest Click Here