Album Cut: Tayla Parx - We Need to Talk | K-Pop A&R’s need to pick up the phone

Tayla Parx has been put out there in a whole new way by being affiliated with Ariana and being publicly tagged as her 'BFF'. It's honestly weird that I hadn't heard of her beforehand, because she's written so many songs that I like. I don't know how the fuck I missed her name in the liner notes of albums like Dirty Computer, because I'm that weirdo that reads all that shit.

If there's one thing I have to give Spray-tan Grande props for, it's for shining a light on Tayla. We all know that sometimes talent alone isn't enough to give you the platform you need to show the world what you can do and all that you have done. Tayla's affiliation with Grande has given her a level of exposure that she deserves and Ariana knows it. Props bitch.

With the timing being all too perfect for her to release a solo album, that's exactly what she did. And it's her first major studio album release following a mixtape in 2017. We need to talk is short, sweet and succinct; just like the album title track itself.

"We Need to Talk" is produced by Hiko Momoji who is still under the radar as a producer, but I'll be keeping my eye on him as a result of his work right here. I'd place bets that K-Pop holla at him if they haven't done so already, especially with Tayla having already written songs for f(x) and Red Velvet. It's not hard to imagine a K-Pop group putting out a song like this. Ain't no way it'd be 2 minutes and 10 seconds though and it would definitely have a bridge section for a rap.

In a game where there is this an expectation for Black girls to look a certain way and sound a certain way, Tayla Parx is another breath of fresh air alongside the likes of Missy Elliott, Janelle Monáe, Dawn Richards, and as problematic as she is, Azealia Banks. She's just out here doing her. She's not making an active or conscious decision to be different. It's just how she is and she probably doesn't even see herself as such.

Tayla Parx is out here doing her on her own terms, and that's an energy we all need to keep, and something that we definitely need to keep talking about.