Teyana Taylor mentioned her Grammy-nominated comeback album, Escape Room, and why she selected to return to music after stepping away in 2020.

Teyana Taylor returned to the highlight and earned her first Grammy nomination with Escape Room, 5 years after stepping away from music because of feeling “super under-appreciated.”

The multifaceted Teyana Taylor launched her fourth studio album in August, marking a private {and professional} comeback that she says was fully on her personal phrases. The undertaking landed her a nod within the Best R&B Album class on the 2024 Grammy Awards, a milestone she described as deeply private.

“I think what lured me back was just me coming back on my terms,” Taylor informed People. “All I ever wanted was to feel appreciated, and I wanted to feel utilised. I didn’t want to be stuck or put into one box.”

Taylor had introduced her retirement from music in 2020 after releasing The Album, citing trade frustration and a scarcity of recognition. She then pivoted to appearing, touchdown roles in 2021’s Coming 2 America and the 2023 Sundance-winning drama A Thousand and One, which was praised by The Guardian.

But the pull of the studio proved too robust to disregard.

“Everything is happening, everything I ever dreamed of. (It’s) one answered prayer after another,” she mentioned of her Grammy nomination. Though thrilled, Taylor admitted the glory stirred up a mixture of emotions.

“You have all these different thoughts and emotions that go through your head where it’s just like, ‘Oh, my God, this is so amazing,’” she mentioned. “Of course, you feel like every project deserved that recognition. What made this one more worthy than the other one?”

She added that the nomination seems like a tribute to her whole discography.

“It’s for every album that I put out that I felt like was underrated or not seen,” she mentioned.

Escape Room was launched in August 2023, 5 years after her earlier album and three years after asserting her retirement.

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