Maryland-born R&B enigma Brent Faiyaz has been an instant cure for the culture.
Following his critically-acclaimed album Fuck the World in 2020, Faiyaz is finally revealing the Wasteland he’s resided in these last few years. Announcing his third full-length project with a gripping black-and-white teaser video on June 13, Faiyaz quickly shared the cover art and tracklist for the LP later that week (June 17) — which features Drake, Tyler, The Creator, Joony, The Neptunes, Steve Lacy and more.
Leading in his return with the record’s fourth promotional cut, Faiyaz pays the “Price Of Fame” and leaves nothing unsaid about it.
The track — which previously appeared on his hidden DropBox EP DO NOT LISTEN — looks to be the final offering ahead of Wasteland’s release on July 8. The 6-minute long monster cut features three separate beat switch-ups as each part intertwines Brent’s irreplaceably sultry vocals with the track’s ceaselessly evolving production.
Midway through, the track comes to a jarring halt — switching the vibe up entirely with softly strummed guitars and plucked strings that feel as if you’re caught in a heavenly limbo. “If you feel what I feel, you’ll know that I’m real,” he laments on “Price Of Fame,” crooning that “you don’t need someone to feel better than you’ve ever felt.” It’s a ghostly, luscious and overall meditative offering that sees Brent contemplate “selling his dreams,” for it is “Price Of Fame.”
Oh, I ain’t sellin’ dreams to you, baby
That ain’t my style
I never said that I was the best in the world
But I’m the best for you, girl, just stay for a while
Brent Faiyaz — “Price Of Fame”
Amid his new effort, Wasteland is poised to be the “masterpiece” Faiyaz set out to create in 2020. Despite not dropping a project in over two years, Faiyaz hasn’t missed a step since. Linking up with Tyler on “SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE” off his Grammy-winning album Call Me If You Get Lost, he also hopped on “lost souls” with Baby Keem and “Found” with rising African star Tems last year.
Tyler and Faiyaz’s experimental 2021 single “Gravity” with DJ Dahi appears on Wasteland, also adding his 2020 viral hit “Dead Man Walking” and “Wasting Time” with Drake.
Brent’s December single “MERCEDES” initially saw him in near final form — floating over its ethereal yet hard-hitting production with sultry sing-rapping defined by blurry nights and a woozy rendezvous. Speaking on the drop-top Mercedes his lover only wants him for, the Lost Kids mogul crafted an end of year banger that only heightened expectations for Wasteland. This track, however, has been left off his forthcoming album.
Weeks away from Faiyaz’s presumed magnum opus, Wasteland looks to be a beacon of toxicity for the generational talent — admitting that the “Price Of Fame” is worth the brevity of his vices.
Check out Brent Faiyaz’s latest below!
