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Anniversary (stylized as A N N I V E R S A R Y) is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bryson Tiller. It was released by RCA Records on October 2, 2020, the fifth anniversary of Tiller's debut studio album, Trapsoul. The album includes a sole guest appearance from Drake in the standard edition and a guest appearance from Big Sean in the deluxe edition, released on February 26, 2021.
Tiller first teased a new album in the video for the album's lead single "Inhale", released on September 3, 2020. The visual ends with the message: "New album this fall". On September 25, a "deluxe" edition of Trapsoul was released, in preparation for Anniversary, featuring two songs that were previously released on SoundCloud during the Trapsoul era, as well as The Weeknd's remix of Trapsoul cut "Rambo" (titled "Rambo: Last Blood"). He officially announced the album and its title on September 28, posting a short trailer on Twitter. Two days before the album's release, he held a special Zoom listening session with fans, during which he played the entire project for the first time. It was also revealed that the album would include a feature from Canadian rapper Drake. During the session, Tiller said the album was created after "digging through the Trapsoul archives" during a 2020 trip to Los Angeles. He proceeded to work on ideas that he started five years before when making Trapsoul. Tiller called Anniversary the "first wave", stating that he has a lot of new music coming, hinting at his previously-announced album, Serenity. That album was put on hold as he felt that his life at the time did not reflect the album's theme. Tiller described Anniversary as having a "different" energy than True to Self, an album he said he did not want to make due to legal and personal matters. Anniversary is dedicated to his late grandmother.
Cover art
The album artwork was noted for resembling the Trapsoul cover; it shows Tiller facing left in front of a blue-lit space.
Anniversary received generally positive reviews from music critics. Writing for AllMusic, Andy Kellman noted that the album "does not appear to be designed as a work of distinct identity," however, Tiller "has spoken of his inclination to be a shadowy figure." Kellman stated that the album consists of "mostly downcast verses and boastful non-sequiturs over torpid booming rhythms." Exclaim!'s Veracia Ankrah stated that "Tiller has returned to the '90s R&B sound that cultivated his dedicated fan base, with rap-esque crooning over heavy bass beats." She continued to note that his "voice is a recognizable return to his essence, sharing his honest but shallow versions of vulnerability," and that it "does not shy away from Tiller's notable flips of cassette tapes and voicemail recordings from an array of displeased women."
Ryan Feyre for The Young Folks stated that the production was a key part of the album, writing that "the drums, while adhering to a commercial bend, can sometimes feel like they’re shifting the tectonic plates in the Earth" and that "considering the album’s bulky universality, the backdrop is admirably fitting." He writes that "the second half of the album illustrates a noticeable difference in warmth and dimensionality." Feyre wrote that despite lacking innovation, Tiller "seems more inclined to appreciate the little things" and that he makes up for the weak points with his "personal storytelling." Concluding his review, he stated that "Rather than fight time’s grass, Tiller nurtures it as if it were his child. Embraces it like a new lover."
Commercial performance
Anniversary debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 57,000 album-equivalent units, (including 4,000 copies as pure album sales) in its first week. This became Tiller's third US top-ten on the chart. The album accumulated a total of 68.6 million in on-demand streams of the album’s songs that week. The album also debuted at number four on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number one on the US Top R&B Albums charts respectively.
