On this week's edition of #TidalTaughtMe, we are listening to 21-year old Detroit Native Jayla Darden's "Reminder".
When I first heard the song, the thing that captivated me was the haunting loop of the beat. Add to that, her mellow tone delivering the following message via lyrics; "Let me show you, baby, bumped your head maybe. Blessing you with all this love, but you ain't 'preciate me. Tried to tell you how I feel, but you hate communicating. Blessing you with all this love, love you never gave me. Why won't you, get it right? Get it right, but on your own time, not mine." and I was very curious about who Jayla Darden was.
At that point, I proceeded to listen to everything she had to offer. You can distinctly hear the growth in her voice, songwriting, and production in each project. For example, on her first EP; '118' released in 2016, we got baby Jayla. The production and singing were raw and gritty, but the potential of her voice punched you in the face. The standout on that EP was 'That's Just Life'. Her next effort, 'Ideas, Vol. 1' released in early 2018; premiered a more polished Jayla. I loved the introduction of the song titles as idea numbers. 'Ideas, Vol. 2" followed in the summer of 2018, and gave us; 'Idea 683 where Jayla croons: "She just did me a favor, Think I should call her and thank her, you think that you're a player, No." and 'Idea 717' where she lets her partner know, "I can take care of myself, no that's not why you are here, I just needed you to love me. I can take care of myself, I ain't ask you for your help." Jayla let it be known, regardless of age, relationships are rough.
Her latest project dropped in the fall of 2019 under Interscope Records, and is titled "On To Something". I got excited when I saw there was a video for the title track, but I have to say that I was a little disappointed. Because Jayla has such a mellow tone and demeanor, I was hoping that the visual would provide some insight into her as a person. She's extremely talented, and a very pretty girl, but the video was boring and left a lot to be desired. The guitar chords of 'On to Something' remind me of Brandy's 'Put That on Everything', which is fitting since Brandy is listed as one of her inspirations along with Destiny's Child, whom she also referenced with her 'no, no, no, no, no; yea, yea, yea, yea, yea' ad-lib. Listening to her entire discography, I realized I like her darker sounding music best. I look forward to an entire project from Jayla, and I hope we get more of her personality with it.
How many of you were aware of Jayla Darden prior to this post? What is your favorite Jayla Darden track? Let us know in the comments below.
T.Nicole