INTERVIEW: Teyana Taylor Brings Out Total at Summer Jam, Talks the Music Scene in Harlem

Teyana Taylor Brings Out Total at Summer Jam, Talks the Music Scene in Harlem

When Kanye West stressed that Teyana Taylor‘s debut album, VII, was important for the state of R&B at her Los Angeles listening party last year, he wasn’t just blindly praising the young Harlem native he signed 5 years ago. VII has since been praised as a necessary refresher course in classic R&B by critics nationwide, and it earned Taylor a spot on the Hot 97 Summer Jam Festival stage, which is often a direct launching pad to the main stage of the world’s most notorious Hip-Hop and R&B concert.

After her performance, during which she ran through a bevy of her most popular songs, including what’s probably her biggest record to date, “Do Not Disturb.” As a quick surprise, Taylor brought out two-thirds of 90′s R&B group Total, who performed their hit single “Can’t You See,” and engage in a bit of “Kanye dancing.” Watch a brief clip of her performance above, and check out her comments on meeting the classic Total, and the music scene in her hometown of Harlem.