Tony Tillman (formerly known as Brothatone) just released the full-length album, Mic Check, earlier this year.  He is back with The Tillman EP, which is a short-but-sweet six songs with a mainstream sound. The album serves to encourage and deal with situations that the average person deals with. 

 

Insert lead single, "Tailored," featuring the rich alto vocals of Beckah Shae. One verse is about a man who feels insignificant and the other verse about a woman who feels she that her body does not match up to the average woman. Over this synth-heavy R&B track, Tillman and Shae assure people that they have been "tailor-made" by God. 

 

One listen to "Hourglass" and you will think, "That's my jam!" because of the smooth hook and mid-tempo beat. It's basically a summer jam where the sun roof is down and you are taking a cruise down the highway. Chad Jones, Tedashii and Tillman all spit a verse around the theme of making the most of our time while we are here on the earth. RMG fans will be happy with "Psycho" because Tillman and Canon bring the Southern edge and rapid-fire delivery that they have been known for respectively.

 

There are times where rappers take chances and either take the singing route or decide to broaden their horizons and rap over different style of music. Tillman does the latter and it works. 

 

Insert "Heaven (Acoustic)," featuring Jordan Love on vocals and Out of the Dust on the instruments. Featuring only an acoustic guitar and keyboard, the chorus basically sums it all up: "Love's so hard to find / No hope in this life / only pain / It will change when we all get to heaven / He will dry your eyes / Fear will subside / He will change everything when we all get to heaven."  So will you like this version or the version with the beat and some bars by Mr. Sho Baraka? Both are great and they have their own strengths. 

 

I am a sucker for straight hip-hop, so my head starts to nod when I listen to "Tillman." It's a straight "hip-hop 101" banger where Tillman explains his purpose of using that last name. 

 

In the movie Coming to America, the barber—one of the many characters played by Eddie Murphy—explains how he wants to call Mohammed Ali by the name that his momma gave him, Cassius Clay. Well surprise, Tillman is not Tony's real name. He explains that he uses "Tillman" because he is a person that tills the ground for Christ. That's clever without being corny. 

 

An appetizer, a filler, a nugget are just a few words to describe this EP. Well, filler my sound negative and incorrect because he released an album earlier this year. Nevertheless, Tillman EP is a dope release by Tony Tillman. 

Song to Download Now:
"Hourglass" (Get it on iTunes here.)