Teyana Taylor releases album, short film following hiatus from music, divorce

Teyana Taylor's heart is at the center of her new release.

The R&B singer called her long-awaited visual project, "Escape Room," her "ombre album" for the "lover girls" in a new interview with the British i-D Magazine.

"Being able to take in new love, you start to feel beautiful and seen again," she continued. "Allowing somebody to kiss your wounds."

Released on Aug. 22, the presentation comes after her hiatus from music, which she formally announced to fans in 2020. It also comes after her public divorce from former NBA athlete Iman Shumpert, after seven years of marriage.

It includes narrations from stars such as Sarah Paulson, Issa Rae, Kerry Washington and Taraji P. Henson, among others.

"Until one day, I stood in the ashes alone / Your name still on my lips, your ghost in my lungs/ And realized through anger and rage/ Love shouldn't burn everything it touches," Henson says in the album's introduction.

Short film stars Taylor's current love interest

Accompanying her fourth studio album is a nearly 40-minute short film, released on Amazon Prime and YouTube. It stars the "Rose in Harlem" singer, as well as actors LaKeith Stanfield and Aaron Pierre.

"This is not an album you want to listen to if you don't see the visual. This is also not an album you want to listen to if you ain't in your mumu ready to receive it," Taylor, 34, said during an Amazon Music panel discussion about her project.

"It's an album that you have to be willing to let guide you. It's almost like a little guided meditation to help you through that process," she added. "And that's why I call it an ombre album. And you see at the top it's very, very dark and as you get through the movie it gets lighter and lighter until it's like pure white."

The film depicts Taylor's journey from a negative relationship with Stanfield's character to finding love with Pierre, her real-life love interest.

Pierre is known for his role in Netflix's "Rebel Ridge" and for voicing young Mufasa in the Disney prequel "Mufasa: The Lion King," which spawned the viral moment "Aaron Pierre, that's Mufasa!" on "The Jennifer Hudson Show" earlier this year. Pierre and Taylor made their relationship Instagram official in March in a glamorous photoshoot captioned, "Oscar night in black (and) white, no grey area."

"First and foremost for me, it was always about serving Teyana and serving her vision, serving her visionary spirit, her artistry, her creativity," Pierre said about her project. "Teyana is really one of one."

'Escape Room' Track list

• Taraji P. Henson's Narration
• Fire Girl
• Sarah Paulson's Narration
• Long Time
• LaLa's Narration
• Niecy Nash's Narration
• Hard Part tf. Lucky Daye
• Back To Life ft. Tasha Smith
• Jodie Turner Smith's Narration
• All Of Your Heart
• Shut Up
• Pum Pum Jump ft. Jill Scott and Tyla
• Open Invite ft. Kaytranada
• Issa Rae's Narration Part 1
• In Your Head
• Final Destination
• Issa Rae's Narration Part 2
• Bed of Roses
• Kerry Washington's Narration
• In Your Skin
• Regina King's Narration
• Always ft. Rue Rose Shumpert and Junie Shumpert

Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAYTaylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected].