Teyana Taylor’s next album, Escape Room, is shaping up like a cinematic experience — and she’s bringing a stacked cast along for the ride.
On Wednesday, August 13, she hopped on Instagram to reveal the 22-track lineup, complete with multiple interludes delivered as narrations.
The project kicks off with an intro from Taraji P. Henson, with more storytelling moments from La La Anthony, Jodie Turner-Smith, Regina King, Niecy Nash, Kerry Washington, Issa Rae (appearing twice), and Sarah Paulson. Paulson, a familiar face from Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story, will also appear alongside Taylor in the upcoming legal drama All’s Fair, created by Murphy. Taylor and Henson recently shared the screen in Tyler Perry’s Straw, which debuted on Netflix in June.
The musical side of Escape Room will feature contributions from Lucky Daye, Tyla, Jill Scott, Tasha Smith, and Taylor’s daughters, Rue Rose Shumpert and Junie Shumpert, whom she shares with ex-husband Iman Shumpert.
While this is the first time Taylor has revealed the full list of features, she told GQ in June how she carefully chose her collaborators.
“I reached out to a lot of people whose hugs were a little bit longer,” she explained. “It was a look [they gave of] ‘I see you. I hear you. I feel you. I got you.’”
Taylor also revealed she hopes to one day bring an album to Broadway.
Alongside the album, Escape Room will arrive with a short film starring Taylor as a woman navigating heartbreak before finding unexpected love. She also directed all the visuals for the project.
Escape Room drops Friday, Aug. 22 via Def Jam.
