Review Summary: Too much sex.
The term that West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg coined over a decade ago, "sensual seduction", couldn't be more true to itself than it is with model/singer Nikyee Heston. It's not unusual to see an artist flaunt their sex appeal, it's almost an essential element to gain momentum in the mainstream side of the industry. Artists like Zayn and Nicki Minaj have undoubtedly mastered that component, showing themselves off with their lustful body movement during performances and translating that steaminess into their music. That's where Nikyee Heaton comes into fold, seemingly stepping it up a notch even beyond what her major label counterparts are doing. Taking on the identities of both full-time model and artist has worked to her advantage well, bolstering her sexuality in a fashion that steps beyond even the normal boundary. It was prominent in her rise as one of pop's more underrated artists, and it has given her a major label deal with Capital Records. Working on her debut album, she's dropped a mixtape dubiously titled in its Kanye West-font "The Bedroom Tour Playlist", enticed with a lingerie-worn Heaton plastered on the cover. Created with the hopes of being "great music for the bedroom", the sex appeal stamped in its cover is intoxicating enough, but it doesn't necessarily translate into an equally exciting mixtape as you would hope it'd be backed up by.
It's not all intimacy and mad love, and when that isn't the emphasis, it shows that Nikyee is vulnerable and in no shame either. She's had to deal with the doubt and those who didn't believe she could facilitate a music career, along with personal tragedies, and that is highlighted in the somber, ultraviolet ballad "I'm Ready". Orchestrated under a single acoustic guitar that blends in beautifully with her equally sad, emotive vocals, it captures her struggle to come to terms with her doubters in heartbreaking fashion. It's further enhanced by dark, aching lines like "I've seen money in the streets of ghettos/across faces of pain, still they strain for greatness", alluding to how she's seen people in her situation suffered yet have persevered through it. It's unfortunate that there isn't any more ballads on this mixtape besides the equally as beautiful "Infinity", as this particular excursion is the latter, but it doesn't mean there's promise also from her modern R&B material in which this mixtape focuses on. Shadowy excursions like the shady, bouncy "King" delivers it's not-so-innocent atmosphere perfectly in all three phases of sound, tone and lyricism, with Heaton's maturity glowing amongst a basic, but darkish trap beat. While the single major flaw may be it's mostly one-dimensional premise, the intimacy and sizzle that bristles through works in some cases when all three phases click.
The single biggest flaw that muddles this down is it's one-dimensional premise of intimacy, sex, and naughtiness. It's the filler for most of these tracks, and while in some cases it can be pleasingly enjoyable, the majority of them just drag the narrative too much but also show all three phases failing to coincide together. It's displayed morbidly in the screeching R&B snoozer "NBK (Natural Born Killer)", integrated with lame, woozy synthesizer paired together with gouging, futuristic bass that attempts to pull off a sassy, seductive atmosphere but falls awfully short on it. To top it all off, it's further enhanced with uninspiring, millennialist lyricism with lines like "pull your b*tches on the Snapchat/oh that was your girl, hashtag" that sounds overly superficial and dowsed with no substance at all. Other devilish outings like the washout "Devil" and the glitzy "Nexus" offer similar issues and following down the same narrative. There are also other naughty excursions fortunately that aren't close to boring such as the viral hit "Bad Intentions" featuring Migos, slipped on with Heaton's daring vocals and an equally lusting atmosphere all around with its ultraviolet, warm synths. But it's interrupted by an darn awful collaboration by the Atlanta rap trio, delivering two verses that feel very out of place with its profane-free lyricism and giving away the vibe that it is much better off without any features such as this in the first place. An otherwise fiery outing dragged down by nonexistent chemistry between these two artists.
The ultimate definitive that you get out of Nikyee Heaton's "The Bedroom Tour Playlist" is that too much sex can be well, too much sex. It's like that one particular challenge video that Buzzfeed did a long time ago with a few select couples "doing it" every single day for a month, and the results of it being that it's just simply became unenjoyable because it was overdone. That's literally what this mixtape gives off. With that said, there's a lot of optimistic tendencies to come away from this, the strongest being Heaton's sultry, thick vocals that enforce the atmosphere of her musical outings quite well and her ability to deliver some of the better ballads that are easily underrated and more deserving of attention. It has the foundations of becoming very vital to the success and improvement on her next musical set. Good bedroom music for you and your lover if that's all this material will be made out to be used for though!
