As The Album celebrates its fifth anniversary, Teyana Taylor’s third album has been certified Gold by the RIAA. First released on June 19—Juneteenth—2020, The Album was the last music Taylor released before announcing her fourth album, Escape Room, earlier this month. With that announcement, Taylor released “Long Time,” her first new song in five years. Escape Room is due out in August.

Earlier this month, Taylor was presented with gold plaques for her albums The Album and 2018’s K.T.S.E. during an appearance on The Today Show. “This is crazy,” Taylor said upon receiving the plaques, after spending a moment seemingly speechless. Taylor also received plaques for a couple of her singles, which have gone platinum.

Featuring collaborations with Erykah Badu, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Kehlani, Future, and many more, The Album is a sprawling project that came from a long creative process. In 2018, Taylor released the seven-track album K.T.S.E. (Keep That Same Energy) which was produced by Kanye West during his 2018 Wyoming sessions. Taylor later said that she wanted to record a longer album, which came through on The Album, which eventually clocked in at 23 tracks, split up into five suites, one for each letter of the word “album.”

Though she took years between musical releases, Taylor has kept plenty busy. The past few years have seen Taylor invest in an acting career, with real returns and acclaim. In 2023, Taylor starred in A.V. Rockwell’s film A Thousand And One, and her performance was lauded, going on to win the Breakthrough Performance award from the National Board Of Review. Taylor also appeared in 2023’s White Men Can’t Jump and the 2025 Tyler Perry film Straw. Later in 2025, she’ll also star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another and will appear opposite Kim Kardashian, Glenn Close, and Naomi Watts in the upcoming Ryan Murphy series All’s Fair.

Listen to Teyana Taylor’s “Long Time” now.