R&B artist Layton Greene has had a life full of struggles, but Greene has been able to channel all of those emotions into a career that she loves.  

“I try to find the light in every situation,” Greene said.

Greene received her first break in 2017 after releasing a remix of the song “Roll in Peace” by Kodak Black. Once the remix achieved over 3.5 million plays on SoundCloud and reached the top 15 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart, Layton Greene became noticed by entertainers and audiences alike.

At age 20 she released “Leave Em Alone” featuring some of the biggest names in hip-hop, Lil Baby, City Girls, Quality Control, and PnB Rock. Adding to its fame, this track quickly became number one on YouTube Music’s “R&B on the Rise” list.

“I always felt I was destined for this,” Greene said. “Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I was going to be a professional singer. I knew I would be famous one day. I didn’t know how it was going to happen. I just knew it would.”

Layton Greene’s EP is called “Tell Your Story,” and that is exactly what it does. Greene allows her listeners into the deepest and hardest parts of her life, all of the highs and the lows.  

“I get real vulnerable on [the album],” Greene said. 

In this raw EP, my two favorite tracks are “Blame On Me” and “I Choose.” 

I mostly like “I Choose” because of the way the sound blends with Layton Greene’s voice. Compared to all of the other songs on “Tell Your Story” this one has the most hip-hop mix in it. This gives Greene a chance to show how she is able to connect with her fans that also love rap. 

The pre-chorus of “I Choose” caught my attention the most out of the whole song. The way it is edited where there is a continuous flow between each lyric making that part sounds like a person repeating words over and over again trying to convince herself of the lie that she is going to tell. 

“Blame on Me,” in my opinion is hands down the best song on this EP. The song covers her childhood to when she became, and all the struggles she went through during that time. 

In “Blame on Me” Layton Greene talks about personal struggles such as her not having her father growing up, claiming she was sexually assaulted but not being believed, and being separated from her mother because of financial problems.

This track starts out with the chorus, and the repetition of the sentences “Nobody was there to even listen, I kept all my problems and kept my feelings hidden. I put the blame on me.” These sentences sit with Greene’s audience because even though the situations are not the same, the lyrics are something everyone can relate to. 

When an artist tells their life story of where they came from to where they are now it is a chance for listeners to get to know the type of person and artist they will be. Connections that can be made from these types of songs are why I love “Blame on Me” so much. 

However, my least favorite track off of this album is the song that sounds like the typical R&B song. Though R&B is my favorite genre mostly because of declarations of love or heartbreak that can be heard in almost every song, just like any other type of music it can be overplayed.

The track, “Open Wounds,” is the epitome of that. It talks about how Greene realized that the boy she was dating was cheating on her with someone else. 

Since the generic style of this song does not match the vibe of the rest on “Tell Your Story,” I think that this song should not have been included on the EP. 

Through Layton Greene sharing the story of her life, the message produced is one that can be quite rare in the music industry. Greene wants her fans to know that even though the world may force us to smile and act perfect, that it is not something you should strive for. 

Greene believes, “It’s okay not to be okay sometimes. It’s okay to go through stuff. We’re all human. Sometimes we forget that.”