Teyana Taylor & Lucky Daye: The desert storytelling is breathtaking in the ‘Hard Part’ music video

As if you needed more reasons to love all things Hollywood superstar Teyana Taylor - how about seeing her delivering both vocals and visuals for her standout ‘Hard Part’ anthem?

Accompanied by fellow musician Lucky Daye, it’s must-see with the Escape Room tune turned visual. Geek out.

Teyana Taylor releases stunning new music video for fan favorite “Hard Part” ft. Lucky Daye, off her critically acclaimed album Escape Room out now via Def Jam Recordings. Watch HERE.

Thematically the song sits in the emotional core of the album, with The New York Times calling it “a pivotal part of the narrative.” The visual was shot against the stark and isolating landscape of Joshua Tree, mirroring the emotional bareness of a relationship unraveling.  Lucky Daye’s voice offers a balancing counterpart to the emotionally rich and soulful arrangement of the song.

Upon release in August, Escape Room peaked at #1 on iTunes album charts and #2 on Apple’s R&B chart. Blurring the boundaries between music, film, and storytelling, Escape Room’s immersive, multi-sensory journey combines sound and cinema into an unforgettable experience. For this bold statement, Teyana brought together an all-star ensemble of collaborators from across music, film, and culture. The album and film feature contributions from Jill Scott, Tyla, Lucky Daye, and Kaytranada, alongside narration from Taraji P. Henson, Sarah Paulson, Kerry Washington, Issa Rae, Regina King, Niecy Nash, Jodie Turner-Smith, La La, and Tash Smith. Her daughters Rue Rose and Junie also make special appearances, grounding the work in family and legacy.

Watch the short film HERE

Escape Room features previous released “Long Time,” which Teyana performed at the 2025 BET Awards, to widespread acclaim and called one of the best performances of the night. Elevating her space-age R&B to unparalleled heights, she released the visual for “Long Time” which is a continuation from the trailer for the respective short film, which has gathered over 10 million views and upon release was trending on X/Twitter. Watch HERE. In addition, Escape Room notably boasts the seductive fan favorite “Bed Of Roses,” check out the sensual visual HERE.

Teyana recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of her widely acclaimed third full-length record, The Album, which arrived on June 19, 2020. Upon release, the LP bowed in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart while amassing hundreds of millions of streams. It also just received a GOLD certification from the RIAA.

Five years ago, Teyana pivoted from music and ignited her film and television career. She has emerged as a superstar with a full slate of high-profile projects on the horizon. These include Tyler Perry’s Straw which catapulted to #1 on NETFLIX, Academy® Award-nominated iconic filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another with Academy® Award winners Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Benicio Del Toroout September 26, and Joe Carnahan’s The Rip with Academy® Award winners Matt Damon and Ben Affleckcoming soon on NETFLIX. Plus, she joins the cast of Ryan Murphy’s All’s Fair alongside Kim Kardashian, 2x-Academy® Award nominee Naomi Watts, 8x-Academy® Award nominee Glenn Close, and Sarah Paulson.

Through her production company, The Aunties, she has notably acted as creative director for big brands like Victoria Secret, Jordan Brand, as well as artists like Summer Walker, Skilla Baby, Lil Baby, Glorilla, Latto. They have also directed commercials for Old Spice and Jordan Brand as well as music videos for Macy Gray, Bryson Tiller, Coco Jones, Monica, Neyo and more.
 
Tracklist below broken down into 4 segments:
 
THE HEARTBREAK 
“YOU DID EVERYTHING BUT KILL ME”
 
1. Narration by Taraji P. Henson 
2. Fire Girl
3. Narration by Sarah Paulson
4. Long Time
5. Narration by Niecy Nash
6. Hard Part 
7. Back To Life ft. Tasha Smith 
 
THE REBOUND 
“SHE WATERED HER ROSE, BUT HER HEART WAS CLOSED, WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED”
 
1. Narration by Jodie Turner-Smith 
2. All Of Your Heart ft. Taraji P. Henson
3. Shut Up
4. Pum Pum Jump ft. Tyla and Jill Scott
5. Open Invite ft. Kaytranada
 
THE FEELINGS
“ARE FLARING…OR ARE WE FALLING?”/THE FALL...
“TO LOVE WITHOUT ARMOUR”
 
1. Narration by Issa Rae Part 1
2. In Your Head
3. Narration by Issa Rae Part 2
4. Bed of Roses
5. Final Destination
 
THE HEALING
“SHE ESCAPED BACK TO HERSELF”
 
1. Narration by Kerry Washington 
2. In Your Skin
3. Narration by Regina King
4. Always ft. Rue Rose Shumpert and Junie Shumpert