Jazmine Sullivan -- HEAUX TALES: Review

Jazmine Sullivan -- Heaux Tales

[RCA]

R&B star Jazmine Sullivan has been steadily building out a catalog over the late 2000’s and 2010’s with her unique take on neo-soul and tenacity for songwriting. She’s also developed a healthy feature catalog, hopping on songs with living legends like Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Frank Ocean.

However the last few years of the 2010’s have been quiet for Sullivan, for no particular reason. Although it seems she’s been happy to hop in the spotlight to do a feature or ghost write some songs, her own discography has been dead silent for 6 years. Until January 6th, 2021 where Sullivan releases her first ever EP, Heaux Tales, which is not only a confirmation that her burning talent is well and alive, but also probably her best project yet.

Heaux Tales is a narrative EP, meditating on Sullivan’s sexuality and conflicting interests between it and her other emotions. At fourteen tracks--really only eight minus the six skits--it’s surprisingly tight, using it’s skits as little primers for the following tracks similar to Lauryn Hill’s Miseducation.

The EP starts with “Bodies”, a reluctant pep talk from Sullivan to herself to wrangle her sexuality and get her life together. It’s here where we first see the brilliance in Sullivan’s use of overdubs, using choral harmonies and adlibs around the vocal melody to build a symphony of call and response. She wears her influences of Beyonce and Erykah Badu on her sleeve yet still shows refinement in how she’s developed her style around her unique voice.

“Pick Up Your Feelings” is the EP’s ‘billboard hit’, channelling early 00’s R&B grooves for a catchy yet confrontational opus. The song calls for a mopey lover to handle his own emotions and get the hell out of Sullivan’s life. He’s caught feelings and Sullivan isn’t ready for that. It’s the raw story of the song and Sullivan’s rich vocal harmonies that are the catalyst for this song’s brilliance, definitely making it a takeaway of the tracklist.

“Ari’s Tale” leads into “Put it Down” and “On It”; two sexually explosive tracks that dig deep into Sullivan’s sexuality. The first of the two has the pop luster of TLC track but the lyricism of Megan the Stallion to join into a catchy, horny banger. “On It” features Dreamville star Ari Lennox where she and Sullivan trade swinging verses asking the man if he really deserves the good p***y. Sullivan doesn't hide anything and lays all her emotions out in her lyrics and performances, even when it gets hot ‘n’ heavy.

“Price Tags” brings on Anderson .Paak to vocalize the conflict between Sullivan and a man falling victim to her incessant spending. While Sullivan shares her desire for opulence and the subsequent horniness she has for the man with the money, .Paak’s verse shows him lamenting her spending that finally pushes him to the limit. Their back & forth dynamic ties together the song’s conflict and definitely lands as the best feature here.

The rest of the record takes a turn as Sullivan digs skeletons out of the closet and confronts the hardships of the heaux-y lifestyle she’s in. “Lost One” is a painful ballad on how Sullivan lost control of herself and broke the trust of lover with another man, losing him. The warm and minimalist instrumentation leave the floor open for Sullivan’s heart-wrenching deliveries like on the chorus:

Just don't have too much fun without me

Don't have too much, don't have too much fun

Please don't forget about me

Try not to love no one

Oh-oh, try not to love no one

Yeah

“The Other Side” is wishful thinking for stardom as Sullivan fantasizes about life after reaching success. The song’s tight song structure and ethereal production make it the most engineered song on the record and ring like 2010’s R&B heavy hitters like Nelly. The progressively layered mix with strings, synths, boom-bap drums, and Sullivan’s vocals are mixed tightly.

“Girl Like Me” closes out the tracklist with a collaboration with H.E.R. and is a resolving conclusion, calling out the men who have put Sullivan and her in this mental relationship with men. The solo guitar sample that leads the song elevates the personal vocals and minimal rhythm.

Heaux Tales is a nuanced yet well-engineered meditation on sexual independence in the modern age. Jazmine Sullivan’s various angles of her own experiences allow for a release that is wholly real and genuine. Not to mention, Sullivan once again proves that she has one of the most dynamic and unique voices in R&B today.

Heaux Tales is a masterful storybook of stories from Jazmine Sullivan whose brilliant songwriting, lyrics, and vocal performances come together on the best EP of 2021 so far and probably one of the best of the year.

Listen To: “Pick Up Your Feelings”, Tiny Desk Concert

RIYL: H.E.R., Ari Lennox, Lauryn Hill, Mary J Blige

8.9/10.