It’s been over a decade since Jasmine Sullivan burst onto the scene with her debut album Fearless. Her rich voice and songwriting allowed listeners to hear her pain on tracks like “Need U Bad.” Since then, she has continued to be dynamic, but equally distant. Her next two albums, Love Me Back & Reality Show, were powerful but followed by lengthy absences that left fans patiently waiting.
Sullivan’s latest EP, Heaux Tales, was released earlier this month after a six-year gap between projects. Earlier in her career, she drew praise for her lyrics about sorrow and suffering. “You broke my heart, so I broke your car,” she slowly sang on “Bust Your Windows.” Today, she looks at love and lust at face value, accepting the varying results.
Tracks like “On It” find Sullivan full of energy demanding that men meet her standard. “I want to sit on it. So tell me why you deserve it,” she sings with Ari Lennox. She is unforgiving on “Pick Up Your Feelings” as she walks out of a relationship that no longer serves her purpose. All the while, Sullivan presents aspects of heartbreak that are familiar to us all. “Please don’t forget about me. Try not to love no one” she passionately sings on “Lost One.” From financial benefits to self-doubt, she touches on every angle of relationships.
Heaux Tales especially stands out because Sullivan functions as the album’s narrator. In-between tracks are the testimonies of Sullivan’s friends, detailing their experiences and philosophies with men. Their stories, along with Sullivan’s, paints an accurate picture of what it means to be young. We are constantly torn between searching for a life-long companion and a fling to get us through the night. Building ourselves back-up after failed relationships only to fall for the next person who may be what we’re looking for. We go with what feels right at the moment, unsure of where or who it will lead us to. In all, Heaux Tales puts this confusing and often conflicting world together with soul and direction.
