Heaux Tales - Jazmine Sullivan: Review
is a Philly based R&B singer and commercially successful holdover from the 2000's era of R&B. The last time we heard from her was on her first project released with RCA records, the commercially successful Reality Show. After a 5 year absence she's returned with either her 4th studio album or her 1st EP depending on who you ask.
Review By Lav:
Is this thing an EP or an album? It's 32 minutes long and 14 tracks, but half the songs are interludes. Wikipedia says its an EP but Spotify says its an album and so do most of the reviews I read on it. We're calling it an album for the moment just to fit in. I was always casually familiar with Jazmine and some of her biggest songs and I thought her last record in 2015 was solid but her back catalog is admittedly one I didn't have much familiarity with until this record came out. Given that I didn't even know this was coming out I was pleasantly surprised with the variety of R&B styles across the record and with its loose concept, the latter of which makes it worth a listen all on its own.
The record features an intro track and 6 interludes among its 14 songs but these are far from throwaway tracks as they each explore femininity, usually through the guise of relationships. Not only are each of the short tracks unique in their ideology but they also manage to cover all kinds of different bases, as well as helping to set up themes for many of the songs that directly follow them. It's a great way to structure a record and make some truly definitive statements and when the music matches that quality the results can be excellent. Pick Up Your Feelings is a classic throwback R&B cut with a warm and sensually funky instrumental backing some hooky sung refrains all over the place. The song isn't rewriting the book on anything but the performance and songwriting are both solid. Put It Down is an interesting up-tempo trap flavored R&B song with hip hop verses and a pop standard hook. The track is smooth and features some pretty vocal layering although I'm not sure constantly flying between refrains with no relief for 3 full minutes was the best way to go. In the moment the sensation is infectious though.
On It is a classic sexy slow burner that has me from the very first moments of the track. Ari Lennox and Jazmine aren't necessarily pushing their vocals much but they really don't need to as even their modest performances fit perfectly into this buttery smooth song. Lost One was certainly a surprise as one of the loudest songs here with stark instrumentation crashing into the song from the very first seconds. Despite this it isn't confrontational in any way and its so easy to get lost in the waves of sweet vocal harmonies. The Other Side is also a great song that feels like R&B at its most charming. The track channels SZA in every single element which can be tricky these days but Jazmine proves her veteran flare by pulling it off incredibly well for one of the best tracks here.
Price Tag is the longest song on the record and it also features Anderson .Paak but I don't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would. The track is an ode to money and its impact on Jamine's lustful feelings and while I love the attitude I don't love the songwriting. The hook is a super dry trudge that doesn't do much for me and while the verses are a little bit better neither of them really knock me off my feet. Girl Like Me is the closing track, and if you're like me and weren't a huge fan of H.E.R coming into this song, her feature certainly isn't going to sway you. On a record with pretty consistent vocals throughout this may be the one exception with the really basic instrumental getting old fast and some vocal choices that make me question this being releases on a major label. It's unfortunate the whole thing ends on what may be its worst track.
Heaux Tales is a surprising treat that brings a number of highlights and a cool concept with just over 30 minutes of runtime. The lack of length does nothing to dissuade the records narrative elements which are often just as much of a highlight as the more conventional songs they are paired with. The album certainly isn't perfect and features a number of tracks that fall short but given what the record is and what it set out to be I think there's no denying its a success, 7/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
The cover for this album doesn't really have any connection to the actual concept of the record. The photo is good but basic, she looks great in a minimal outfit that highlights her very well. I don't like the font used for the main title but I think her logo stamp at the bottom is cool and successful across other albums. I think the could've been executed a lot better but its still okay. 6/10
For more R&B check out my review of 6LACK's 6pc Hot EP here
