And it really combats a world that often erases Black womanhood to stereotypes like the welfare queen or a gold digger or a ghetto girl or a corporate baddie. And they breathe new life and create a safe space for women to express themselves fully, no matter how flawed or flagrant that may be. MADDEN: And each one of these women in their tales, they share a specific point of view, a singular yet interconnected stories about sex, love, relationship, grief, loss - all of that. SULLIVAN: Like, our society teaches them to be so wrapped up in themselves and their own conquests that they forget we're sexual beings as well. This project includes six spoken-word interludes that are recorded from her friends, her sister friends, Jazmine's godmothers, her aunts - basically the Black women in her life who make Jazmine Jazmine. What makes "Heaux Tales" so unique in Jazmine's discography and arguably her magnum opus, even after the six years off, is it has such a maternal and communal element to it. And looking at the track listing, it's a lot of women's names, and I gather that there's kind of a storytelling element to it.
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And in fact, "Heaux Tales" is her first album in six years.ĬORNISH: So this is her first album in some years. She takes many years off in between albums. And she's definitely an R&B mainstay, and she's influenced so many other artists in the R&B space since coming out in the early 2000s. MADDEN: And that was kind of the song that solidified her as an amazing, incisive songwriter and vocalist, and it earned her her first Grammy nominations all the way back in 2008.
#My first love was a castle in the sky windows
SULLIVAN: (Singing) I bust the windows out your car. She's been in the game for a long time, and people who are even not big fans of her probably know her single "Bust Your Windows" from her 2008 debut album, "Fearless." MADDEN: So Jazmine Sullivan, she's a contemporary R&B powerhouse - and I cannot state that enough - powerhouse hailing from Philly. For listeners who aren't familiar with Sullivan's past work, tell us a little bit about her. Thanks for having me.ĬORNISH: I don't even know if we need to do the rest of the interview after that line. I ain't even got the miles to trip on you.ĬORNISH: It's an album that, as NPR's Sidney Madden writes, breathes life into themes of love, sex and loss, granting grace to those who are usually stereotyped and disrespected. You so sloppy, how I caught you slipping up. Funny how I finally flipped the script on you when you the one who's double dipping, yeah.
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JAZMINE SULLIVAN: (Singing) You say that I've been acting different, yeah. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PICK UP YOUR FEELINGS") NPR Music's album of the year is "Heaux Tales" from the Philadelphia-based singer Jazmine Sullivan. Which albums spoke to this moment, this year, with the most clarity and understanding? Well, one stands out above the rest. All year, our friends at NPR Music spend an enviable amount of time sifting through new releases, looking for the best of the best.