Jazmine Sullivan’s sophomore disc, “Love Me Back,” is something amazing. Sure, her first album was good, but what the 23-year-old powerhouse does on the second reveals a layer that 2008 debut “Fearless” had only hinted at.
Her first two singles, the Missy Elliot-produced “Holding You Down (Goin’ in Circles)” and Salaam Remi-produced “10 Seconds” pay homage to around-the-way-girl predecessor Mary J. Blige by taking bits of her early songs. But while Sullivan has done a great job of playing Philly’s version of the faithful (and sometimes vengeful) ride-or-die chick, she is not boxed in by the role.
“He was a boss that I knew in Harlem/ gave me my first taste but I had to go farther/I mean I had to go harder/ I started calling up his crib just to get him/ And I didn’t even care/ I’d ask his wife if she was with him,” Sullivan sings over meandering piano on the solemn “Redemption.”
| LISTEN UP |
| “Love Me Back” |
| Jazmine Sullivan |
| J Records |
| $11.98 |
The story unfolds to reveal two things. First, Sullivan is singing not from the perspective of a mistress, but a drug fiend. And second, she’s a daring co-writer, belting her second verse from the viewpoint of an emotionally and physically abusive man.
Every lilt of Sullivan’s voice is a shot to the heart on the lovesick “Stuttering.” The emotive “Excuse Me” is another sweetly addictive ballad. Things are fun on the up-tempo Prince-influenced “Good Enough” and “Don’t Make Me Wait.” And title track, “Love Me Back,” just might have everyone wondering, “How could we not?”
CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: “Love You Long Time” opens with a bluegrass harmony, bulks up with some marching band drumming, and only Sullivan could make it all work.
