Jazmine Sullivan bears every woman’s stories in the unapologetic album “Heaux Tales”

It ain’t right how these hoes be winnin’
Why they be winnin’? (How they be? Why they be? Why they be?)
A oh-oh, no hope for a girl like me (Why they be?)
How come they be winnin’? (Why they be? Why they be?)
I ain’t wanna be
But you gon’ make a hoe out of me, ee-ee, ee-ee, ee-ee

The unexpected comeback

It’s like reconnecting with an old friend. Jazmine Sullivan made a big comeback with her new album “Heaux Tales” released on Friday, January 8^th. Her last one, “Reality Show” went out in 2015.

“Heaux Tales” takes us on a powerful and brave journey. The R&B artist allows herself to be vulnerable by sharing some parts of her story, like in “Rashida’s Tale”:

“Having lost her at that time, it felt like a death to me. I can’t give you an explanation as to why I did it ‘Cause I, I really don’t know.  But I fucked up, I fucked that up, And I can admit that”.

According to her, doing people wrong can sadly be a part of life; a process that helps you grow up. As long as you learn from your mistakes, you’re still a good person.

Understanding women emotional states

Her honesty makes this album special, but this is not the only reason. Six other women intervene by sharing their thoughts about relationships or sex. Ari Lennox is a part of these interludes. It’s empowering and inspiring: you don’t have to feel ashamed if you got the same opinions about these subjects.

“Heaux Tales” looks like one confessional night with your girlfriends. This collection of little stories teaches you not to judge a book by its cover. Jazmine Sullivan’s also reminds us to stick with our sisters. This way, you can stand up against the patriarchy.

On this album, Jazmine Sullivan even redefined the term “hoe”. First, with a Frenchified version: this is what “Heaux” means.

The truth is, women of all ages have been called a “heaux” at some point in life, whether deserved or not, by some man trying to put us in our place; a place designed to keep us under control, out of the way and usually beneath them. 

Women are over feeling ashamed about the decision we have made, or chose to make, in regards to our bodies. We are multi-faceted and shouldn’t be defined by any one thing.

You can tell “Heaux Tales” definitely takes inspiration from today’s women. Jazmine Sullivan’s new project reminds us of statements Lizzo, Cardi B, and Ariana Grande put in their songs. At some point, this album echoes with “Truth Hurts”, “Money” or “7 rings”.

Sure, they all got different ways to express it. Nevertheless, they tend to manifest their desires and not feel ashamed by them.

They claim back their body image and their own will. A woman can be as confident, ambitious, sexual, or rich as a man does and not feel guilty because of it. 

About to take 2021 by storm

Grammy-nominated artist Jazmine Sullivan made her first big hit as a songwriter with Christina Milan’s “Say I” back in 2006. Then, she made her major-label debut in 2008 with “Need U Bad”. To this day, the R&B bop “Bust Your Windows” (2008) is still one of her biggest successes. It even got covered on the popular music TV show “Glee” – a badass way for a woman to express how she feels at the moment.

It looks like Jazmine Sullivan is back and ready to slay: she even announced on her Instagram she’ll perform at 2021 Super Bowl LV, alongside country singer Eric Church. Indeed, she’ll sing the National Anthem on Sunday, February 7th in Raymond James stadium. H.E.R., who collaborated on “Heaux Tales”, will be there too, performing “America The Beautiful”. You go, girls!