Jazmine Sullivan's Heaux Tales, Mo' Tales: The Deluxe
New Songs Described
Thomas Gilbert
February 26, 2022, 12:19 AM (ET)
The visionary vocalist extends the portrayal of contemporary Black women's trials and tribulations on the battlefield of love.
Interpolated with stories of Black women scorned and lessons learned from prior relationships, Jazmine Sullivan’s Heaux Tales, Mo' Tales: The Deluxe is a fitting continuation to the original that dropped last year. Sullivan added five new songs and interludes to her 2021 EP released on February 11, 2022. The soulful songstress followed with the announcement of the Heaux Tales Tour, which began on February 15, 2022. Megan Thee Stallion was even asked about collaborating with Jazmine Sullivan in an interview with Billboard magazine, going on to depict the ideal project: “We’ll have the girls crying, we’ll have the girls screaming, we’ll have the girls dancing, we’ll have the girls sipping wine,….” To augment your listening experience, I’ve taken the liberty of providing descriptions for each new track to indicate what each deluxe song is about. See my interpretations below. Enjoy!
Early Departure✈️
1. Issa’s Tale – Issa Rae recollects a relationship with a former lover that has an anticlimactic conclusion right before leaving. #CameAndWent
2. Tragic – Jazmine explains that she is reclaiming her time from a less than fulfilling dalliance.
3. Jazzy’s Tale – A woman discusses the need for validation and staying in unhealthy relationships despite all signs pointing to the door.🚪
Love Drugged💊
4. Hurt Me So Good – Jazmine cries about not being able to leave a toxic lover even though they “Hurt [her] me so good.”
5. A Breaux's Tale – An aggrieved gent reflects on being a pawn in his perfect lover’s scheme. #karma🤷🏾♂️
6. Roster –Jazmine describes not catching feelings and being unashamed of her “roster” of options, while explaining that she has “one more spot left in [her] my roster” to a potential interest.
Passion and Pleasure💘, Pain and Unfulfillment😓
7. Mona’s Tale – A woman describes the vigor and passion she puts into her lovemaking.
8. BPW – “Say it’s the best (Say it’s the best) / You know it’s the best (You know it’s the best).” Jazmine bragging about having the best praise and worship. Hallelujah!🙌🏾
9. Shanti’s Tale – A woman describes falling for a man at a vulnerable place in her life whose world she becomes immersed in while receiving scraps in return.
10. Selfish – “You want me to risk everything/ But don't want to make no sacrifices.” Jazmine depicts a one-sided relationship with a man who wants her to make all the changes and adjustments without offering the same in return.
Stream Sullivan's project on Spotify:
"...there's so many internal traumas that I needed to overcome...." | Willow Smith Captures A Nostalgic 2000s Pop-Punk Sound On Her Latest Album
Thomas Gilbert
August 1, 2021, 1:00 PM (ET)
The singer, mononymously known as “Willow,” channels Hayley Williams and Avril Lavigne on her latest release.
Willow Smith, known as “Willow,” released her fourth album, stylized lately I feel EVERYTHING, on July 16, 2021. This album sees Willow exploring her pop-punk side as opposed to the cerebral alternative R&B and neo soul sound that she honed on her first album Ardipithecus or the dream pop, psychedelic soul sound of her previous third album Willow. On lately, Willow follows in the footsteps of her mother Jada Pinkett-Smith who co-founded the nü-metal band Wicked Wisdom in 2002. Willow said that her mother’s band was part of her inspiration for the new album, in addition to punk/pop-punk groups and artists like Paramore, My Chemical Romance, and Avril Lavigne.
The leading single of the album was “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” featuring Travis Barker, former drummer for rock band Blink-182. The lyrics to the song describe Willow’s lack of trust and suspicion of the people around her: “I don't fucking know if it’s a lie or it's a fact/All your little fake friends will sell your secrets for some cash” and “Smile in my face, then put your cig out on my back.” Willow goes on to state how she can see right through the inauthentic actions of the main characters of the song as they are transparent: “Transparent soul/I can see right through, just so you know.” The versatile songstress followed up with another single titled “Lipstick,” which describes a person lost in their own head, feeling isolated and not seeing the path in front of them: “Vision gets dimmer/The room is closing in on me;” “Feeling all alone no space no time/Looking at life through a blue bird’s eye.” The lyrics also showcase an individual struggling with longstanding hurt that they must confront: “I never wanted to just suffer inside/Hurt don't heal when I am always tryna hide.”
A standout on the album, in my opinion, was the track “G R O W” with Avril Lavigne featuring Travis Barker. On the upbeat song, Willow and Lavigne proclaim the personal progress and self-development they have been making while still making notice of how much space they have for improvement: “I've been putting work in, healing myself/Still got room to grow/I've been really searching, emotional wealth/Honestly my heart is broke/I just need to grow…” Willow Smith described the place she is in emotionally during an interview with NPR, “I'm doing so much healing right now. It's crazy…..And it's really all because of how I approached the creation and the release of this project. Even though that's an external thing, there's so many internal traumas that I needed to overcome….”
The singer’s newfound maturation has resulted in a project that should harken listeners back to the punk and pop-punk sounds of the 2000s as voiced through the lens of a young 20-year old black girl. We may be witnessing the birth of America’s next pop-punk princess. Make way Olivia Rodrigo!