What We're Listening To (Week of 1/31/21): Heaux Tales by Jasmine Sullivan

 

What We're Listening To: Heaux Tales by Jasmine Sullivan

Written by: Elyana Riddick || Date: January 11, 2021

    I have always been a long time fan of Jasmine Sullivan. Growing up, my mother and I listened to her hit 2010 single "Holding You Down (Going in Circles)" while I sang obnoxiously loud to every lyric on my way to school. It was a morning ritual, and I will always remember it as a sign of the times. As for my nineteen-year-old self listening to Heaux Tales for the first time...yeah this is also very much an album that signs the times.
    
    Sullivan's album is a testimony to the sexuality of women--the definitions, the limits, and the highs and lows of sex. One of Heaux Tales' most popular songs, "Put it Down" presents itself in a suave and rhythmic G# major tune while discussing a sexual desire so strong that it makes her drop everything at any sign of sexual request from her man. The chorus is an ear worm, but with the runs and harmonies that Sullivan serves throughout it, you often find yourself not wanting it to leave your head.

    Sullivan's album has three features: Ari Lennox on "On It", Anderson .Paak on "Pricetags", and H.E.R. on "Girl Like Me". If nothing else, these features speak overwhelmingly to the diversity of this album; Sullivan doesn't shy away from concocting a collage of music styles from steadily ambient to gripping, almost other-worldly, orchestral harmonies. 

    Heaux Tales features quick inserts of personal stories from friends on their sexual experiences in which the songs following address in a masterfully lyrical way.  It is a 14 track conversation on women's autonomy, giving question to patriarchal privileges and interpretations of sex in an unapologetic way. Stories of triumph, of lust, of riches, fortune, betrayal, and loss ooze out of every minute of this track, so much so that I listened to it one sitting, being left fiending for more.

    Heaux Tales is available to listen on Apple Music and Spotify. I recommend also taking a look at her recently uploaded Tiny Desk by NPR performance on YouTube. Feel free to comment what you think and strike up a conversation below!






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