“Bust Your Windows,” “10 Seconds,” and “Forever Don’t Last” rank among favorites from the first three albums by standout R&B contralto, Jazmine Sullivan. 

Jazmine Sullivan is a hit machine – at least if you’re an R&B fan. Simply put, she’s among the sickest contraltos in the game! Her vocals are dynamic, expressive, and robust – sigh.  Three albums into her career, she’s incredibly consistent, despite being incredibly underrated.  On 3 Favorites from the First 3 Jazmine Sullivan Albums, we select three favorites from each album, plus one bonus pick.  That makes a grand total of 10 truly elite songs from J.S.

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Fearless

J Records • 2008

Fearless ranks among the best R&B albums of the 00s.  It’s unsurprising that Jazmine Sullivan earned five Grammy nominations.  Also, unsurprisingly, the top-three songs selected from Fearless were also the three nominated for Grammys (“Lions, Tigers & Bears” earned her two more nominations the following year).  The crème de la crème is “Bust Your Windows,” which finds Sullivan playing the ‘black woman scorned’ role superbly.  “Need U Bad” is an emotional, reggae-tinged gem, while Sullivan flexes her majestic instrument on the set’s best ballad, “In Love with Another Man.”

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1. “Bust Your Windows”

“I bust the windows out your car / After I saw you laying next to her / I didn’t wanna, but I took my turn / I’m glad I did it cause you had to learn.” – Verse one

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2. “Need U Bad”

“Boy I need you bad as my heartbeat (bad as the food I eat ) / Bad as the air I breathe (baby I want you bad) / I need you bad I can’t take this pain (Bad I can’t take this pain) / Boy I’m about to go insane (baby I need you bad)…” – Chorus

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3. “In Love with Another Man”

“If I could… could forget him /  I would… please believe me / And I know that I should throw the towel in / But baby it’s not… not that easy / You treat me so much better than him / And if I was sane there’d be no competition
But… but I’m in love with someone else / And I’m so sorry / I’m in love with another man / And I know it ain’t right.”

Other Contenders: “My Foolish Heart”, “Lions, Tigers & Bears”, “One Night Stand”, “After the Hurricane” & “Live a Lie”

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Love Me Back

J Records • 2010

Fearless was the breakthrough album for Jazmine Sullivan.  Honestly, any of its songs could’ve been considered the best of career.  That said, it’s her incredibly consistent sophomore album, Love Me Back, that earns the BONUS* pick of this playlist.  The best attribute of Sullivan throughout the course of this album is her rich contralto.  Sadly, Love Me Back was more underrated, earning just one Grammy nomination.  Again, it won’t be a surprise that the lone Grammy nod earns a spot in the top-three (“Holding You Down (Goin’ in Circles)”).

While “Holding You Down (Goin’ in Circles)” is superb, the ‘theatrical counting’ (and drama) of “10 Seconds” earns it ‘best of the best’ honors.  “Excuse Me,” pick three, is chocked-full of soul, reminiscing back to them old days.  Bonus pick “Stuttering” wasn’t issued as a single – what a travesty.  It features some of J.S.’s best vocals – she stuttered the [bleep] out of it!

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1. “10 Seconds”

“You know that I can get crazy / When I go off, ain’t nobody to tame me / I’m throwing and breaking shit / Cussing and looking for something to hit you with / You got 10 seconds to go.” – Verse two
“One, two, three / (Four) / Five, six, seven / (Oh, oh) / Eight, nine / (Baby, we getting closer) / Just don’t let me get to ten / (Oh, boy).” – Chorus

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2. “Holding You Down (Goin’ in Circles)”

“I keep going in circles, circles / ‘Round and ’round / And while you’re doing me so wrong / I just keep holding you down / I feel so stupid, foolish / Loving you all this way / But what I can I say / But I wanna go / I wanna go but I keep coming back.” – Chorus

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 3. “Excuse Me”

“Oh, excuse me if me if I’m sounding crazy but you’ve been the / (One I’ve been hoping and waiting for) / Searched all around / (Searched all around) / There’s nobody else (nobody else) in the world / Love me like you do.”

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 4. “Stuttering”

“Can’t believe that I can’t talk / But it’s not my fault / Cause there’s something that you do that’s got me stu-stu-stu-stutterin / There’s so much that I wanna say / But somethings getting in my way / And I got to figure out / How to stop stu-stu-stuttering.”

Other Contenders: “Good Enough” & “Redemption”

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Reality Show

RCA • 2015 

It took nearly five years for Jazmine to return with her third studio album, Reality Show.  Another consistent offering, it unsurprisingly earned her three more Grammy nominations.  Unfortunately, she’s yet to win! Ugh! Also unfortunate is the fact that the best song from Reality Show, “Forever Don’t Last,” earned no recognition.  What makes “Forever Don’t Last” stand out is how she uses the entirety of her vocal range, particularly on the low end of things. “Let it Burn,” which earned her two of three Grammy nominations, deservingly sits as the second pick. Another number not receiving the recognition it deserves is the satirical “Mascara,” which delivers a message about image.

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1. “Forever Don’t Last” 

“I had high hopes for us baby / Like I was on dope for us baby / Chasin’ after a high that I’d never get back again / So we turn into three long years / And it became painfully clear that we / We would never see those days again.” – Verse one

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2. “Let It Burn” 

“You feel that fire, just let it burn / There’s no runnin’ when it’s your turn.” – Chorus

“Feel it creeping in your heart / Ooh baby can you feel it tearing you apart? / That’s right that’s love / When it comes, you never wanna give it up.” – Verse two

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3. “Mascara”

“Year my hair and my ass fake, but so what? / I get my rent paid with it and my tits get me trips / To places I can’t pronounce right / He said he’d keep it coming if I keep my body tight / And them bitches stay mad ‘cause I’m living the life.” – Verse one

Other Contenders: “Dumb”, “#HoodLove”, “Stupid Girl” & “Stanley”

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Final Thoughts

Without sorting the picks by album, how would 10 selected songs rank?  Something like this:

1.“Bust Your Windows”

2.“Need U Bad”

3.“10 Seconds”

4.“In Love with Another Man”

5.“Excuse Me”

6.“Holding You Down (Goin’ in Circles)”

7.“Forever Don’t Last”

8.“Stuttering”

9.“Let It Burn”

10.“Mascara”

If less restricted, “Mascara” might be replaced with “Lions, Tigers & Bears,” which was neck and neck with “Stuttering” as the bonus pick. Sigh! How would you rank or order the best songs of Jazmine Sullivan? Would your top-three’s or top-10 look different?

Photo Credits: J Records, Def Jam

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