Album Review: Jazmine Sullivan, Love Me Back

December 6, 2010Edward Bowseralbum reviews, music0

Jazmine Sullivan

Love Me Back (released Nov. 30, 2010)

Hide the sharp objects! R&B’s favorite crazy lady is back.

Jazmine’s 2008 debut, the imaginative Fearless, took me by surprise and she’s gone on to become one of my favorite vocalists of the past few years. It’s so easy to get sucked in by her rough, jagged vocals and emotional delivery. Love Me Back offers more of the same.

And yep, she’s still pissed.

She starts off the album in a bad mood with “Holding You Down (Goin’ In Circles).” It’s a perfect showcase of Jazmine’s talent – she’s pained and confused by a no-good lover (“I done went through just about two boxes of tissues, baby/and you’re looking at me like you ain’t the issue, baby”) and her emotion isn’t lost in the upbeat party track. The track itself is amazing and is composed of about 100 different samples. I picked out elements of Mary J. Blige, Slick Rick, Biz Markie and even a couple of old Nas songs! Give credit to my girl Missy Elliott for creating that musical collage.

“10 Seconds” also will stir memories of Mary J. You can’t help but think of “I’m Going Down” – except much more assertive. Jazmine’s vocals seem to be even raspier than on her debut, which adds even more weight when she’s laying guys out. On the other end of the spectrum, they add so much feeling when she actually gushes over a guy, like on “Excuse Me.”

There are even a few treats for 80s babies. “Don’t Make Me Wait” is one of those upbeat Jody-Watley-styled 80s jams. And dug the Vanity 6 shout-outs as well. And man, I nearly went off when “Good Enough” opened with the dreaded Euro-pop techo-synths but the track quickly morphed into something out of Prince’s playbook. My blood pressure quickly dropped.

Love Me Back does have its share of disappointments, but that could be because Jazmine raised the bar so high on her debut. “U Get On My Nerves” is hilariously ghetto, typical modern-era R&B from an atypical performer. The unnecessary screaming on “Redemption,” the awkward hook on “Stuttering” and the cookie-cutter “Famous” are rookie mistakes I wouldn’t expect from an artist who already gave us vastly superior tracks like “Lions Tigers and Bears,” “Bust Your Windows” and “Dream Big.”

Love Me Back is odd – it shows Jazmine has grown vocally, but creatively she has stumbled a bit. Don’t let that stop you from checking out the album and enjoying Jazmine’s ode to the 80s.

Besides that, check it out because … I don’t want her to hurt me. She scares me.

Best tracks: “Don’t Make Me Wait,” “10 Seconds,” “Excuse Me”

3.5 stars out of 5