R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan took to her twitter tonight to officially announce that she will be “taking a break from music”, saying that she needed to “figure out” who she was without a mic, paper or pen. She went on to say “I promised myself when it wasn’t fun anymore I wouldn’t do it. And here I am. I’m not saying I won’t ever sing again in my life becuz I dont believe that. But in this moment, rt now…I got some things to figure out”. She ended by thanking her fans for the support they have given her up until this point…
…While the timing is a bit off (having just released an album in November), I can’t say I’m surprised by this. I smell label issues. The fact is, Jazmine Sullivan is one bad-ass singer – I’d go as far as saying she is one of the best singers in the game at the moment. But it’s clear (to me at least) the music she is making is not 100% connecting.
I have two theories: 1) She is yet to figure out what type of artist she wants to be or 2) She is being prevented from making the music she wants to make.
I have a feeling the latter is most probable. Both her debut and sophmore albums have been a mix bag of watered down, weak Pop and passionate, hearty R&B-Soul. This combination rarely works. Jazmine sounds best when she’s singing songs like ‘Luv U Back’, ‘Bust Your Windows’, ‘Lions, Tigers & Bears’ and most recently ‘Circles’ (and it’s remix), ’10 Seconds’, ‘Don’t Make Me Wait to Long’ & ‘Redemption’, not when she’s singing disposable, easy-on-the-ear, radio-friendly nonsense.
Major labels want to appeal to mainstream audiences – something none of the aforementioned songs really do. Classic artist Vs label scenario. I believe Jazmine knows exactly who she is as an artist, but when a label focuses on chart-chasing and marketing over art and integrity – you will always encounter problems. That ‘problem’ is usually a confused album, the kind Jazmine has delivered twice now.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, I hear in Sulli’s voice that ‘thing’ I hear in Mary J Blige’s. She needs to record an album like My Life or Share My World – an LP filled with pounding R&B-Soul songs deep routed in emotion. We’ve seen glimmers of this on both her albums now and it’s spellbinding – we need more of that.
I hope she isn’t gone for too long.
P.s I could be completely wrong here, these are just my thoughts.
She needs to go independent and do her thing. Music is suppose to make you happy at the end of the day. I think she is a great artist and I am sure she will come stronger out of this.
Peace and Love!
An independent songstress
That's very sad news. Can you think about your decision for once more?
This makes me really sad…
so what do you consider her "disposable, easy-on-the-ear, radio-friendly nonsense'? you pretty much named all of her singles as the music she should be making. just curious.
[...] having announced she’s taking a break from the music industry, a new (presumably previously unreleased) track from Jazmine Sullivan has [...]