Jazmine Sullivan Tops R&B Albums Chart With ‘Heaux Tales’

Jazmine Sullivan’s grand return with Heaux Tales reaped all the benefits this past week on the charts. The soulful singer’s latest record, which dropped on Friday (January 8), topped the Top R&B Albums chart with 43,000 album units sold — earning her second No. 1 album on the listing predominantly from streams.

Sullivan released Heaux Tales after being on a six-year hiatus. Her previous project Reality Show, which was released in 2015, was her last album to score the top spot on the Top R&B Albums chart. This is a potent indicator that she is always organically evolving as an artist, which further translates to her sustained relevancy in the music scene today.

Heaux Tales differs from Reality Show in the sense that it scored a higher placement on the Billboard 200 Albums chart — garnering her best performing record to date. The set peaked at No. 4 and became her second top 10 hit on the listing.

Another notable chart move from Sullivan occurred on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, landing in the secondary spot behind Pop Smoke’s Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon.

Five tracks from Heaux Tales also debuted on the Hot R&B Songs chart, ranging from No. 10 with “Girl Like Me” featuring H.E.R. to No. 24 with “Price Tags” featuring Anderson .Paak.

Sullivan’s Heaux Tales explores many provocative themes, including sexuality, gender norms, body image and empowerment. Her raw songs were strung along with spoken word intermissions, giving a cohesive sound and an intimate look at Sullivan’s thought process and contemplations about life. Her respectable performances on the charts prove that the album resonated not only with fans but also, perhaps with new, younger fans who have never been introduced to the prolific artist.

With standout tracks like “Pick Up Your Feelings,” “Price Tags” featuring Anderson .Paak, “Lost One” and “Girl Like Me” featuring H.E.R., this comeback album far exceeded any expectations and proved that though a fair amount of time has passed without her presence, the R&B genre desperately needs the 12-time Grammy nominee to bring her gracious vocals, distinctive perspective and her incredible star power to the world.

In a genre that rarely gets the recognition it deserves, it is important to point out her exquisite talent in the music industry as a whole — and not just R&B. She also empowers other women’s voices in R&B, which we’ve witnessed with her recent collaborations with Ari Lennox and H.E.R.

Jazmine Sullivan reclaims her position as a R&B powerhouse with her latest set and hopefully, fans are in for a sweet ride of continued new material because it is positively promising.