Isn’t she fuckin beautiful?! J Records’ singer/songwriter Jazmine Sullivan stepped away from music for a few years, but I’m so excited for the world to hear her upcoming third project that will be released later next year! Other than Beyonce, what other African American female singer has been (or are currently) killing the game on a global scale in the last decade [e.g A.Keys, ???,]? Since the 1990s, the quality of music overall — particularly black music — has been on a decline (a major reason artists are not selling records anymore). No shade to what’s out right now (I love a good ratchet song), but it’s the truth. Most of the legends or powerhouse vocalists have either lost their voices or passed away, so the market is wide open for the next generation of legends to emerge. She may not be a household name (yet), but very few are fucking with her vocally/musically and many of your favorite artists (Steive Wonder, Jill Scott, Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Kim Burrell, Missy Elliott and Mariah Carey to name a few) have recognized and praised her gift of music. Just a few of her accolades in the last five years: her 2008 debut album, Fearless, was certified gold by the RIAA, she’s toured with Maxwell, Mary J. Blige and Ne-Yo to name a few, she was the recipient of Billboard’s Rising Star Award in 2010 and she already has 9x GRAMMY nominations under her belt (most recent nomination was for writing on Kendrick Lamar’s song featuring Mary J. Blige) to name a few. Don’t sleep on her! I really believe her new album is going to solidify her name and place in music history. For many reasons, I’m very excited about 2014 — it is shaping up to be a big year!