A soul belter who pens cutting lyrics, Philadelphia-born Jazmine Sullivan became an R&B sensation because of her devastating honesty and no-nonsense singing style. Born in 1987, Sullivan honed her talents at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. A session with fellow Philadelphians Kindred the Family Soul resulted in her meeting hip-hop pioneer Missy Elliott, who went on to produce Sullivan’s 2008 debut, Fearless. That versatile, humor-laced album, led by singles including the storming “Lions, Tigers & Bears” and the vengeful “Bust Your Windows,” earned her several Grammy nominations and established her as a next-generation force in pop-soul. Love Me Back, her 2010 follow-up, expanded on her strengths, with the regretful “Holding You Down (Goin’ In Circles)” and the swaying Ne-Yo collaboration “U Get On My Nerves” highlighting her growth as a vocalist. After taking a break from the music business in 2011, she returned three years later with the sweeping “Dumb,” the first single from her explosive 2015 full-length Reality Show. Sullivan, along with Bryson Tiller, contributed the title track for the Insecure soundtrack in 2017, and in late 2020, she released two singles—the slow-burning “Pick Up Your Feelings” and the haunting “Lost One”—that furthered her legacy as one of the 21st century’s finest practitioners of classically minded yet forward-thinking R&B.