Jazmine Sullivan: Reality Show (RCA) Her third album is very much the final part of a trilogy, a series that shows her growing from the highly intelligent 21-year-old novice on her 2008 debut Fearless (the second best 2008 release called Fearless, but closer than you’d think) to the 27-year-old master seen here. Every one of her albums improves upon the last, and here, it’s hard to imagine her getting much better. Almost all of these songs are top-notch, conceptually as much as musically, with “Mascara” tackling beauty standards (“Don’t I deserve to be privileged?”), “Brand New” following an ex changed by fame (“We both know that I deserve the throne”), and “Stupid Girl” offering a cautionary tale to women blinded by love (“When you love ‘em like I do you’ll be a fool”). Most of Reality Show surpasses the average R&B album in terms of lyricism, but the far above average music—featuring a nice blend of vintage soul and modern R&B sounds—is what elevates it to being the most purely listenable record of the new year. A
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