Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

With a heavy bass beat that ushered into superstardom the likes of Bob Marley and the Wailers and Jimmy Cliff, so too did Philadelphia-based songstress Jazmine Sullivan achieve her biggest hit to date with the reggae-influenced song Need U Bad.

With some prophesying that the singer will fill the shoes of the almost forgotten rap/soul/reggae singer Lauryn Hill, Sullivan will grace the Reggae Sumfest stage on Friday, July 24.

Appearing for the first time in Jamaica, Sullivan will perform on the festival's International Night One alongside newcomer Keri Hilson, R&B crooner Ne-Yo and rub shoulders with reggae stars Jah Cure, Queen Ifrica, Coco T and Morgan Heritage. The Sunday Gleaner spoke briefly via telephone with the singer recently as she gushed about her upcoming visit, her future and her career.

CHILDREN'S CHOIR

Sullivan's sultry vocal style was evident from age five when she joined the children's choir and a few years later the adult's. After a while, though, the youngster was drawn to secular music and was educated by her mother, who schooled her on the classic R&B songs of Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and Phyllis Hyman. As a teen, Sullivan found herself singing live at the Black Lily in her home state, which is where the legendary Stevie Wonder discovered her.

Wonder brought the singer to perform at his annual Toys for Tots show in Los Angeles with Kirk Franklin, Jill Scott and others, where word of mouth spread to female producer and rapper Missy Elliott. According to Sullivan, she originally met Missy Elliott when she was 14 and later saw her again when she was being signed to her current label, Atlantic Records.

"Working with Missy is cool, it's a lot of fun. She's definitely inspiring. When you see her work ethic you realise why she is where she is."

FIRST REAL STUDY

Alongside Elliott and hit master Timbaland, the history of Jazmine Sullivan was made, and so, too, the connection between the singer and reggae music. The infectious single Need U Bad was Sullivan's first real study into reggae music and one that she was hesitant to take.

"I was with Missy and she played this track for me, and I loved the vibe, it felt really good. But I was a little sceptical because it was supposed to be the first single and I wasn't sure about it being a reggae single because it hadn't been done for a while," Sullivan explained. "But yeah, we started working on it and it felt really good. The label agreed and everyone started working on it and we put out and everyone started liking it."

Not being familiar with reggae didn't stop the singer from writing a soulful song about needing a lost love again.

"I don't listen to a lot of reggae music, but wherever you hear it, reggae music makes you feel good, and I think that's why the song went over so well because it's just an appropriate song or vibe," she said.

While some may have commended Sullivan's convincing patois in the song and have wondered if the singer has Jamaican roots, they would be surprised to know that the chanting is not done by Sullivan. It is actually Pepa from the dynamic duo Salt-N-Pepa who provided the intro and few lines throughout the song to give it a more authentic feel.

Need U Bad shot the singer into stardom, reaching number one on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart. Her debut album, Fearless, spawned two more hits, Bust Your Windows, which peaked at number four on the Billboard charts, followed by Lions, Tigers and Bears, which also made the top 10. Sullivan has also been credited as a songwriter on R&B singer Fantasia's debut album Free Yourself. She also penned hits for the likes of Christina Millian and her hit single Say I and is credited as a songwriter for Jennifer Hudson's I'm His Only Woman featured on Hudson's self-titled debut album.

On her album, the 21-year-old Sullivan is not fearless about diversifying her songwriting and musical craft. "Fearless embodies my state of mind right now. I'm confident, fearless of being honest in my songwriting and musically not afraid to try different things," she said.

One of those different things is not dismissing the possibility of venturing into reggae music again - although she sounded sceptical. Two reggae/dancehall-oriented artistes Sullivan would consider working with is the crossover sensation Sean Paul and the Jamaican-influenced Sean Kingston, who she has already discussed working with. Outside of the Caribbean, the singer is looking forward to possible projects with the Neptunes and Kanye West.

MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES

Her most memorable experiences in the business thus far have been singing alongside Stevie Wonder and singing for legendary record producer Clive Davis.

In the meantime, Sullivan has just started working on her second album, writing new material and pushing songs from her debut album as well. "I had hoped the first album would do well. I was surprised the first single did so well, but I just put out music and right now I'm trying get more people to know who I am," she said.

Getting people to know who she is will be her goal at Reggae Sumfest at the end of this month. She told The Sunday Gleaner she is very excited to be coming to Jamaica and has her programme planned. She elaborated, "I plan to go through the album a little bit and let people hear what's out there, the different sounds and everything."