GRAMMY-nominated R&B singer/songwriter Jazmine Sullivan recently visited The Recording Academy's headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., to participate in an exclusive GRAMMY.com interview. Sullivan discussed her songwriting process and the personal nature of her new album, Reality Show, among other topics.    

"I started working on [Reality Show] really as a way to kind of get back to who I was," said Sullivan. "It really kind of saved me in a way, doing what it is that I was supposed to be doing, which is making music."

A Philadelphia native, Sullivan broke out in 2008 with her debut album, Fearless, which climbed to No. 6 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the Top 40 hits "Need U Bad" and "Bust Your Windows." Fearless garnered Sullivan five GRAMMY nominations for 2008, including Best New Artist, Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Need U Bad." The following year, the album's third single, "Lions, Tigers & Bears," earned Sullivan two additional GRAMMY nominations for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. In 2010 Sullivan garnered her third nomination in the latter category for "Holding You Down (Going In Circles)," a track from her Top 20 sophomore album Love Me Back.

Released in January, Reality Show marks Sullivan's first album following a five-year hiatus from music. Co-produced by GRAMMY-nominated producers Salaam Remi (Jennifer Hudson, Miguel, Amy Winehouse) and Chuck Harmony (Jaheim, Ledisi, Ne-Yo), among others, Reality Show peaked at No. 12 and features 12 tracks co-written by Sullivan, including "Dumb" with rapper Meek Mill, "Forever Don't Last" and "Mascara."

Sullivan is currently in the midst of a U.S. tour with dates scheduled through April 30.

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

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He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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Jazmine Sullivan's 2008 debut, Fearless, solidified her place as one of R&B's key players — especially thanks to a trio of hits, "Need U Bad," "Bust Your Windows" and "Lions, Tigers & Bears." The latter marked the final single from the LP, and later snagged Sullivan two nominations for Best R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song at the 2010 GRAMMYs.

Fifteen years after Fearless' release, R&B singer Josh Levi presents a heavenly cover of Sullivan's "Lions, Tigers & Bears," powered by his seamless vocal runs and an intense string orchestra. Levi places himself in front of an arrangement of lush greenery, only expanding the performance's paradisiacal essence.

Levi began his musical career over a decade ago, posting covers to his YouTube channel, and later appeared as a contestant on the third season of The X Factor. Today, Levi continues to perform covers across social media — most recently delivering his unique imagining of Beyoncé's "Dangerously in Love 2" on Instagram.

Aside from covers, Levi released his debut extended play, DISC ONE, in 2020. Since signing with Atlantic Records in 2021, Levi released the EP's follow-up, DISC TWO, in 2022, and issued a deluxe version, DISC TWO (SCRATCHED UP), in May.

Press play on the video above to watch Josh Levi's whimsical rendition of Jazmine Sullivan's "Lions, Tigers & Bears," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of ReImagined.

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For award-winning stylist and costume designer Zerina Akers, fashion is the purest way to express our ideal selves — and she gets to help superstars like Beyoncé do just that.

In this episode of GRAMMY Style Edit, Akers breaks down a few of her styled looks in recent GRAMMY history. She's the mastermind behind Beyoncé's iconic black leather and gold ensemble from the 2021 GRAMMY Awards, a look Akers describes as a "refreshing take on fashion" to coincide with the singer's historical winning moment. 

Akers has served as the R&B diva's personal stylist since 2014, and attributes her knack for creating memorable style moments — especially for performances, her personal favorite thing to style — to "the School of Beyonce." (She was the costume designer for Beyoncé's GRAMMY-winning film Black Is King, which won Akers an Emmy in 2021.) 

In her everyday life, Akers defines her style as androgynous, with an added eclectic twist on wardrobe basics. She utilizes this approach in her work with Jazmine Sullivan, who Akers styled in a tribal-print black leather suit at the 2022 GRAMMY Awards, and Chloe x Halle, who wore sleek, structural black gowns during their 2019 GRAMMY performance.

"GRAMMY styling, specifically, is always so special," Akers says. "It's important for me to approach it with a timeless sensibility. Will this stand the test of time? Will these images, in 20 years, still be fab?"

Press play on this video to learn more about Zerina Akers' genius behind some of her most recent GRAMMY looks, and keep checking back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of GRAMMY Style Edit.

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R&B's passion and potency can set a mood instantly. The 2023 GRAMMY nominees embody the genre's effervescence with a unique blend of classic and contemporary sound — and now ​​you can hear all of the nominees in one playlist.

Nominated for Best R&B song, Beyoncé's "CUFF IT" electrifies and invigorates the dancefloor, and Mary J. Blige's smooth "Good Morning Gorgeous" supports self-love. Best New Artist nominee Muni Long hits a sweet, sultry spot with "Hrs & Hrs," Jazmine Sullivan poignantly chronicles the confusion of a toxic relationship on "Hurt Me So Good," and PJ Morton's "Please Don't Walk Away" glitters with hope and serenity.

For Best R&B Album, nominees include Mary J. Blige's Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe), Chris Brown's Breezy (Deluxe), Robert Glasper's Black Radio III, Lucky Daye's Candydrip, and PJ Morton's Watch The Sun.

Across the R&B five categories, Mary J. Blige and Beyoncé lead with the most nominations in the genre this year. The other categories for the genre include Best R&B Performance, Best Traditional R&B Performance and Best Progressive R&B Album.

Listen to all of the above songs and albums in this comprehensive playlist of the 2023 Rap Music GRAMMY nominees.

Check it out on Amazon Music — we'll see you at Music's Biggest Night on Sunday, Feb. 5!

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2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List