Fans weren’t always sure if Jazmine Suillivan would ever record again. This time four years ago, the Philly-born vocal powerhouse tweeted that she was “taking a break from music” to do some soul searching, and now she's returned with a new perspective.

Sullivan talked to Billboard earlier this week about taking time off and making her latest, Reality Show. The album, which dropped yesterday (Jan. 13), is her first studio release since 2009’s Love Me Back and includes work from Salaam Remi, Anthony Bell, Chuck Harmony and Key Wane, the 24-year-old beat genius behind tracks for Big Sean, Drake and Beyoncé. “For most of the album I was just picking out tracks on a CD, no names or anything,” explained Sullivan. “Once I got finished, they were like, 'You know you picked like five Key Wane tracks?' It was cool to have a connection with somebody and not even have met them.”

During the time off, she noticed other artists that have emerged in her absence. She named Frank Ocean and Lana Del Rey as two of the newcomers “bridging different music worlds” and spoke earnestly about stepping away from music. It turns out that Sullivan never intended on leaving forever and purposely worded her “little moment on Twitter” so as to not sound permanent. “But a lot of people didn't see it that way."

She also didn’t think she'd be away for so long. “I never thought it would be four years later... But that's life. Some things just don't go the way you plan." 

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