Girl Like Me
by Jazmine Sullivan (featuring H.E.R.)

Album: Heaux Tales (2021)
Charted: 97
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Girl Like Me" is a lovelorn ballad where Jazmine Sullivan sings of despair and rejection after her man leaves her for another woman. According to her interview with The Guardian, she was dumped for the girl in the preceding track on the album, "The Other Side."

    Knew it was real when you blocked me
    Now I sit at home judgin' my body


    After scrolling through social media, Sullivan feels unable to compete with the beautiful girls who have caught her ex's eye.
  • H.E.R. joins Sullivan on the track, during which she wonders whether she should change her appearance:

    Maybe I should look like a stripper
    Wearin' Fashion Nova dresses
    All these dudes be so pressed and impressed with it


    She concludes she's better off dressing like a "heaux" rather than trying to be a good girl.
  • "Girl Like Me" marked the first time Sullivan has ever duetted with a woman on one of her own recordings. She told Billboard: "We got it done quickly with no fuss or anything, barely any manager talk. I texted her; she said it was dope. It was so easy and refreshing to not have to go through the industry stuff."
  • Heaux Tales features six spoken-word interludes chronicling the perspectives of six different women. Each is followed by a song that fleshes their narrative out, and in this instance "Amanda's Tale" precedes "Girl Like Me."
  • During "Amanda's Tale," a friend of Sullivan's recounts how social media damaged her self-worth. "I asked her to go into a quiet space and record herself about that specific subject. It was very brave of her to do," the singer told The Guardian. "It's one thing to talk to girlfriends about situations that we go through as women, but another thing to be subject to everyone's opinions and judgments."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.

Steve Morse of Deep Purple

Steve Morse of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple's guitarist since 1994, Steve talks about writing songs with the band and how he puts his own spin on "Smoke On The Water."

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman Jack

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman JackSong Writing

The story of the legendary lupine DJ through the songs he inspired.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Joe Jackson

Joe JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Joe talks about the challenges of of making a Duke Ellington tribute album, and tells the stories behind some of his hits.

Gavin Rossdale of Bush

Gavin Rossdale of BushSongwriter Interviews

On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."