Jazmine Sullivan makes no excuses for her passion

A mere two months and two singles into her career, R&B newcomer Jazmine Sullivan already sounds like a woman on the brink.

The first release from her September debut, “Fearless,” finds her trying to win back an ex by telling him she needs him “bad as a heartbeat … bad like the air I breathe.” And the latest hit joining “Need U Bad” in Billboard magazine’s R&B/Hip-Hop Top 10 this week is, well, “Bust Your Windows.”

As in: “I bust the windows out your car/You know I did it cause I left my mark/Wrote my initials with the crowbar/And then I drove off into the dark.”

“It was really important to me that I introduced myself musically, with passion,” Sullivan said by phone, without a hint of sarcasm, days before her first major appearance in Atlanta, tonight at the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center. “People should know and feel what you feel passionately about.”

And in that vein, here are three things that merit an exclamation point for Sullivan:

> The upcoming Beyonce and Brandy CDs. “I’m really not listening to like one particular album, but I’m really looking forward to theirs. Brandy hasn’t really gotten her due credit… . And though Beyonce has, people love to hate on her. She’s taking things to the extreme right now, and I like that!”

> “The Secret Life of Bees.” “I saw that [movie] not too long ago, and I really loved it… . A lot of talented people in it; not to mention [its co-stars Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson] are my wonderful labelmates.”

> Life, in general, as Jazmine Sullivan. “I’m happy. I’m blessed… . This has been a wonderful first tour. [Headliner] Maxwell is an amazing performer, and such a sweet guy. And it’s not often that you see that in this industry.

“People sometimes think I’m angry, or ask if I really have bust the windows out of somebody’s car. But I mean, what woman who felt she was cheated on hasn’t felt like busting some windows? You don’t have to actually do it to want to. Or to know that anger. And even still, no one is that angry all of the time. Certainly not me.”

IN CONCERT

Maxwell with Jazmine Sullivan

7:30 tonight. Sold out. $39.50- $150. Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center, 395 Piedmont Ave. 404-249-6400, www.ticketmaster.com.