Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds, Vol. 1
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Free Music Notes for Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds, Vol. 1
Free Music Review: Waiting on Vol. 2
Hit: 5 Stars
There aren't many albums come along that I like through and through, over and over, start to finish, immediately on first listening and 2,000 rotations later - but Jill Scott's solo debut is one of those albums. She just knows how to do it. Normally I think of Grammy nominations as an indication of which records to avoid - Will Smith would be the archetypal example here - yet in this one instance we have an artist whose intrinsic merit is too obvious to be ignored even by the soulless industry idiots who hand out awards. It's easy to go nuts on the adjectives when talking about Jill. Contemplative, poetic, endlessly inventive and suprising - just when you feel like she's getting too sappy, she slaps you upside the head; just when you think she's coming off a trifle shallow, she dives deep as the abyss and resurfaces with genuine insight. This is no by-the-numbers ghetto-R&B joint. "Do You Remember" opens the album with its lilting, wistful first verse full of gorgeous imagery - "You splashed my face with Nile water / Daughter of the Diaspora you named me" - and promptly turns foul on the second - "You walked around like your (...) didn't stink / But I was there...I remember that it did." Who saw that coming! "Gettin' in the Way" somehow breathes creative life into the "don't mess with my man" dead horse, while "A Long Walk"'s pulsing jazz effortlessly intoxicates. Then the gustatory hit "It's Love": "Do you want it on your rice and gravy? / Do you want it on your biscuits baby?" Hell yes! "Love Rain" is another standout for its lyrics: "Wide open, wide and loose / The mistake was made / Love slipped from my lips / Dripped down my chin and landed in his lap / And us became new." But these are just a few of the highlights from an album so altogether amazing that it's hard to pick out favorites. Compared with practically anybody else out there, Jill Scott is a delightful surprise, a genius among poets and an intuitive and innovative singer, a diamond alternately polished and rough, but always brilliant. At least, I couldn't say anything that sappy of anybody else. Yo Jill, where's 2???
Free Music Review: Maybe We Can Just Be Silent!
Hit: 5 Stars
...and listen to the soulful words and sounds of 'Illy Jilly from Philly' as she is sometimes affectionately called. This young lady is indeed truly talented. With her poetry and awesome voice she packs a double gift. The fact that you can't see her face on the album cover brings mystique to the project. Her vocal range can be heard on the track "Long Walk" where it appears she is describing how she fell in love. She sounds even better live where she turned it out with "You Got Me" on the "The Roots Come Alive" album. The entire project is well put together. The style of the music captures her true vocal quality. Much props to the Hidden Beach Family. The music is sincere and Jill has a unique way of expressing love on tracks like "Show Me" and "The Way". Her poetic style of spoken word is captured on "Love Rain" where she describes her naivety with a new lover. "Watchin Me" raises some serious questions about privacy or the lack thereof. The track "Do You Remeber Me?" deserves some serious airplay as it takes a listener back to memories of a first love. "Gettin' In the Way" is currently burning up the airwaves and serves as a true message. This diamond shines bright with other jewels in the industry like Eryka Badu and N'dambi (not to compare, of course ) but if you liked what they had to offer, then you can truly absorb all Jill Scott has to offer. The music is inspirational on various levels. Congratulations Jill on a project well done. She has my vote for any upcoming new artist categories. She comes off as truly genuine and that is a definite plus in the music world today where some young ladies bare it all for success. Thank you Jill for displaying a better way. I encourage all to catch her live.Free Music Review: Maybe We Can Just Be Silent!
Hit: 5 Stars
...and listen to the soulful words and sounds of 'Illy Jilly from Philly' as she is sometimes affectionately called. This young lady is indeed truly talented. With her poetry and awesome voice she packs a double gift. The fact that you can't see her face on the album cover brings mystique to the project. Her vocal range can be heard on the track "Long Walk" where it appears she is describing how she fell in love. She sounds even better live where she turned it out with "You Got Me" on the "The Roots Come Alive" album. The entire project is well put together. The style of the music captures her true vocal quality. Much props to the Hidden Beach Family. The music is sincere and Jill has a unique way of expressing love on tracks like "Show Me" and "The Way". Her poetic style of spoken word is captured on "Love Rain" where she describes her naivety with a new lover. "Watchin Me" raises some serious questions about privacy or the lack thereof. The track "Do You Remeber Me?" deserves some serious airplay as it takes a listener back to memories of a first love. "Gettin' In the Way" is currently burning up the airwaves and serves as a true message. This diamond shines bright with other jewels in the industry like Eryka Badu and N'dambi (not to compare, of course ) but if you liked what they had to offer, then you can truly absorb all Jill Scott has to offer. The music is inspirational on various levels. Congratulations Jill on a project well done. She has my vote for any upcoming new artist categories. She comes off as truly genuine and that is a definite plus in the music world today where some young ladies bare it all for success. Thank you Jill for displaying a better way. I encourage all to catch her live.Free Music Review: Concert Vs. C.D
Hit: 5 Stars
On March 23, 2001 at the Tower Theater in Philly PA, I had the privilege to experience one of the most devine audible pleasures I've had in a long time, Miss Jill Scott. Jilly Jill "brung it", and in her own words, this was not a game. Miss Jill and company, the backup singers and the band "Fatback Taffy", brought the house down in my opinion. There wasn't a whole lot of theatrics just "sanging". Miss Jill used alot of different arrangements on some of her songs which I thought was refreshing. Some songs were a tad unrecognizable in the beginning and then your brain and ear connect and say, aah yea that's my sh?t. The music was clear, and the band wasn't so loud that it drowned out the words(Musiq Soulchild take note). Then just when you thought all had ended, Miss Jill strikes back with a poem, I'm sure one of many, entitled "The Thickness"(if I'm not mistaken). The poem was about a young sister whose mind hadn't matured as fast as her body. She was write on again. Miss Jill "broke it down" after several of her songs and dropped some much needed knowledge. I could tell by the look on some folks faces that they didn't think it was neither the time nor the place, but I say get it when you can. And last but not least, she sang my song "HE LOVES ME,LYZEL IN "E" FLAT, and people she "toe it up." At one point in the song it was as if I was experiencing an opera, you know the part where she choruses. Well Miss Scott put her hands together as in an operatic stance and sang her heart out. Gone girl wit cho bad self. Good work Miss Jilly Jill (and maybe next go round Sting will be opening for you). Miss Scott I say you did us proud in Philly, God Bless You. Big ups to Kendrid, Jill Scotts opening act. See yaFree Music Review: She's a gem
Hit: 5 Stars
In an age where female singers are generally commodities selling a idealized image along with their craft, it is refreshing to see an artist whose talent can stand alone. When shopping her demo to the labels, Scott said that she did not include her photos because she wanted to be judged solely on her music. As a full figured woman, I'm sure she felt that she had a better shot at getting a record deal if the decision makers did not know how she looked -- despite her considerable talents. Jill has no peer among contemporary artists. And I do not say that lightly because I appreciate Erykah, Lauren, India and all the other progressive sisters representing in the business. But Jill is unique. She's a singer and a poet who is in love with love and spreading the word that love is not dead. And she is doing it without superficial lyrics or a scantily-clad size 4 body. Her lyrics are thoughtful, playful, funny. The arrangements are spare and complement the lyrics.
She incorporates many genres on this disc, from the go-go infused "It's Love," R&B flavored "Do You Remember" and the slighty operatic "He Loves Me: Lyzel in E Flat" while maintaining a hip hop sensibility throughout. I have not had the privilege of seeing her live, but I caught her performances on Oprah and Divas 2001. On Oprah, she performed "He Loves Me" acapella and put forth such emotion that Oprah had to ask "Who inspired all that?"
Spoken word performances are interspersed throughout the disc, providing a nice bridge between selections. Overall, I thought this was an impressive debut. It has been out for more than a year and is still spawning singles. Folks are no longing asking "Who is Jill Scott?" because we know who she is -- a gem!