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Jill Scott

Who is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Volume 1

by Christina Morgan

Heard Here Rating:
"This is more electrifying than the chair."

For all you R&B fans who've grown tired of listening to "studio singers" (recording artists whose vocals would sound mad different if tossed a mic and told to sing a capella on the spot), then Jill Scott's debut album, Who is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Volume 1, is definitely something you should check out.

Scott, who first entered the public eye in 1998 touring as a cast member in the musical sensation Rent, displays powerful and versatile vocals on the eighteen-track album. Most of the album's tracks deal with Scott's interpretations of love and relationships ‹ without dwelling on the materialism so prominent in much of current R&B. For example, in "He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat)" Scott cleverly states, "You're different and special in every way imaginable/ You love me from my hair follicle to my toe nails," a different take on love and affection from the usual "let me lick your private parts," type lyrics heard in much of today's R&B.

Scott not only addresses love and relationships on the album, but political issues as well; something else often missing from much of today's music scene. The tracks "Watching Me" and "Brotha" are two artfully composed songs that include Scott's muses on topics such as government interference and inner city politics.

Scott also displays her skills as a poet and songwriter on the album. The tracks "Exclusively," "Honey Molasses" and "Love Rain" all feature Scott's spoken word poetry. Every song on the album was co-written by Scott, who was also responsible for writing the hook sung by Eykah Badu on the 1999 Roots hit "You Got Me."

Who is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Volume I is also enhanced by the use of real instruments, as opposed to corny, synthesized beats, giving the album twinges of jazz and blues. This, combined with intelligent, well-written lyrics and Scott's buttery vocals, equals up to a debut album which puts some grit back in R&B and leaves Scott's listeners waiting for more.

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Copyright © 2000, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 129, Number 7, November 3, 2000

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