Jill Scott: SINGER KEEPS IT REAL WITH SOULFUL, DOWN-HOME SOUND

Jet, August 20, 2001 by Clarence Waldron

Jill Scott is as real and honest as her down-home soul music. She is well-grounded and down-to-earth--despite her newfound stardom.

Her album, Who Is Jill Scott? Words And Sounds Vol. 1, released this time last year, has sold more than 2 million copies and has established her as a major new soul-singing star.

What separates her from other singers, besides her unique, down-home sound and the range of that soulful voice, is that she is a poet. Her lyrics are warm, rich--full, yet simple. As she says, "These words have soul, conviction and woman behind them."

She is currently on a 27-city tour with new saxophonist Mike Phillips that is selling out in every market with stops in Boston, Baltimore, Richmond, VA, Greensboro, NC, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.; it wraps up in Toronto, Canada, on Aug. 29. Fans were captivated by her the moment they heard the sassy Gettin' In the Way, a tune about a woman telling another woman to leave her man alone. Other hits include A Long Walk and The Way. She earned three Grammy nominations this year, including Best New Artist, Best R&B Female and Best R&B single for Gettin' In The Way.

Reflecting on her amazing acceptance by the record-buying public and concert-goers, the 29-year-old performer told JET: "It's definitely a whirlwind. It's exciting; it's wonderful; it's scary. It's dreams come true. It's so many different feelings and thoughts at the same time. Sometimes it is even difficult to name it anything."

She says despite the newfound fame, she remains down-to-earth. "I'm just a regular chick from North Philly. I do what I do because I love to do what I do. It's natural. It's right. It fits me. It belongs to me, and those are the reasons why I do it. Fame was never even a thought. I never even thought about it."

She is finding ways to grow into this thing called "stardom." "There's, to some degree, a loss of privacy. The attention in the mall, in the Rite Aid, whatever, sometimes can be scary. Sometimes people can be rude; sometimes people can be inconsiderate. They'll stick a piece of paper in your face and say, `Sign it, sign it, sign it.' No `please,' no `thank you.' I really feel like manners never go out of style. I am a woman--I'm not a child. You show respect to anyone. I feel that I am worthy of respect, and I deserve it, and I demand it."

She also notes, "For some folks, the love is so strong, they can't hold the words. They don't know how to say anything. They just cry. Or they scream in my face. And I wonder, `I'm just another one of God's children.' There's nobody above me, there's no one beneath me. We are all on the same level here. Just calm down. I'm not tripping. So that part of it has been a little frightening. And I'm trying myself to maintain a level, because anybody's ego can just skyrocket. I don't want that. That's trouble and I know that."

She stresses, "I hope that I don't sound unappreciative. That is not my intention. The biggest cross that I have to bear at this moment is dealing with fame. I want everybody to know that I am not that comfortable with it. I'd rather be that person you are happy to see. I would feel real comfortable with `Hey, Jill.' And if we by chance spark a conversation, it is genuine, and I really do appreciate a genuine conversation for no other reason than it is Saturday and somebody got some chicken in the backyard. I need to say, `Hey girl, how ya doing?' or `I like that dress' or something. And I need to just stand in line with everybody else and get what I am getting."

She adds with a laugh, "I'll tell you this much. I'd rather it be `Jill, I love your work' than `I hate it.' At least it is love."

She describes her down-home sound. "I would definitely call it soul, because that's where it comes from, that's where the singing comes from, that's where the lyrics come from. It's a combination of jazz, R&B, country, hip hop, opera. It's every genre of music that I've ever heard."

She worked with producer Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff), who was once Will Smith's music sidekick. Townes sent her demo CD to record companies, and she eventually was signed by Hidden Beach Recordings--a new label founded by music veteran Steve McKeever. Michael Jordan serves as an investor in the record label.

She was raised in north Philadelphia in a loving environment, she says. "I grew up very much a loved child. I know it. My mother (Joyce Scott) loves me. My grandmother (Blue Babe) loves me. I swear I really do believe that makes all the difference in the world. Whether you are rich or poor, you know that there are people who love you whether you succeed or fail. It makes you stronger and makes you willing to try."

Her musical influences include Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Prince, Sarah Vaughan, Biggie Smalls, Eric B. and Rakim, LL Cool J, Manhattan Transfer, Michael Jackson and even Mozart. And don't forget her grandmother, Blue Babe. "She would take a 5 a.m. bath every morning and you would hear this real back porch hum (that sounded like church deacons and Mahalia Jackson). We would gather at the door and listen," Jill recalls. "My mother would cry."