Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1

Ms. Jilly from Philly is a soulstress whose music I recall hearing on the R&B radio stations in Milwaukee several years ago. Matter of fact, if I remember correctly, it was probably "A Long Walk" and perhaps "The Way" that got a lot of radio play on the R&B stations. I never listened to the entirety of the album until about 3 years ago though, largely due to my ignorance. When I went through  my first neo-soul craze and obsession (as well as discovery of The Roots) of the last 3-4 years, finding Jill Scott, D'Angelo, early Erykah Badu, Bilal's first album, and additional hip-hop artists revealed the skills of these artists as vocalists and, in some cases, instrumentalists and producers. Jill Scott's first album, after attaining some degree of fame through her collaboration with The Roots on "You Got Me" and their support for her career, the spoken word artist and singer has been doing her thing ever since for the primarily R&B-oriented audiences. In this intro album, she fuses soul, R&B, jazz, spoken word, and hip-hop for an enjoyable "urban" listen, my favorite tracks included below. In addition to this album, her subsequent release, Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2 features strong tracks and jazzy influences on "Golden," "Cross My Mind," "Bedda At Home," and "Talk to Me." 

Love Rain
 A spoken word piece about falling in love, like most of Scott's lyrical content, which deal with love or relationships in some form, the smooth, jazzy accompanying music and hip-hop attitude work excellently. Moreover, the version featuring Mos Def is delightful. 

A Long Walk
Her best song IMO, features a seductive Scott singing about meeting her lover in the park at dark. Smooth, groovy, and with Scott not holding back her passionate vocals. I remember hearing this jam all the time on the R&B radio stations back in the day.

Brotha
Based on a funky jazz sample commonly used by other hip-hoppers, "Brotha" is an ode to black men with a positive message. The funky piano sample or riff is from "Get Out My Life," my favorite version being the one featuring Joe Williams' strong vocal approach. I've always loved this jam just for the sample and my general appreciation/love for jazz samples in hip-hop and hip-hop-influenced R&B, which is exactly what Jill Scott's music is: smooth, jazzy and funky hip-hop-styled production with spoken word and R&B crooning and vocal soaring.

He Loves Me
A nice Jill Scott love song, which is a common theme in most of her music. I've always loved the melody for it, with the sultry, higher-pitched singing and wordless vocal styles of Scott.

It's Love
Go-go music, a D.C. funk native, shows up in this Philly soulstress's music. The instrumental breakdowns, horn lines, and irresistible funky rhythms will get you dancing on your feet. "Do you want it on your collard greens? Do you want it on your black-eyed peas?!"

The Way
"Is it the way!" Another sexy jam from Scott with romantic overtones and a late 1990s/early 2000s smooth R&B instrumentation.

Slowly, Surely
Another smooth cut from Scott's album. Not sure why I am particularly drawn to this, but it's quite infectious.

One Is the Magic #
Scott here takes on Latin influences from Spanish and Mexican music, with some Andean-styled flute breakdown later on in the instrumental section. I love the mix, sort of a reference to Spanish and Latin American music's Andalucian roots and a hint of the indigenous flutes of the region, such as those of Peru or Ecuador. Scott also does some spoken word interlude in Spanish, and she sounds great with a voice like hers in any language!

Fela Kuti's Water No Get Enemy

Fela Kuti, a Nigerian highlife and pioneer of the Afrobeat sound, recorded "Water No Get Enemy" for his Expensive Shit in 1975. Kuti's album was a direct response to the Nigerian government's attack on his compound, the Kalakuta Republic, resulting in the death of his mother and his arrest. This specific song is a political message to Nigeria, to the entire world, that the lifeblood of a nation is its people, just as water is the lifeblood for humanity. Through the jazzy (yet also irresistibly funky) song he sings in a pidgin English-Yoruba (presumably Yoruba) and plays his best keyboard solo I have ever heard. Personally, I think Kuti was probably a better saxophonist, but his jazzy, ethereal electric keyboard soars elegantly above the African groove. If you haven't heard it, check it out here and I guarantee you will be dancing. Anywho, Fela Kuti is a fascinating man, coming from a middle-class Yoruba background which included relatives such as Nobel Prize-winning writer Wole Soyinka, doctors, activists, and musicians. I have compiled a list of West African songs, including many by Fela and his 1960s highlife band, Koola Lobitos, on youtube here. Beginning in the late 1960s, presumably after some exposure to American funk and a record in LA, Fela's music shifted more to the growing preferences among young African-Americans for funk music, which led to Afrobeat.

D'Angelo, Macy Gray, and Fela's son, Femi, also recorded the song again in the 1990s. D'Angelo and Macy Gray were part of the 1990s "neo-soul" wave in contemporary R&B, and do a surprisingly good job in the Afrobeat context. Perhaps the reason they succeed here really lies in Femi Kuti's brilliance and ability to carry on the legacy of his politically conscious, pan-Africanist father. Unfortunately, last spring I missed an opportunity to hear Seun Kuti, Fela's other son, perform for free at UW-Madison due to my own ignorance and fear of attending alone. Anywho, listen to their tribute to Fela Kuti here, although the keyboard solo is not as great as Fela's. Did I mention this was part of a larger tribute album, Red Hot + Riot from 2002 to fundraise AIDS awareness (Fela Kuti died in 1997 because of AIDS complications).

Hip-hop has also been a big fan of Fela's music, including Pete Rock sampling "Water" for INl's "Grown Man Sport." The song only samples the keyboard solo for a loop of Fela and features the hip-hop group rapping over it. I know little of Inl, but Pete Rock is the famed hip-hop producer responsible for timeless beats such as "T.R.O.Y.," which should be listened to here.