Whisk together jazzy soul and velvety r’n’b, then add a tablespoon of hiphop, and you’ll get Philadelphia-born singer/songwriter-cum-poet JILL SCOTT’s Who Is Jill Scott ? Words And Sounds Vol.1.
The record finds the paragon of sweet, immaculate r’n’b in the languid saunter of Long walk and Do you remember, the balsamy quality of Scott’s vocals gently wafting its way to the fore. Her voice, though, reaches its mellifluous apex on He loves me, a luscious, slow-burning , strings-laced eulogy on her lover. Its lowkey-ness stands in sharp contrast to the jazzy extravaganza of the jubilant, trumpet-clad following track, It’s love, which will undoubtedly rise stately and imposing in a live situation.
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Ensconced in a secluded nook of the record is the stuttering guitar riff-tinged, hiphop-flavoured remix of Love rain, the original being a half-recited, half-sung delivery of one of Jill’s poems.
Jill Scott sashayed into the music scene with an inspiring debut of poetic soul replete with musings on the highs and lows of love without yielding to excessive mawkishness. The record was not being radio-oriented,yet Scott became a prime contender for the coveted title of “Queen of Nu Soul”, which was to be bestowed upon Alicia Keys only a year later.
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