Jill Scott's Debut Album Remains Soulful and Authentic 25 Years Later
Today, you don't have to ask 'Who Is Jill Scott?', because she has defined herself as a staple of modern-day Rhythm & Blues with her harmonious soulfulness in her music, poetry and even gracing the big screen. But, twenty-five years ago, a then 28-year-old Scott took the world by storm with her innovative debut 'Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol 1.'
The summer of Y2K was in an era that was loud and proud, with releases from Britney Spears, 'Oops!… I Did It Again,' and Nelly's 'Country Grammar,' which was the sound of the southern summer. Philly native, Scott, came out in her realm softly, but not in a way that was quiet or inferior– the neo-soul jazziness and poetic lyricism of 'Who Is Jill Scott?' redefined soul and womanhood when it came to love and 'sister girl' experiences in a way that continues to resonate with listeners all these years later from the 'Jilltro' to the very end.
The production of 'Who Is Jill Scott?' was by a Touch Of Jazz collective founded by fellow Philly native Jeff Townes, a.k.a. DJ Jazzy Jeff.
While the album offers soulful production and instrumentation, Scott herself doesn't shy away from the real when it comes to relationships, from raw sensuality and sexuality, to summer Philly romances, to taking 'A Long Walk' and euphonious descriptions of 'The Way' love feels– her delivery, along with her spoken word pieces, is natural, sweet and demanding.
The album feels like a map of Black womanhood and romantic relationships, from the fan-favorite songs such as the heartfelt 'He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat)' to the reflective 'Slowly Surely' that navigates leaving a relationship, and the defensive 'Gettin' In The Way.' Even 'Brotha' that often shows the solidarity of standing behind your own, celebrating the Black man. She lifts up their beauty, power even when the world tries to strip it away.
The album is layered not only with melodic grooves, but also real life tales from an artist that throughout her expansive career continues to keep it real. Twenty-five years later, 'Who Is Jill Scott?' is still a reflection of authentic experiences– from joy, heartbreat and passion, resonating just as powerfully now as it did back then.
SEE ALSO
Jill Scott's Debut Album Remains Soulful and Authentic 25 Years Later was originally published on foxync.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
18 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Sydney Sweeney's 'Great Jeans' Illuminate the Dangerous Resurgence of Eugenics
American Eagle came under fire recently for an ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney. In one ad, Sweeney fiddles with her jeans, saying, "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My genes are blue." A male narrator finishes with, "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans." It's a play on homophones, but the wordplay reveals a more sinister element: Sweeney does not just have great American Eagle jeans, she has great American genes. Picking a blonde, blue-eyed, able-bodied all-American girl was not an accident. It was about showcasing what are "good genes," and thus what are "bad genes." It's a modern eugenics movement proudly re-emerging amid a welcoming political climate. A window display of actress Sydney Sweeney is seen on a window of an American Eagle store on Aug. 1, 2025, in New York City. A window display of actress Sydney Sweeney is seen on a window of an American Eagle store on Aug. 1, 2025, in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images The American eugenics movement has historically promoted the superiority of Anglo-Saxon, able-bodied, wealthy people, leading to harmful policies from the Immigration Act of 1924 barring immigrants from Asia to a practice of unnecessary and undisclosed hysterectomies performed on Black women in the South so widespread it was coined the "Mississippi appendectomy." Eugenicists promoted anti-miscegenation laws and forced sterilization of those in prison and in poverty and of those with disabilities or mental illness. These practices have not died. In 2020, low-income immigrant women detained by ICE in Georgia were forcibly sterilized. As we hear rhetoric from the current administration about immigrants "poisoning the blood" of our country, it invites horrifying thoughts of what may be happening to immigrants currently being detained by ICE. Even more sinister, however, is a modern eugenics movement camouflaged by in vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF is increasingly popular, and rightfully so. Couples with fertility issues can conceive. Women can freeze eggs. Queer couples can have genetically related kids. IVF can also ostensibly prevent harm. IVF clinics might screen embryos for sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, BRCA1, and Down syndrome. Things get confusing and uncomfortable, however, when we try to define what harms are worth preventing. In a world where whiteness and conventional beauty are tightly coupled with success, couldn't selecting for these features be a way to minimize a child's future suffering? Most sperm donor companies have a height minimum of 5'9". Harvard graduate egg and sperm donors are highly sought after. While it's hard to fault parents for wanting the best for their children, as a geneticist, it is concerning to me how much stock people put into the inheritance of such complex and environmentally influenced traits. With biotech companies explicitly offering genetic testing, I am even more concerned. Last October, Helios Genomics offered to boost a couple's future child's IQ via genetic screening. Nucleus Genomics recently took this a shocking step further by announcing it is offering genetic testing for traits like eye color, hair color, height, BMI, and IQ. Companies perform these screens with polygenic risk scoring, which makes use of genetic mutations identified from large scale population studies to be associated with a complex trait like intelligence. But these findings are just that: associations. We barely understand the true, context-dependent function of all the genes and mutations associated with complex traits. The idea that a company could confidently boast a six-point increase in a trait as socially and environmentally modified as intelligence is naïve at best and deceptive at worst. It also plays directly into the ideals of eugenics: that all social disparities and ailments are genetically determined, and that there is one correct way to be. Amid devastating cuts to everything from Medicaid to education, it is curious that one of the few spaces the Trump administration has pledged to increase federal funding is in vitro fertilization. Is this a random act of kindness amid an onslaught of cruelties? Or is it one of several strategies for breeding a homogenous generation of nationalistic Americans—ones with "good genes" and predetermined allegiances to the regime (thanks to $1,000 savings accounts established in their name from birth)? In this modern era of eugenics, as immigrants are expelled while neo-Nazis spew hateful theories of "great replacement," it is no wonder American Eagle felt bold enough to declare that Sydney Sweeney has great genes. America must reject this renewed, government-endorsed eugenics. Scientists must think deeply about ramifications: Just because we can, or think we can, does not mean we should. IVF companies should be barred from making false promises about the heritability of traits like intelligence, BMI, and hair color. While fatal diseases like breast cancer are fair to select against, prospective parents should think twice about what is lost when selecting for subjective social norms. We all have great genes and we all deserve a society that embraces us, that makes us feel whole, and bold, and beautiful—like a pair of great jeans. Tania Fabo, MSc is an MD-PhD candidate in genetics at Stanford University, a Rhodes scholar, a Knight-Hennessy scholar, a Paul and Daisy Soros fellow, and a Public Voices fellow of The OpEd Project. Her PhD research focuses on the interaction between genetics and diet in colorectal cancer risk. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Refinery29
2 hours ago
- Refinery29
'I'm Not Afraid Any More.' Joy Sunday On Wednesday & Growth Between Seasons
Joy Sunday glides into the lobby of The Whitby Hotel in New York City's midtown donning a caramel corset and flouncy Emilio Pucci mini skirt. Sunday's presence and her features are strikingly captivating, but she doesn't need the striped blazer or greenish-blue contacts she wears to suit up for her role as Bianca Barclay on Netflix's Wednesday to turn heads in real life. It's clear that Sunday's confidence gives life to Bianca, the siren with the power to mesmerize and persuade even the most strong-willed. Bianca is Sunday's first role as a main character in a TV series. And with the show being Netflix's most watched English language original series ever, she hit the ground running. Now going into a new season — the first four episodes premiere today, Wednesday, August 6 — Sunday assures you, me, and everyone else watching that she isn't stopping. At all. 'I'm being very strategic about how I'm moving forward, because I'm not losing this platform,' the 28-year-old New York native said matter of factly. 'I'm taking it to the end, and I want to take others with me. It's not a threat, but it's a promise.' ' I'm taking it to the end, and I want to take others with me. It's not a threat, but it's a promise. joy sunday on acting beyond 'wednesday' ' In Season 1, we're introduced to Bianca as a popular student at Nevermore Academy who has control over her powers, despite the mistrust she faces from others, including her ex. When Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) shows up, they share a brief rivalry before Bianca joins her investigation into the mayor's death. Season 2 goes deeper into Bianca's vulnerability, Sunday explained. Bianca's past comes back to haunt her and she begins reckoning with her relationship with her mother, a siren who uses her powers to scam and wants her daughter to follow suit. 'In Season 2, she's trying to hide herself and conceal what's going on in the background, and so she's really having to come to terms with what she really didn't want to do in Season 1,' Sunday said. 'Now she's being forced to [be a] more compassionate individual. Because that's something that she judged her mom, Gabrielle (Gracy Goldman), for so heavily in Season 1, and that now she finds herself in the same position.' Addressing motherhood wounds plays a huge part in Season 2 overall. Viewers will see most of the main characters' relationships with their moms, for better or worse. As Bianca navigates her own challenges at school, she's now faced with the task of protecting Gabrielle, a theme the teen experienced in their relationship growing up. Sunday said she appreciates the duo's redemptive arc and the opportunity to find healing for them. ' Young Black women are forced to mature faster than anyone else is to understand their relationship to the world... I think that's why it's so special to get to see Bianca need help and to eventually learn to ask for it. joy sunday ' Despite this being a fantastical world, Sunday believes that forgiveness is important to see. Especially for Black girls who often have to mature faster than others. 'Young Black women are forced to mature faster than anyone else is to understand their relationship to the world and to the family, how the world sees them and how they see themselves,' Sunday passionately stated. 'I think that's why it's so special to get to see Bianca need help and to eventually learn to ask for it. And it's also nice to see people come to her aid without her asking for it, and to see people advocate for her as well.' Though Bianca's confidence may have wavered a bit since the first season, Sunday's has only grown. Three years ago when Wednesday first premiered, Sunday was still new to doing press runs and red carpets. 'I almost felt like I needed to play a role or to fit in terms of how I was presenting myself,' she admitted. That feeling has faded as she's gotten her reps in for projects like Rise (2023) and Under The Influencer (2024). But with the writers and actors strike in 2023 and a shaky Hollywood economy, Sunday admits that work hasn't been as steady. Thankfully, becoming a global ambassador for Lancome has helped sustain her and her family. 'It's been a journey of working my way back to this feeling of confidence and this feeling of, I've got some shit to do,' she explained. 'I've been through trials and tribulations, but I think it's really an important part of the actor's journey to share that it's not always going to be the 'hurry up.' Sometimes it's going to be the 'wait.'' This isn't looking like a 'wait' season for Sunday, however. In February, Deadline announced that the actor would be joining the HBO limited series DTF St. Louis. And ahead of its Season 2 premiere, Netflix renewed Wednesday for a third season. Going forward, Sunday is prepared to show the industry more of what she's made of. She's eyeing more fantasy and supernatural roles and some action. (She's specifically manifesting Interview With the Vampire and Ghost Dog 2.) In this era, Sunday knows she's more than good. 'I feel empowered to say I am that much more extensive of an artist, and I'm not afraid to show that,' she said. 'In Season 1, I was kind of afraid of having to fit in the boxes. I wanted to make sure that everything would go well, but I'm not afraid any more. I'm excited.'
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Why National Book Award winner Jason Mott keeps writing Nicolas Cage into his novels
Jason Mott may have found the cure for male loneliness: a cage match. No, we're not talking about MMA or pro wrestling. Twice a year, Mott, the National Book Award-winning author, has about a dozen friends over to his house in North Carolina to watch back-to-back Nicolas Cage movies. That's his kind of 'Cage match.' In a culture lacking male friendship amid the ballooning manosphere, these regular marathons are a healthy way for the group of college friends to make time for each other (and nerd out over "Lord of War.") If you've read Mott's 'Hell of a Book,' which won the National Book Award in 2021, you know where this is going as Cage has a presence in that book (though Mott has never met him, he's just a massive fan). The actor is also mentioned in Mott's new book, a quasi-sequel called 'People Like Us.' Cage is an apt metaphor for 'People Like Us' (out now from Penguin Random House), which often blends the real Jason Mott with a fictionalized version of himself. He's open about some of the real bits in the novel, like speaking at a university where a shooting has just occurred and signing autographs after getting mistaken for Ta-Nehisi Coates and Colson Whitehead, two award-winning authors who are also Black. He's coy about others, like when characters mingle with an unnamed French benefactor and an author named 'Not Toni Morrison.' And this book should be Mott's most meta. 'People Like Us' started out as a memoir; a tongue-in-cheek note to readers is signed by 'The Author (with legal breathing down his neck)'. What happens after you win a National Book Award? In 2021, Mott was sitting alone in an office when he found out he won the National Book Award over Zoom. His 'Hell of a Book' is a commentary on racism and gun violence in America, telling the story of a Black author on a cross-country book tour and a young Black boy living in a rural town in the past. He was up against bestsellers like 'Cloud Cuckoo Land' by Anthony Doerr and 'Matrix' by Lauren Groff. When his girlfriend asked if he wanted company during the ceremony, he said no. 'No, when I lose, I want to cry by myself,' he recalls saying. He laughs as he recounts the aftermath. 'I wound up sitting alone in an office by myself as I won the National Book Award, which sounds very sad when I say it out loud like that.' Suddenly, Mott's quiet year turned into a global tour, 'overpopulated with events.' He became part of a small number of people who can say they've won the esteemed prize. In 'People Like Us,' Mott's character 'the Author' embarks on a similar tour abroad (only called "The Continent") after winning what's referred to as 'The Big One.' On the cover, a tiny character is crushed by a faux gold award emblem. In the book and in real life, the book tour tone shifts after the award. Mott had been used to talking about grief, inspiration and writing process on the road for his resurrection novel 'The Returned.' 'Hell of a Book' came out just a year after George Floyd was killed. Readers wanted to ask him about race and identity. European readers, he recalled, were curious about what it was like to live as a Black man in America. 'The thing I found that was most intriguing was, more than anything, they wanted me to answer for America's sins,' Mott says. 'They would ask questions about why this certain legislature came through, and how I feel about this legislature, and why do I choose to stay in America with all the gun violence? And what does it feel like being a Black person in America, knowing the history of America?' Jason Mott started writing a memoir. It became his new novel. After the tour, he needed to reflect and process. He wanted to write about how it felt to come back to a country riddled with gun violence. He wanted to write about how minority authors sometimes feel 'interchangeable' to the book world. He wanted to write about the surreal aftermath of winning the National Book Award. He started journaling. He had enough to write a memoir – so he did. But when he was a few rounds into revisions, he realized the characters from 'Hell of a Book' were weaseling their way into his story. 'I struggle with a lot of privacy, I struggle with being in the spotlight too much,' Mott says. 'The more I made a memoir, the more difficult it actually became for me as a writer to actually explore the story and explore the ideas.' He's never been a 'sequel guy,' but knew he had more to say with these characters. What would happen if he brought them back and put them into situations that he had experienced? He wasn't sure if it would land with a publisher. Would anyone want to read that? Luckily, he had the 'Big One' under his belt. In 'People Like Us,' Jason Mott leans into a meta story 'People Like Us' is a dizzying, fever-dream of a novel – captivating with wit, satire and heartbreak. It's often hard to tell what's real or not real, but that makes it all the more thrilling to read. Mott, even as a reader, loves "those books that are just on the edge of realism." Writing this book was 'liberating' to Mott, and he took more risks with time jumps, speculative themes and new characters. He could also poke fun at the literary world, which he does heavily. And he's prepared for questions on tour about what's real and what's made up. After all, there are a lot of shocking, often violent moments in this novel. But he's playing it cool. He says it's more fun to let people guess and decide for themselves what he means. 'People oftentimes wonder if there's any pressure that I feel having won the National Book Award, and for me, I think it was exactly the opposite, where any sense of pressure that I might have had about myself as a writer just kind of dissolved into nothing,' Mott says. 'For me, I did the biggest thing that I ever had dreamed of doing in writing in winning the National Book Award. And so after I climb Everest, I don't look for Everest part two … that is enough. From here on out, I just get to have fun with my writing, do what I want to do, experiment, be weird.' Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY's Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you're reading at cmulroy@
