
Jill Scott has that unmistakable big brass voice, and itâs even eerier to listen to now, just months after watching a biopic about blues legend Bessie Smith. Scottâs voice is similarly cocky and demands you to be entranced. It woos, wails and does sick intonations. It makes you forget that the vocally untouchable Scott has her idiot moments. On her new album Woman, thereâs a stretch at the end of âClosureââa song about having one last post-breakup sexual relapseâwhere she pronounces every word with a prickling attitude and derision. âYou want some of my time? You want some of my affection?â she sneers. âYou want me to listen to you, baby? Aw, is that what you want from me?â Thatâs why Jill Scott is Jill Scott.
After hearing the first two singles leading up this albumâs release, I predicted: ââFoolâs Gold,ââ as a complement to âYou Donât Know,â makes it seem like Jill Scott is writing a great fuck-love thesis about falling for the deceit of a romantic con artist.â More than just painful, Woman sounds tough and secure, too, and seems to mostly take place well after the breakdown phase of heartache, when you remember everything about you thatâs good. In the spirit of Bessie, Scott sounds every bit like a mutha when she sings, âIâm the boss lady, busy handling and managing,â and âMamaâs working your nerves/ Mamaâs able, Iâll be right back when Iâm done.â The music, like much of her music, is as intense and melodramatic as a spoken word scene in Love Jones.
This album doesnât necessarily feel fresh or definitive, but itâs everything you love about a Jill Scott album. Thereâs a balance of instrumentally dense boss anthems (the best of them is âRun Run Runâ) and soft, settled R&B cuts. âYou Donât Knowâ has the same melancholy feel of Mary J. Bligeâs âIâm Goinâ Down.â âCruisinâ is reminiscent of my teen years when Iâd cruise the Van Wyck in my Civic aimlessly, thinking about dumb young men.
You can tell that sheâs going for teachable moments, and wants people to listen to her lyrics and think of praise emojis. âYou want loyalty? You want something that youâre not willing to be,â she sings. Stop singing our lives. She told Rolling Stone, âI thought I was a woman when I was 30. But Iâve learned and I love the process. Itâs about making decisions for yourself and learning the difference between having a maintenance manâthe one who services your needs at the moment âand having a partner. Your needs compared to your wants is big, because you donât know what you need until you grow up.â
Even if you never play Woman straight through, some tracks are worth keeping aroundââCruisinâ and âFoolâs Goldâ will be added to my future Spotify playlist, âThinking Thoughtsâ (a chill playlist for thinking thoughts). One subtle touch here is the occasional static reverb that gives certain songs more vintage drama, including âSay Thank You,â where Scott sings: âI used to be stuck...I used to be stuck...How âbout you?â She sounds exactly like your conscience, but with a way better voice.
Contact the author at clover@jezebel.com.
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