Riddle me this...is anybody doper then Jill Scott? Nah. Anybody's pen a game as dope as Jill's? Nope. What about her swag...any of these chicks in these R&B streets got more swag then Jill? Nadda. And last but not least, since the new millennium does anybody have a better discography then Jill? Nah...not at all. So what's the point of all of these questions? It's simple, just to let ya'll ALL know (and say it with me in your best Notorious BIG voice) that Jill Sott is the illest. And when the illest decides to drop a new album outta nowhere, it ain't hard to tell that any and everybody should be all ears. And that's exactly how I am with Jill's new release "Woman"...I'm EASILY all ears.
"Woman" sets off with "Wild Cookie" which has Jill pulling out her Def Poetry bag with some ill spoken word about how her "wild cookie" sometimes has a mind of it's own. "Just the other day my girlfriend said she was watching TV and her wild cookie detached from it's seat/and was strolling down 125th yelling somebody, anybody come get me/she caught her wild cookie in between 2 parked cars with a foolish man enticing it with a candy bar/nameless pick, attached to some guy who just wanted to escape his troubles for a bit/she cried awwww cookie you got to work with me/you can't rule my world, you don't have no brain, you ain't meant to lead/I mean, you can get a couple of things, but things are things/and I deserve to feel my heart ring, come on in the house, come on wild cookie, let's listen to Jill sing." Told ya'll she was the illest. "Prepared" gives you the blueprint for getting yourself together for what God has in store for you "I been reading my old journals, checking to see where my head has been/and I been apologizing to some people, some bridges I need to mend/and I been eating more greens, getting my body right, I'm gonna be super fine/been letting some old ideas go, I'm making room for my life to grow/I just wanna be prepared." "Run Run Run" shows you just how hard Jill hustles for her baby, "baby, mama be back in a minute, gotta hustle and handle my business/I'll be right back when I'm done, I gotta run run run baby/gotta put food on the table, mama's working and you know mama's able", "Can't Wait" has that 70's soul feel to it that sounds so damn good that I want to sample the first 4 bars, "Fool's Gold" samples the "You're Getting A Little Too Smart" drums which is one of my favorite breaks and is BONKERS and has Jill dropping jewels about how a dude had "her believing things that just ain't true." "Willing" is an ill interlude that I wish was a whole song that has Jill telling her man that he wants all of these things from her but that he's not willing to give the same in return. "You want me to be flawless, you want me patient and sweet, you want me willing, you want me honest, you want me to be appreciative, respect your space, ignore your fears, you want spontaneity, a good girl and a freak, you want loyalty" and "Closure" will be EVERY woman's theme music when it's time to dead that relationship but you wanna get that one last quickie in first. "Don't be expecting no breakfast in the morning baby, you got all you're gonna get this is it, this is closure." Plus this is another Jill banger that samples one of my fav breaks with Graham Central Station's "The Jam" made famous by Chill Rob G's "Court Is Now In Session."
The album's 1st single "You Don't Know" is drenched in nothing but 60's Staxx soul, "Cruisin" is a mellow jawn that has Jill trying to find out where she stands in her relationship "you say you wanna love me, cause that's what I need, but I ain't sure if that's what you're here for/you say I can trust you and I wanna believe/I hear your words but my heart needs to see" while "Say Thank You" sounds like some classic Sneaker Pimps (which is VERY dope just in case ya'll never heard of the Sneaker Pimps) and "Back Together" instantly takes you to the Mt. Pleasant southern episcopalian church of God. "Coming To You" speeds things up and has Jill putting on her superwoman cape to come rescue her man from the day to day struggles, "I'm on my way to show ya, I'm not gonna wait beside the road no no/I know the world's been getting to ya babe, it's such a such a heavy load, you need to hold on/they're gonna tell you turn your head now, from love and hate instead/don't let your heard be confused no more, don't be mislead I'm almost there" and "Jahraymecofasola" is SOOOOOOO dope and is Jill's own special way of telling her man how much she loves him and even has Jill quoting some "Pootie Tang" with "tippy tah sah dah tay" but I'm not gonna hold you, the one song I was really looking forward to "Beautiful Love" which is Jill's duet with BJ The Chicago Kid lets me down BIG TIME! I can't believe such a dope album ends on such a sub par note but it is what it is. But my favorite song on "Woman" is easily "Lighthouse" which has Jill schooling women on how you need to hold your man down, "I know, I know that look on your face, says you're going through some things/and for sure maybe for sure, I'm here for you baby/whatever it is, trouble is deep/I can see by your eyes, they're heavy to me talk to me baby/I am your shelter, your safe from harm, tornado, lighting, hurricane/can't get by me, come under my love/feel the energy, let go let your burdens down." Again...I told ya'll Jill's the illest.
I won't hold you, after my first listen I really didn't like "Woman" like that. There were songs here and there that I liked but as a whole I wasn't feeling it. Then on about my third listen, I realized that there wasn't anything wrong with these songs, there was something wrong with me. And what I mean by that is I realized that I was still stuck in 2000 with Jill's "Words & Sounds" so if something wasn't an ill "A Long Walk" and "Is This The Way" or it didn't sound like "He Loves Me" then I wasn't feeling it. So it wasn't that these new songs weren't good, it was that I was unfairly holding Jill to the bar of music she had made more then 15 years ago which isn't fair to shorty. Why? Cause Jill isn't the same person she was 15 years ago so how I can I expect your music to sound the same? I'm the main one who's always preaching that I want artists to grow and that their music should reflect their growth blah, blah, blah and now I'm dissin' Philly's finest for doing just that? I need to get the gas face for that...for real. But after getting my head outta 2000 and taking Jay's advice ("you want my old shit, buy my old album") I realized that "Woman" is a REALLY dope album. In fact, I can see this album being the anthem for women who are 35+ because it gonna take you through the gambit of what a "grown woman" goes through. And with this album Jill's letting me & anybody else who's still stuck in 2000 know that you're not dealing with the "Words & Sounds" Jill from 2000 anymore but the 2015 Jill who just happens to be a grown ass woman.
4 outta 5 mics
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