Jill Scott Highlights

This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. I am being money. I am being money. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, the word I know. Judith Fiff. Miss Jill Spatja. Yeah! Jill Spatja! Yeah, just didn't want to work a nine to five, y'all. Like I just didn't like nine to five, that thing, like bothered my soul. But this thing felt good. So it started with poetry, which is why I'm still like, if I don't have anything to say, I can't sing anything. Like the words matter so much to me. And they give me the pathway to be as genuine and sincere as I could possibly be with every word that I say, or sing rather. So it started with poetry. I got my feelings hurt. I was like, I'm a son boy. And I wrote a poem about it. I shared it with some women that I was hanging out with. And they were like, oh my god, that was amazing. Read another one. So I read another one. And then I was like, oh, that went nice. I'll write another one. And I wrote another one because I was just trying to deal with what this felt like. First, heartbreak, first. So then I started hearing about poetry readings. And I thought, okay, I'll go. And then I just, I'll pay to get in. You know, I'll get on the list. And then I'll read a poem and see how that goes. I went great. Oh, okay, I'll do it again. It went good for me for the first time. Yeah, it went great. I was like, okay, I'll do this again. This is fun. This is fun. I get to see people hang out. You know, people buy me drinks. I don't get any money yet. But nonetheless, this feels good. So I continued. And then one night, I was in a car with a friend. And this guy pulls up. And I was literally across the street from my house. This guy pulls up and he goes, visit knocking on the glass. This is it. Knock on the glass. My friend said, I invented a neither sheet. And he was like, visit, visit. Come on, man. Don't do me like this man. Don't me like that. And then he went and pulled out. I saw the butt of a gun. My friend takes off the demonstrate. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I just panicked. So I opened the car door and I grabbed him. I think I'm going to pull him over the dash. I don't know what I was thinking. But I was just, I don't know. I panicked. And he dropped what he had. He was on fire. And it's like, yeah. So and we took off. He thought he had gotten shot because he was burning, right? The L fell and thought he thought he was on fire. Like he thought he was shot. And he was like, I'm not going to be a person, man. My friend. Oh, your friend, okay. Who was not Vincent. And I was not Vincent. We just happened to be sitting across the street from my house in the car. And he took off. And the next day I was like, there's really no other words for, I was fucked up. Like fucked up. Yeah. Because North Philly had always been this place that was like safe for me. Crack addicts knew me. Drug dealers knew me. They carried my mother's groceries home. You know, um, crack heads of creep up on you. I turned around and I'm like, oh, hey, you know what I mean? Like I was good in the hood. Now I wasn't. Now I wasn't. And it messed me up. Took me off like really off-kiltered. Like outside of myself. I was afraid for the first time in the hood. And it sounds wild because I grew up, you know, where people were getting murdered a lot. And somehow I wasn't afraid, but now I was. So I went to a poetry reading the next day in my pajamas because I couldn't bat them on how to put on clothes. I don't know. As I wore my pajamas. And I got up to say a poem and I sang. And I sang. I think I, what did I sing? I sang. Porky and Bess. What's the name of the song? Summertime. And when it was done, the room was silent. And then they blew up. Everybody stood up. People started running. You know, oh my god, wait a minute. This whole time they didn't know. You know, and I never really said anything got because it was mine. Yeah. My little voice was mine. And everybody liked it so much. So I started doing it more. Because it felt good, you know, I could felt good. So I did it again. And it went well. And I did it again. And then I was like, hey, you know, I'll add some poetry to this singing and see how this works. And it went well. And I added a DJ. And that went well. And it just seemed like this was, this was right. So you're doing all of your own artist development. Yeah. I can do your own show everything. Yes. But auditing it. But auditing it. Yeah. It's for auditing in front of live audience. Yeah. Can you leave in three days to go do rent in Canada? I've never been out of the country around myself. Like, this is wild. I say, yes, how much, how much you say, how much you say, it was great. I think at the time, I was getting, like, $1,700 a week plus $700, it's pradeum. Oh, yeah, it had nothing. I had nothing. So this was great, a great opportunity, and I went out of the country and I did rent. And it was great. The people were awesome. I loved them. We had such a good time, such sweet spirits. And the rent heads were amazing. Those are the people who loved the play. And they would sleep outside the theater, and they had pictures of you. And they would, it was like a great deal. No, rent was a big deal. It was, it was a big deal. It was the biggest deal at that time. It was a little bit. It was, it was enough for me, but it was good. And I enjoyed that. And then they asked me if I wanted to do, go the Broadway. And I didn't. I didn't. Mm. The, there is a, a gift, a discipline in theater that I will have in two instances. One, I'll be broke. Or it's amazing. One or the other. You feel what I'm saying? If I'm broke, I might be on Broadway. That sounds wild. Or if it's amazing. Like if I need a job. Because that hustle, that mindset, that day to day, being in the same light with the same people, wearing the same clothes, saying the same thing, almost the same way you didn't experience that God bless. You didn't, I don't think I would, I would have cracked. Yeah. So I had to choose between, I know I jumped, didn't I? I had to choose between a record deal or Broadway. Broadway. Yes. Oh, they want to tell you what the same time? Yes. And I chose the record deal. Yeah. I've been waiting for this time my whole life. My whole life. I have been waiting to be this age. I've been, I've been waiting to be this full. You could take that literally figuratively, whatever way you want. I've been waiting for this. Because I watched my, my, my aunt and my mother, I watched these women bloom into something else in front of my eyes. So I've been waiting for this. Just, ooh, I've been waiting for this. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know when, I do know that I have an album coming. Yes. Come on. I know you. Shall I do a new album? Yes. Shall I do a new album? Yes. I say what I said, I meant what I meant. Yeah. I'm really proud of that. I'm really proud of that. But I've been waiting for this. This is, this is, this is the age I've been waiting for. I don't know what it is about this, but I'm very excited to be here. I'm very happy that I'm still able, able, yeah, yeah. Very happy to be here. And, and that's what it is. I, I'm not ready for that. I'm not ready for that. I don't tell you why. I'll tell you why. This is the whole honestly. To God. To truth. To truth. Lideskin girls in North Philly had to fight for their lives. I never understood what was happening around me. My grandmother is so brown that her nickname was blue. I could not figure out for the life of me why light skin and long hair equated beautiful. I could not get it. It didn't make sense to me. And then I, I felt like I could be possibly light skin with long hair. Can't do anything about it. My hair, my cousin's a hairdresser. She does my hair. She keeps looking nice. You know, my mother goes to the good thrift stores. You know, she gets me loafers with dimes in it. You know, like I can't stop this part, this part. But what I will not do is I will not be conceited. I will not. It's not going to happen. Ever, ever, ever. When you went go go. I used to be in a go go band. What? Yeah. It's a play keys on the go go band and sing. Oh, that's so cool. When you went go go. I don't think you understand. Like for me. Oh. I went from the DMV. I went from a fan to a stand. Nice. Because that right there, nobody had went there. And that was like, that was the real deal. I tried. Oh, man. I tried. I didn't have any like go go percussionist. I found an African percussionist. And it kind of it made sense. It just made it kind of it worked. It felt, you know, so it was an homage, not really like trying to grab it. But DC loved it. The DMV was like, girl, we love you. When I got over there, Finn, that audience. I wish I could have seen before that in DC. I didn't know it was supposed to go on for like 10 minutes. No, no, no, you do that for a full 15. You give. You want to. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I got a hot 20. That was great. It's love had been like four different things. And then I was just, I love the lyrics. Love the lyrics. I love how it felt. But it just didn't land on anything yet. And I was like, well, let's try go go. But had you been to a go go once? It's different. It's wonderful. Yeah. Yeah. You come out with your hair, sweat it out. I know. Your clothes stuck to you. Yeah. You are. I was from out there without there for a big take a weekend. I'm like, man, I ain't leaving, man. Where did, where did go go, man? Where did go go, man? Where did go go, man? He wanted to go go and some mumbles up. It's awesome. Yeah. You look like a DC neck off. Yeah. I'm a bear. A cat for the ass. You a cat for hell. Now you go to college. It looks like a cat. It feels like a baby finish. He takes a chair. No, take the board in the game. We don't enjoy gangs in college. You wear any gang? You're a born in a gang? My family is one. Yeah, yeah, we just want the shit. So yeah, we don't go to college to join gangs. Well, look at you. I mean, I don't well for myself. I'm screaming. Hey, man. Hey, man. That's right, man. I like that. I appreciate that. Yeah. I mean, I'm trying to live my life like it's golden. That's what it means. Just in case anybody's got questions, living your life like it's golden literally means following your path. Yeah. Like, you know, Dorothy, the Wiz, they followed the yellow brick road. It's the same thing like your spirit will tell you this is good. This is the way to go going that way. Even if it doesn't work out the way you thought it would, even if follow the road, follow the path, it'll take you somewhere else and somewhere else. And then maybe a year, maybe nine years later, you'll understand why you went that path. I didn't love working 16 hours or 14 hours a day at that theater company for $250, living in my mother's basement. I didn't love that. I wanted to move out. I wanted to get a car. I wanted to buy clothes. I wanted to do stuff. But in hindsight, I see the value of why I was there and even why I stayed. Not so much. I can communicate with people in the theater environment and on stage. You know, I can say, I need you to change this like to this, this and that, that, this and touch this and, you know, add, add pieces and move all kinds of things around the stage because it feels good and it looks good and it makes my audience interested. And you add it to your toolbox? Yeah. And I'm wrong with a good toolbox. It's so much power for the course. Like when you just look back on it and you can extrapolate, you can actually pinpoint the things as you say tools that you grabbed from each of those moments that at the time felt hard or, or, or sometimes could have felt counterproductive or felt like they were taking you somewhere. Yeah. Yeah. Listen, felt like they were taking you somewhere you didn't want to go when you wanted to go here, but you needed everything that was on this street before you could make that right, then a right, then another right and get back to the street that you wanted to get on. Yep. And that's everything I'm hearing in your journey. That's what it is. Not skipping any steps. Right. I don't think I did. I mean, I don't know. There's so much more to learn. You, you, there's so much to do. You coated wood with polyurethane. Yeah. It's insane. At the studio, you know, to, to be there. Just to, to be like when it comes to music, I'll do anything. Not anything. I'll sing this. I'm the, I'm the, just within reason. I'll sing backgrounds. I'll play the keyboard. If you need me to learn instrument, I can play trumpet, flute. I'll play the drums as I am right now. Let's see. Are you, I'm not too big to stand behind somebody's microphone. He, he, he, he, I don't have to sing lead. But for this, I don't, it's a, it's a, it's a priceless venture for me. I'm willing to coat. I'm willing to get some polyurethane and stay in the studios. If that means I get to be here every other day and learn this thing and be part of this thing. And that's, that's, that's really selling out to the gift. That's what you, you gotta be there. I'm still surprised that you didn't know you could sing like that. I'm still shocked. Yeah, that, that is very shocking. That is shocking. My shocking. I don't want to talk about that anymore. You know, I don't, I don't, I really don't feel like people understand where I'm coming from. I get where you're coming from. Okay, you do 100%. Thank you. 100% get it. Thank you. I just say, thank you. Because when you say, when you say it's a mind, I understand what you mean by that. And so, you know, I, I, it's, it's like this thing is so precious to you. And when you start exposing this thing to the world, lending it to people who aren't going to be careful, who aren't going to respect, who aren't going to love your thing, the way you love it and you get to be loved. I understand exactly what you're terrifying every time. Yeah, absolutely, every time. Absolutely. So I respect it. Because this thing is still feels so good. You got to, you know, you got to get it out, got to go, got to get on the road, got to be amongst my bandmates, got to, you know, hang out with my drivers, got to kick it with the caterers, got to, because that's another thing. Oh my God. Guys, every single person is important. Talk about him. Important. If lighting doesn't show up, your show's in the dark. Talk about it. Background one of your background vocalists doesn't show up. You've got to make room for that note and understand how things change once that note is missing. We all got to work together differently because we're covering spaces. If your drummer doesn't show up for show, what you doing? We're going to clap, clap all night, stop. Stop, stop. Everybody has a part to play in it. It's very important. It's fun. How you treat them. I was randomly on live the other day and one of our drivers from tour, our just our drivers period that always rogues with us. Cory. He jumped in the live and just, he just says, I'm, and he just, I lit up. I lit up. Because I'm like, I love Cory. And I literally put my life in his hands when we're on the road. This man is getting us from point A to point B. And I, I never want people to overlook that. It's like you said, like everybody is important. Decaydors. Oh, security. Security. Oh, man. Big shot. That's, you know what I mean? Like so for us, you know, that is, I'm glad you said that. I'm really glad that you said that. Yeah, I realized where I am, you know, with the R&B, you know, Kings of the world here. And I just want to make sure that we talk about this business. Yes. And what it takes. Yes, it takes a lot of diligence. And not giving up on yourself and rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal. So you can forget, rehearsal so you can forget. You learn everything and then you forget it and you live it every night. Live a difference. Different city, different energy. Live it different every night. That's what it takes. I just wanted you, you know, to know that. And then of course, living within your means, it matters that you don't get, you know, a deal of some sort or some kind of contract and then you just go spend all your money. This is entertainment. It's, it's, it's, it's feast or famine. And when it's famine, Jesus Christ is looing embarrassing, you know, you want to talk about that? And we're talking about that. Oh, no, Jesus. You're saying she didn't watch your episodes and you happen to get a vibe of that. Oh, I've been in some famines. And look at you. Oh, look at me now. I'm a review in a stolen rental car. Use the money from the ass straight and put me gas tank coins. So little rental living in Rancho Pugamaga. With dirty drain, what we call them dirty drain filly, Andre Harris. Yeah. We went to all of us went to great adventures and we stopped in McDonald's and we got a small fries because in the back of each bag, we had each one had a hat of a bag. I'll take seven small fries with seven bags, please. There was a coupon on the back of each bag for great adventures. So that's how we ended up going to great adventure. That's what I'm talking about. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Drey had in his car. It was a hole and I had to sit in front. It was a hole. So I had to keep my feet on both sides of the hole. But I could see the roads. You're bound to rubble that thing. Well, I could see the road the whole time so I could never fall asleep. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Because if I lean on saying, what? More than a towel. Oh, good. More than a towel. Good. Yeah. They want to know some of the people and music that has inspired you to be who you are. How'd you get a stamp with your face on it? They want to know. They feel it a Broadway. Don't forget Canada. In Canada. The people that did it. You. Top five. Your top five. Are in B singers. What am I? Are in B songs. You said. We got to know before you cannot hear all this show before we know. You know. You're top five. Yes. Oh. Top five. Are in B. Oh. Ten. You're top five. You're top five. Oh. Sister Geo. That is beautiful, man. Your choices are crazy. It's only wonderful. They talked to you all over the internet. They talked and they say they say, you know that damn. That matters. That's what. That damn thing. He can sing a song and that is no lie. No lie. Not goodness. I received this. Your top five. Are in B singers. Well, I thought about this a lot. I'm not that hot. You wrote like with a pen? This is what it is. Okay. It's different. Okay. No order. Right? No. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Is he the king of Neo so? I don't think there's a king. Is there, okay, I'm just, I don't know. I don't, I don't, you know, they all kings to me. Look at, I got you. When I heard the angel low, life changing. Absolutely. Life changing. Yep. Okay, I just, you know, you, you know, you, you rule, you move worlds. So I just want to know how you felt about that. Yeah, I don't know. I don't even know if you want to be that like I think I've seen interviews when he talked about Neo so I was like, that's not really where he wanted to necessarily be. You know, so I mean, maybe to the world. Yeah, maybe, yeah, that makes sense. He's he changed things. Yes, he did. He changed things and opened a door for another kind of music that had been shut for a long time. It wasn't an instrument. Nobody was doing soulful music like that. Like it stopped. It got real hip hop beat. If that's a phrase, yeah, hip pop beat, I didn't say hop. Yeah. So yeah, I guess so. I guess he would be the king. He ushered the open a door and ushered so many through. Like it was like as a church kid and musician and singer and song right there was like. That's that's what I want to be right there. That's. I want to be what we want to be free and musical and creative and and ground it like that. And life changing still nothing like it to this day. Nothing. Nope. Even from the beginning, when you listen to his first album, like, nobody's done anything like it's not close. Nope. Yeah, good time. Yes, me. Prince. Nobody sings like that to me. Like the list as far as RMB, like he could do so many kinds of music, obviously, and you can play so many instruments, but, you know, nothing compares to you. That level of guts put into it. International lover. What is that? Nice. He was like, I'm going to pour sex into a song and I'm going to start gently. And he did. Here you go. Wonderful. I listen to under the cherry move for four years straight. I don't know. It's the only time I listen to one thing for that long. Four years straight. I love, love, love, love, love that album. I know every nuance of it. I think it's a perfect work. Love that album. Al Green, which I listened to all morning. You're a list. I know. I know what you're doing. I, yeah. Yeah. You got to say a thing for me. You, I love a good singer. I really do. And so many different kinds of great vocalists, but I need you. You got to say something to me. Please say something to me. Soulster. And how you put a phrase, how you, uh, please, please, please, it's the writer in me, the writer requires to be titillated. And the last one. SWV. Hmm. Yep. They're on my wall. They're on my wall. That cassette cassette. Yeah. That cassette I listened to it faithfully and in every day. For I don't know, a couple of years at least. And even now, when I listen to it now, I'm like, damn, that's good. It feels so great. Yeah. That's my favorite. That's my favorite. They're so good. And they're still what working? Still working. They're still working. That counts. I love them. Yeah. That's, that's my five. You got a favorite ocean. Oh, five or four artists today. Give me some money. I'll tomorrow. Okay. Because it's so much good stuff. Yeah. Very grateful for that. Yeah. R and B top five R and B song. Yeah. Fire and desire. Teen and Marie. Rick James. Rick wanted to call this. Very good. Very, very good. He knows how to tap into something that's both pastor and pimp at the same time. Those dangerous. Lovely. James. Heavy. Heavy. As both of those two things are. And the come on. Very dangerous. Very nice. Use your powers for good. Teen and Marie. Oh, one of the best moments of like top five moments of my life. I was rolling around in a cabriolet in Paris. And it was midnight. Fire and desire came on. And when Teen and Marie did her first big note, that first thing she said, the Eiffel Tower lit up. And I was like, There's my life. I know. I can I There's your saying it. I see it. It was wonderful. In the Oh, that's I need that. Oh, this is my life. What Rain, SWV. Why not? So well written. So well executed. All of it is well. Perfect. All of it as well. Adore. Yep. It's listed. Jesus Christ. This was incredible. You like it? You've well loved it. Yeah. About a list of two left. That's a whole revolution. Love me in a special way. Oh, Oh, yeah. Yeah, this is great. You put me back. You can be right to say that. What more can I say? What more can I say? That's right. Love me now. Yeah. That's how you do a damn thing. Is it the way? Just. Yeah. Yeah. You're damn right. I think it's very well executed. I appreciate how how the the words worked. You did good. I think. I think so. That's all. You can't get it. You can't not. You know, you post that double negatives. But you can't not smile. You have to. I think it's because it's the woke. I think the world has something to do with it. I'm not sure. I'm not. I'm a breakfast guy. I'm singing it for a long time. Yeah. Doesn't she do it? She got up and made the breakfast. Yeah. Simple. She's grab a layman. What? And Gritz. And the way you sang Gritz. That's why you said that though. You said it was. The world made it. That song felt like a live recording. Hmm. It felt like you were at one of your poetry houses. And you were saying. I got I got some special wonder for y'all. And you sang that. That's what it feels like. Hmm. That's nice. And that's missing. Ooh. Ooh. Hmm. It is. I think you should write for other artists too. I would love to. I think you should. Absolutely. Because they. Some more Jill's cast songs on more artists too. Because it wouldn't just come with the song. It would come with. It would come with. A healing. It would come with teaching. It would come with information. It would come with. Oh my gosh. It would come with this level of. You know what I mean? Like they would learn. So like. Yeah. Just if you want. Well, I would want to know what was going on in their lives. I would want to know what they wanted to talk about. I would want to know what affected them deeply. I would. I would probably want to have meals. And. Yeah. You know, I want to know. So that I could write something. Because. From whatever I write. You're going to be singing this for the rest of your life. For that. Yeah. Like is it the way it's like you know 26 years later. Oh my God. And people are still karaoke in that love of you better. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. that irks their soul. You know, like sing it the way I, but I am, but I am. You know, I might not be for everybody, but who I'm for, I'm really, really, really for. I'm sure. Yeah, it's good. It's good life. Yeah. This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human.