Alison Stewart: This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. Silver. Liner notes is our series commemorating the 25th anniversaries of our favorite albums. Cast your mind back now to 2000, a great year for new music, especially in R&B, thanks in large part to Jill Scott. In 2000, Jilli from Philly, as she's known, released her debut album, Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1. She was 28 years old at the time. Let's listen to the opening track to the album, aptly titled Jilltro.

[MUSIC - Jill Scott: Jilltro]

Give her love, y'all, give her love, Jill-Jill

Jill Scott

Love, love, love, love

I got to write about it

What's up, everybody?

I'm glad to see you all here tonight

It's nice to get this love, I need it

Love, love, love, love, love, love

I love to write poetry, I love to sing

I love to write poetry, I love to read my poetry

But basically what I live for is, umm, love, love

Inspiration

Comes from listenin' to hip-hop

Inspiration

Comes from R&B

Inspiration

Comes from listenin' to jazz

Inspiration

Comes from

Love. love, love, love

Jill, you hear me?

Give her love, y'all, give her love, Jill

Jill Scott

Alison Stewart: That opening captures what makes Who Is Jill Scott? a classic[ poetic writing, a unique voice, and a beat you can't help but move to. John Morrison is a DJ, a WXPN host, and author of the book Boyz II Men 40th Anniversary Celebration. Like Jill, he's also a native of Philadelphia, and he's with me now to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Who Is Jill Scott? Hey, John.

John Morrison: Hey, what's up, Allison?

Alison Stewart: What do you remember about the first time you heard Who Is Jill Scott?

John Morrison: In your intro, you mentioned that Jill was 28. I was 20 when this record came out. I was outside, as the kids say, moving around a lot. I vividly remember the summer that this record came out. This record was everywhere. The singles were big hits, but even like the album cuts, or you would go to a little party or a lounge-type spot, and the DJs would be playing the album cuts.

It seemed like everybody whose house I hung out at in Philly during this time had this CD. It was just one of those records that came out, and it made an immediate impact. Jill was an instant star, and that was especially the case here in Philly. The city really showed her a lot of love.

Alison Stewart: Listeners, are you a Jill Scott fan? What are your memories of listening to her debut album, Who Is Jill Scott?, when it dropped in 2000? Call or text us at 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. What's your favorite song off the album? Tell us why? What does it feel like to listen to Jill Scott 25 years later? Our phone number is 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692.

I'm speaking with John Morrison. He's a DJ, writer, and a WXPN host. He is here for our 25th anniversary, our Silver. Liner notes series commemorating the 25th anniversary of Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1. When you listen to it now, what do you notice when you return to the album that you may not have appreciated when it first came out?

John Morrison: One of the things that stands out to me, just revisiting this record, is the depth of lyricism from Jill as a writer. You know what I mean? She's somebody who pretty much, right out the gate, displayed a rare gift of being able to make the mundane feel profound. You listen to a song like The Way, A Long Walk. These songs are about very small, intimate things and interactions between two lovers, very small, intimate moments, but the energy that she gives these moments, it blows them up and makes them feel important, or grand, or reminds us that these little things are important and grand.

That kind of depth as a writer, and to be able to do that, especially considering the fact that Jill was not a veteran songwriter at this point, she was not 20 years into the game. This is her first record, and she, by her account, started writing songs not too far before this record came out, not too long before this record came out. To just have that skill and that ability to hone in on the small things and reveal the power and depth behind those small things, that's something that blew my mind. When I really sat down and revisited this record, it reminded me of how skilled she.

Alison Stewart: This was produced by a Touch of Jazz collective founded by fellow Philly native, Jeff Townes, AKA DJ Jazzy Jeff. What was the reputation of Touch of Jazz, and why do they want to produce Jill Scott?

John Morrison: I don't know the exact story of how Jill met Jeff. I think she said that she would just show up at A Touch of Jazz studios and try to get on, try to get Jeff's attention. I'm pretty sure that's how the story went. The production on this record is absolutely gorgeous. Jeff overseeing the Whole thing, Dre and Vidal producing on it. It has that rich buttery, neo soul sound, those warm electric pianos. Everything is mixed perfectly. I'm a little bit of an audio engineer geek, so I appreciate a good mix on a record. It just sounds warm and beautiful. Very contemporary for its time, but it also has a timeless feel. Sonically, it holds up.

I think that those folks, Jill, Jeff, and everybody who was around them at the time, they were students of Philadelphia soul music, but also jazz, also Black music in particular, but then music in general. These are folks who really understood how records were made a almost like atomic level. They understood sound and production and arrangement, and they poured all of that knowledge and skill into this record. You can hear it. You can feel it.

Alison Stewart: Let's talk to Rocky, who's calling in from Brooklyn. Hey, Rocky, thanks for taking the time to call, All Of It.

Rocky: Oh, thank you so much, Alison. I'm just blown away by how she came straight out the block so powerful. She has a lot of connection with the roots, and I felt like that album just hit it hard. My favorite songs were Take a Long Walk and (Lizelle) He Loves Me. Just the sweetness of it, the feeling that she was in love, and she was sharing this with us. It was this brightness to her music. There was no sadness. There was just pure joy. I love that. She made me want to get on a bus and go to Philly and see if I could find love like that.

Alison Stewart: Love you, Rocky. Thank you so much for calling in. Let's take a listen to A Long Walk from Jill Scott.

[MUSIC - Jill Scott: A Long Walk]

Jill Scott: You're here, I'm pleased

I really dig your company

Your style, your smile

Your peace mentalityLord, have mercy on me

I was blind, now I can see

What a king's supposed to be

Baby, I feel free, come on and go with meLet's take a long walk

Around the park, after dark

Find a spot for us to spark

Conversation, verbal elation, stimulation

Share our situations

Temptations, education, relaxations, elevations

Maybe we can talk about Surah 31:18

Your background, it ain't squeaky clean

Sometimes we all gotta swim upstream

You ain't no saint, we all are sinners

But you put your good foot down to make your soul the winner

I respect that, man you're so phat

And you're all that, plus supreme

Then you're humble, man, I'm numb with your--

Alison Stewart: I could just let that keep playing for a while, but we got to get in here a little bit, De John. The Philly soul sound was so big in the '70s; the O'Jays, Teddy Pendergrass. Do we hear the Philly soul in her music?

John Morrison: Oh, yes, absolutely. You can tell that, like I said before we heard that song, Jill was a student of this music. You know what I mean? I'm a record collector. I have pretty much the entire Gamble and Huff discography [chuckles] sitting in my house. I've grew up on this music. I've listened to it. I collect it now. There's some, I don't know, intangible perspective that Jill maintains throughout this record that I think is a holdover from that Philly soul lineage.

It's very much a working-class, Black Philadelphian perspective on the world, perspective on love and intimacy. It's a way that we talk about our loved ones and the way that we talk about love and passion that is all through those songs that Gamble & Huff and Tom Bell and all those folks wrote in the '70s that Jill retains on this record. Then the actual sound, the arrangements I mentioned, those beautiful electric pianos. I don't know if they're playing a Rhodes or a Wurlitzer throughout this record, but it's definitely one of the two. That sound, that rich '70s-inspired sound, it's at the heart of this record. A lot of those neo soul records that were coming out around this time, young people were revisiting the music that maybe their parents were into. or older siblings were into in the '70s, and creating a contemporary version or a spin on that sound.

Alison Stewart: I'm speaking with John Morrison. He's a DJ, writer, and WXPN host. We're here for an edition of our Silver. Liner note series commemorating the 25th anniversary of our favorite albums. We are talking about Jill Scott's debut. Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1. Just turned 25. She was involved with The Roots for a while. Why are the Roots important to Jill Scott's early career?

John Morrison: Yes, The Roots really gave Jill Scott her first big shot or entry into the record business. She was performing at open mics. She even toured with a production of Rent around this time before she, before she got signed. It was through meeting The Roots and performing at their jam sessions that led to her working with them on their album Things Fall Apart. She co-wrote the song You Got Me and Erykah Badu ended up singing the chorus, the part that Jill wrote.

Definitely people who were in the know, it put them on notice, like, oh, this is a young force of a writer, somebody and a singer, somebody who is connected with The Roots because they were and are high-level musicians. Their entire circle at that time went on to be the who's who of contemporary Black music at that time. I think it was important for Jill to be aligned with them. There's the Philly connection, and there was this connection of young musicians, this idea of young musicians pulling from the music of the '70s and making something new. It all made sense.

Alison Stewart: We're going to listen to The Way now. What's special about this song?

John Morrison: The Way might be my favorite song on this album. It switches like it's like any great album. It's like one day this song is your favorite, the next day is another. The Way is a beautiful, beautiful tune. Kind of like what I said earlier, what she's describing is very mundane. You know what I mean? It's very everyday, the stuff that she's talking about, but it has this power and energy behind it. It's one of those songs that reminds us that being in love and sharing your life with someone makes the small, mundane things magical and just better.

Alison Stewart: Here's The Way from Jill Scott.

[MUSIC - Jill Scott: The Way]

Woke up this morning with a smile on my face

Jumped out of bed, took a shower, dressed, cleaned up my place

Made me some breakfast - toast, two scrambled eggs, grits

Grabbed my keys, grabbed my purse, grabbed my jacket

Off to work beaming all the way down 3rd

Is it the way you love me, baby?

Is it the way you love m,e baby? Yeah

4:30, can't wait to get home

I know you're comin' out with us.

Alison Stewart: That's Jill Scott singing The Way. It's part of our 25th anniversary series called Silver. Liner notes. John Morrison, he's a writer, a WXPN host. He is walking us through Jill Scott. When you think about Jill Scott and you think about R&B in the year 2000, to what extent do you think this album laid the groundwork for R&B beyond 2000?

John Morrison: I think that this record set the bar high, you know what I mean? The bar for writing, instrumentation, arrangement, but even beyond, like the technical musical stuff, just emotional depth. Every now and again a record appears that or is made that kind of reminds us of the potential of the form. The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds was like that. I honestly think that this first Jill Scott record is one of those records for R&B. It reminded singers and musicians and producers that this is how good it can be. This is, this is the depth that we can go with this music.

Anybody who's a serious R&B musician or singer or producer, or even a listener, a DJ, loves this record. I've never met anybody who's like, "Argh," so-so about this first Jill Scott record. I think it's a watershed moment in the genre. It's remembered and respected and loved as such.

Alison Stewart: She was a poet. She's an actress as well. Do you think that shows in this record?

John Morrison: Oh, yes. I think that in this record, but also in Jill's live performances, she's a dramatic performer. I've always said that rap and singing, it's akin to acting. Musicians put on, or, I don't want to say put on a face, but like kind of get into an emotional space to emote and perform. I think that Jill's background as a poet informs the lyricism here, but I think the acting and that energy informs the vocal performances and how she's able to be so present.

You listen to a lot of these songs, it feels like she's singing it to you. That's presence. That's somebody who can go in a recording booth and transfer the energy, emotion, the feeling that they have inside through a microphone into a record. Not everybody has that. It separates the grownups from the kids. I think that that dramatic flair is all over that record is not surprising at all that once Jill's music career took off, she got into acting. Again, it makes sense.

Alison Stewart: It makes sense. My guest is John Morrison. John, thanks for walking us through Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds, Volume 1.

John Morrison: Absolutely. Thank you.