There is, in both Scott's music and her persona, a belief in the healing power of love. This, in a pop music culture rife with materialistic odes to getting paid and "no scrubs," TLC's Grammy-winning rejection of brothas without cash. While various themes surface in the album, in its entirety it seems a tribute, not to the perfection of African American men but to their perfect potential. Indeed, Scott's vocal range is even more impressive in live performance (one is set for Thursday night at Constitution Hall), where she is usually flanked by a six-piece band and two backup vocalists.įilled with sensuality and earthiness, the lyrics of "Who Is Jill Scott?" convey depth rarely seen in romantic representations of black women and men. 10 on the Billboard R&B charts and quietly went gold in October, selling more than 500,000 copies in the United States.Įnjoying powerful word-of-mouth support, the 18-track album (narrowed down from 52) also charmed critics, many of whom suggested that Scott offered a fuller, more insightful sound than others performing in her milieu-namely Erykah Badu, Macy Gray and Angie Stone. A new kid in town when her album dropped in July, Scott, 28, made friends quickly. Scott weaves such precise observations into compelling story-fabrics, accented by a rich mixture of jazz, funk, soulful rap, and rhythm and blues. On "The Way," for example, she informs us all about breakfast that morning: "Toast. In fact, what stands out most about her highly literary lyrical style (invoking the Bible and the Koran, for starters) is the attention to detail. Jill Scott is also someone who delights in documenting the simple pleasures of everyday life. Anointing the disc as one of the top 50 of the year, Rolling Stone defined her like this: "As much poet as she is crooner, the Philadelphia newcomer evokes soul-music icons while keeping her grooves current and her heart open." 1," and it's tempting to try to answer the question posed in the title. Her much-discussed debut album, released this year, is called "Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. Sometimes she even poses barefoot for photo shoots. There is a kind of natural-woman, energetic glow to her. Most tellingly, Scott carries her robust figure (an insecurity that she has learned to love) with regal poise, sitting up straight in her seat and projecting her silky voice with confidence. Woke up feeling like I should have gotten a pay-check." Open and personable, she wears the same casual look that she favors at her concert appearances: Nike shoes and T-shirt, ankle-length bluejean skirt. Bright-eyed over breakfast at the Mondrian Hotel, this rising star of the nouveau-soul/R&B world notes-enunciating each syllable for emphasis-that she slept "like a pro-fes-sion-al. Our hip-hop isn’t the rebellious kind, but we are doing something very cool.Jill Scott is not what you'd call high-maintenance.
Maybe if the really cool rappers in America, who do ‘real hip-hop,’ look at us, it can seem a little like kids doing things. We, four girls in their twenties from different backgrounds, are using -Korean and English to weave pop music with a hip-hop base. I think Blackpink’s hip-hop is something the world hasn’t seen before. – Rosé Photography by © Peter Ash Lee for Rolling Stone If you told me to do that again, I could never. If I was going through a hard time, I’d go to the bathroom, sob my heart out, then on to the next thing, I was on autopilot or something. I feel more love for the process, because we say, ‘How about adding this in the lyrics? How about adding this move in the choreography?’ – Jisoo Photography by © Peter Ash Lee for Rolling Stone If we just received pre-made songs, it would feel mechanical. We are involved from the beginning, building the blocks, adding this or that feeling, exchanging feedback - and this process of creating makes me feel proud of our music. Photography by © Peter Ash Lee for Rolling Stone
Beauty is work of hair stylist Lee Seon Yeong, makeup artist Myungsun Lee, and manicurist Eunkyoung Park. In charge of styling was Minhee Park, with fashion direction from Alex Badia, set design by Minkyu Jeon, and production by Katt Kim at Mother. Pop sensation BLACKPINK ( Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé) takes the cover story of Rolling Stone Magazine‘s June 2022 edition lensed by fashion photographer Peter Ash Lee.