Questlove With Jill Scott Part 1

Check out Jill's interview on Questlove Supreme. One of Questlove and Team Supreme's most anticipated interviews, Jill Scott, is finally here! Her relationship with The Roots introduced her to the world through a Grammy award winning song called, “You Got Me”. Hear the story of how a talented girl from North Philly joined forces with some of Philly’s finest to stake her claim in this world of soul music and take it far beyond expectations into the lands of television and film.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Yeah, Welcome to Jay dot Com, a production of iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hey everyone, it's Amber the producer here, and I've got
some exciting We are back in the virtual studios coming
out some new episodes that I cannot wait to share.
I love our community and I miss seeing your comments
and listening to your voicemails about new episodes. So this

(00:32):
week we want to share Jill's interview on Quest Love Supreme.
She drops some never before her gems. Keep listening for
part one and check out Quest Love Supreme, which is
co hosted by our beloved Laia anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Speaker 3 (00:53):
Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio.

Speaker 4 (01:00):
Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to another episode of Quest Love Supreme.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
Here on iHeart first of all our family. What's up
like you?

Speaker 5 (01:09):
Hey?

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Yes?

Speaker 3 (01:11):
How you doing? Why? Why he give me sideye already me?

Speaker 5 (01:16):
I'm not giving you said, I'm excited?

Speaker 3 (01:18):
Are you?

Speaker 6 (01:18):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (01:18):
No, No, I know this this is.

Speaker 4 (01:22):
Let me just bypass you guys, pay Bill and far Ticolo.

Speaker 3 (01:26):
I'll get into it.

Speaker 4 (01:28):
Yeah, we've been waiting for this episode, probably longer than
we care to actually stay on the records. I don't
know why it's taken almost three and a half years
for us to finally bring to fortune. Uh the Jill
Scott episode. I can't say enough about this woman. She
helped me get my first Grammy, and I appreciate that.

(01:52):
Jill Scott, she saved my life. She gave me my
first and only hit.

Speaker 3 (01:58):
Wow, it is why.

Speaker 4 (02:03):
Only No, lady and gentlemen, No, for Jill Scott is
much more than that to me.

Speaker 3 (02:13):
She's actually, she's literally one.

Speaker 4 (02:15):
Of my favorite artists ever, accomplished poet singer.

Speaker 3 (02:20):
Actually Chris Yes, extraordinaire.

Speaker 4 (02:22):
Please welcome to Quest lof Supreme finally, one and only Jill. Wait, Joe,
what's your middle name? I'm gonna look this up on
the internet. Jill, Wait, why don't we know your Like?

Speaker 3 (02:38):
Wait a minute, Jill, did you take your middle name
off of the Internet.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
Internet?

Speaker 5 (02:43):
Yes, you did.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
Barbara probably got a black ass middle name.

Speaker 4 (02:52):
Lazy gentleman, Jill Scott, it's probably.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
I like lo retal.

Speaker 4 (03:11):
Wait, are you trying to tell me that your middle
name will never be known into the world ever?

Speaker 1 (03:16):
If you search hard enough, you'll find it.

Speaker 7 (03:19):
Is really secret. Like she didn't want to tell me
where she was at. She didn't want to tell me
where her house was.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Not even a state? Yeah, not no, because you're a
Philly for life.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yeah, no, Philly all day.

Speaker 3 (03:34):
And what.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
I just like balance, man. I try to find a
place where people don't know me at all for anything,
and I go there and it's great. We have conversations
about something and nothing. We get angry with each other
and you know, call h oo a on each other.
It's nice.

Speaker 4 (03:56):
You're trying to tell me that you you're in a
circle in which people may or may not know who
you are.

Speaker 5 (04:03):
That's right, No, not impossible. They all white.

Speaker 3 (04:06):
I believe that. I can believe it.

Speaker 7 (04:08):
Yes, possis white famous, and then there's black famous.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
Yes, and white famous yes, and the white famous and
uh no incomes text, no state income text. All that
made sense to me an Anchorage, I was like, yep,
I mean.

Speaker 3 (04:27):
Wait, there's another place that's not Delaware that does this.

Speaker 1 (04:31):
Yeah, I mean I'm in Tennessee. Oh.

Speaker 5 (04:33):
Because she said it, I was scared she was gonna
get this up if we said it.

Speaker 1 (04:37):
Yeah. I won't fight you, nigga, I'm scared of you.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
You know this.

Speaker 5 (04:45):
The first song was getting it. Let me tell you
about Basilina.

Speaker 3 (04:50):
I never forget Jill.

Speaker 8 (04:52):
Jill. I, Oh my god, story time, story time?

Speaker 4 (04:58):
Can I sell you all the There are seven words
I ever heard Jill Scott ever say. Okay, So Jill
Scott is best friend with a mutual friend of ours,
Leslie Arnette Pina. Leslie is the voice of Oh on
Lazy Afternoon or do you Want More?

Speaker 3 (05:18):
Right? So, I believe maybe this is when Leslie's cutting it.

Speaker 4 (05:24):
I'm not certain, but what I do know is that
she brought her girlfriend down to the studio with her. Now,
what makes this even crazier I'm not knowing that the
guy that Jill was once dating is also currently messing
with a roommate of someone that I lived with in
the house that I was living in during the do

(05:44):
you Want More?

Speaker 3 (05:45):
Period? This sounds like an episode of Insecure.

Speaker 1 (05:48):
This is so terrible.

Speaker 3 (05:49):
This all I know. This is all I know, terrible,
not sight n seen.

Speaker 4 (06:01):
I sat down on the couch and she must have
gotten the news that that he did her wrong. And
she said, and the most think of the most Oprah
Harpo voice you can muster up, she said, She said,

(06:30):
Jill Scott, lady.

Speaker 1 (06:30):
Gentlemen, yeah ye.

Speaker 3 (06:35):
Heather, Oh god, I don't know what I was doing.
Internet just told me I don't know what I was doing.

Speaker 4 (06:45):
I was either midshew, I don't know if I was
at my lunch or reading something. But I was like, oh,
I'm scared of this woman forever.

Speaker 5 (06:53):
What happened to him, what happened to was gonna get
cut off.

Speaker 6 (06:56):
What happened.

Speaker 1 (06:57):
Let's see. What do I know?

Speaker 3 (06:58):
I know that and the story at the house.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
I can't tell you the rest. It's so bad. I
think the.

Speaker 3 (07:06):
Special limitations is that I think you can in Okay.

Speaker 1 (07:09):
So I went to the house. I went to the house,
and and she was there at the house right right right,
drinking my kool aid out of the glass I bought. YEP,
I happened to have a razor blade.

Speaker 4 (07:33):
Oh boy, all right, this is question of supreme min
Thank you, school next week and gentlemen, love.

Speaker 3 (07:42):
Yeah, keep going.

Speaker 1 (07:45):
Everyone lived, Everyone lived, but his wardrobe didn't live. Ah,
his wardrobe didn't live.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
Kind of everything and everything era.

Speaker 1 (08:02):
Hockey era everything and.

Speaker 3 (08:09):
Where you can.

Speaker 4 (08:11):
Settle something for me, Jill, was he at all? Was
he at all involved in music? Because I have another
issue with him three weeks later. Now, mind you, this
guy is messing with a girl that lives in my house,
and he steals my drum machine.

Speaker 3 (08:30):
Dog.

Speaker 4 (08:31):
I put two and two together way after the fact,
like you all just tarantinoed your way into my timeline,
and then I had to put the story together to
realize what was going on. But he also, I have
reason to believe that he stole one of my drum
machines that house probably, and so yeah, but that's how,

(08:53):
that's how I And then the second time, But the
second time, Jill was made three grand entrances in my
life before I even started a real conversation with her. Now,
the second one was a little blurry because at the
time I was at Richmond Diena's house. It was like

(09:14):
a barbecue whatever, and it was like a spades tournament.
And one of my greatest shames is also I learned late, right,
So that part's a little blurry, But I remember Jill there.
But the third time with meeting Jill was at a
poetry slam in West Philadelphia around fifty fourth and Baltimore Avenue.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
I don't remember this.

Speaker 4 (09:40):
You don't remember this, no, you all right, So I
believe either Torpeter Mason introduced you somebody a fellow poet
introduced you and you cut her off before. It was like,
ladies and gentlemen, we're going to bring up someone to
the stage. And and then all of a sudden, from

(10:02):
the back you went into Jodesses freaking you from So
it was like, ladies and gentlemen, Okay, that was Ursula
Rucker of Richmond, Tina and you know coming up next
as a sister from North Philadelphia.

Speaker 6 (10:20):
She was right, But no, man, it was like, you
know how like Felicia was shot over Nuanzi eight where
it's like like her last name is Alan, like Felicia
Airs Allen or Debbie Allen.

Speaker 4 (10:37):
From the back of the room. Every time I closed
and we lost our ghosts, like who the fuck is this?
And she's just like slowly walked to the stage. It
was like our tongues were collectively wagging, like the.

Speaker 1 (10:57):
And I don't remember that at all?

Speaker 8 (10:59):
Did I miss out on Jill sexy poet? Like whole
sexual poetry thing?

Speaker 3 (11:03):
That dog you weren't there for that? I heard enough
to be fucking yeah, nineteen ninety nine, I think you
got it be in.

Speaker 1 (11:09):
Sixteen, Oh pudding, pudn't there's a.

Speaker 4 (11:16):
Wink in there, No, but I believe two three weeks
later this is when you got me sort of.

Speaker 3 (11:24):
You started coming around the Sigma with Scott.

Speaker 5 (11:26):
So Nope, no, Jill, tell a story.

Speaker 1 (11:30):
No, No, I don't. I don't remember Baltimore. It was
so much poetry at the time. We were everywhere trying
to earn fifteen dollars anywhere, Bob mits was birthday parties,
at theaters, libraries. I was everywhere, just trying to earn
a living as a poet. So I really don't remember that.
But I do remember the night I met yo As Now.

(11:54):
We were on a I'm trying to remember the brother's name.
He had a small record store, and he had closed
the record store out for the evening so people could read.
I think Rich might have been DJing.

Speaker 3 (12:09):
That was Rich's spot. Oh, Keith my current my current
product man.

Speaker 1 (12:23):
Years later, Yeah, it was Keith.

Speaker 3 (12:25):
Look at that, Okay, Yes, in South Philly.

Speaker 1 (12:29):
Yes, So I think we were there, if I'm not mistaken.
And I read something and I came off and you
said you do you write songs? And I lied, I
said yes, which I did not do, and you were like, okay, Bet,
I'm going to hook you up. You should come to
the studio. Had I been to a studio yet? I

(12:49):
don't even think I had been to a studio anywhere
except for the night I met you at a Sigma
Sigma sound where I met you, that was the first
time I had ever been in studio. This will be
the second. So you hooked me up with Scott Storch,
who I knew only because I had seen him play

(13:09):
in the keys at every jam session and every time
that I saw you guys perform. You know, Scott was there.
You You asked me if I could write a song.
I said, okay, didn't know how at all. And we
sat there and Scott and I got blazed for like,
I don't know, like ho.

Speaker 3 (13:27):
So you just wing you Got Me experience?

Speaker 5 (13:34):
Was that the first generation? Like you gave him your
first draft or you yeah?

Speaker 4 (13:39):
Wow, Yeah, there were seven songs, but you got Me.
I still that cassette You Got Me was number three.
You worked on seven sketches. You Got Me was number three,
And when I heard it, I said to myself, this
song is going to change my life. I knew ten
seconds in when you sing it, I was like, this

(14:00):
HiT's going to change my life. And instantly ran downstairs
to Dave Ivory's room and Scott happened to be there,
and we just cut it right on the spot because
I knew I wanted to get it out the way
before like Rich and Tariq caught demo itis.

Speaker 3 (14:17):
I was like, this song's going to change my life.

Speaker 4 (14:19):
So before Rich and Tarik hear it in its current
state and get demo itis and be like Nope, this
is the version of that we're going to I was like,
let me do the drums right now, and then there's
there's a whole nother, like eight hour story of even
the battle of drum and bass music at the end
of it that dog because then it was like, dude,

(14:41):
why are you why are you going to ruin the song?
Like just be like Rich was Rich's whole John was like, look,
stay straight ahead whatever, and I was like, no, this
is a drumming bass song because initially I wanted the
whole song to be that, and Rich was like no, yeah,
keep it straight ahead and da da da, so you know,
and the compromise of it all was like Okay, at

(15:01):
the end, you get your little prize at the in
the Cereal box.

Speaker 3 (15:05):
Okay, here we're.

Speaker 8 (15:07):
Still waiting for that part too, Like I just knew
it was just every time you talked about that story,
I'm gonna just say it should have been part two
to that song.

Speaker 1 (15:15):
We had part two, part three. We ended up having
so many versions of the songs from Live.

Speaker 3 (15:22):
Yeah the Roots on the Things Fall apart box two.

Speaker 1 (15:26):
Dollars bill performance. That's probably still one of my favorites
ever in DC.

Speaker 3 (15:31):
Right, yep, wait a minute, Wait a minute, wait a minute,
was there?

Speaker 1 (15:34):
We are?

Speaker 3 (15:36):
We are, we're jumping the gun. We're in nineteen ninety nine,
Jill Scott. Yeah, where were you born? Where were you born?

Speaker 1 (15:49):
At Albert Einstein Hospital in Philadelphia?

Speaker 5 (15:53):
You want to be one on Blue N O R
F Northfield O N O R yep, Northfield?

Speaker 3 (16:00):
Where? Okay? Where in?

Speaker 4 (16:02):
Because North Phillies is anything above Broad Street to me
like a old Gotts Avenue or like, what what's like
here in North Philly?

Speaker 1 (16:12):
I'm twenty third in le High Oh yeah, Lee High,
Broad and Lee High Avenue.

Speaker 3 (16:16):
Okay, that's banging now what was it then?

Speaker 5 (16:20):
It was it was the bottom?

Speaker 1 (16:21):
Yikes, it was the bottom.

Speaker 3 (16:23):
Then that's near j Street.

Speaker 1 (16:26):
I don't know Jade Street all right, it's.

Speaker 5 (16:31):
In the big shooting, like really that.

Speaker 1 (16:33):
Many many, many shootings. You know where Dobbins is, Dobbins
Vocational High School. I taught there for a couple of months,
but I lived around the corner from Godlins.

Speaker 3 (16:46):
You're a school teacher too.

Speaker 1 (16:48):
I'm an English teacher.

Speaker 3 (16:49):
Wow here Harley.

Speaker 4 (16:51):
New Ye.

Speaker 3 (16:55):
Okay, So in growing up in Philadelphia, like.

Speaker 4 (16:59):
All right, first of all, how did you Because the
thing is that if you're saying you're in North Philly,
especially growing up in the eighties, getting out of North
Philly is an achievement.

Speaker 3 (17:10):
On its own.

Speaker 1 (17:11):
Yes, indeed, sir, So.

Speaker 3 (17:13):
What was life like navigating through North Philadelphia?

Speaker 1 (17:17):
You know what I really you know, I know that
it was tough. I know that there was there was
a lot of murders. There were a lot I lost
a lot of like, well, we all lost a lot
of young men. Early one summer, we lost like seven
young guys. You know, I knew them all. They were
drug dealers, but I you know the drug dealers that

(17:40):
I knew. They carried my mom's groceries home. You know,
they wrote me poetry. They said on they said on
my steps, and let me read the Megarallen Poe. You
know they were They were sweet to me, and I
know it seems absurd to some people, but I had
a very, very idyllic uh concept of the hood. It was.

(18:02):
It was beautiful, you know. There was neighbors who played
the guitar and kept their screens open and so you
could hear it. There were neighbors that everybody swept, you know.
And then then Krack came. Crack came like a thief
in the night and just destroyed everything good not everything.

(18:23):
There were still good people around, but it made it
really hard. You know. I definitely got shot at. I
definitely had to fight a lot, and then I thought
of ways of trying to not hurt anybody because I
thought I was going to end up in jail if
I didn't figure it out. So, you know, my mom

(18:44):
took me to Juvie. I saw some stuff in there
and I was like, Okay, I don't have to worry
about me.

Speaker 3 (18:50):
You went to juv No, she took me to Juvie
on some scared straight John.

Speaker 1 (18:55):
Yeah, before there was a scared straight. She was like,
you should you know, I get She didn't tell me
where were going. We just got on the thirty three
and we got off and ended up in Juvie. It
was a whole bunch of girls that looked a lot
like me, that looked like they had been through hell
in a basket. You know. I heard a couple of
horrible stories about being in Juvie, and I was like,

(19:16):
I'm good, Like, I have to find a way to
survive without fighting, without having to defend myself because I
don't you know, I'm not the kind of person that
just puts my hands up and we're going to fight
and it's over. You know, I don't know how to
stop because I'm kind. You know. It might so terrible,

(19:37):
but I am. I don't want to hurt anybody. So
I'm in a position where in order to survive, I'm
going to have to hurt somebody pretty badly and they
may not make it. So I figured out other ways.
I step to everybody. I don't well, I do, I do.
I have a sister from my father.

Speaker 3 (20:00):
But you grew up the loon child in yeah household.
Yeah you didn't have a story. I'm gonna get my
cousin to fuck you up.

Speaker 1 (20:08):
Like there's none of that. My cousins hated. My cousins hated.

Speaker 8 (20:14):
I could read through her words that Jill didn't have
a problem being able to fight, because that was the
problem that you were started being good at it.

Speaker 5 (20:20):
It sounded like like you It wasn't.

Speaker 1 (20:23):
I don't. I would never call it.

Speaker 5 (20:24):
I think it.

Speaker 1 (20:27):
Was.

Speaker 5 (20:27):
It was you didn't lose that too often.

Speaker 1 (20:30):
It wasn't. It just wasn't fair. You know. I didn't
know how to stop. I didn't know how to win
a fight and stop, so I don't really I try
my best not to be in that position, to the
to the very end, to the bitter end, to the
you're going to jail in. And I didn't want that
for myself. I was scared of it. So I embraced

(20:53):
every possible way to be kind and loving and open
in my hood. So and try at the same time
not to be a sucker, you know, to get played
by the crackheads or by the drug dealers. But you know,
be friendly and be nice and be helpful where you can,
but not give anybody money because if you give crackheads

(21:15):
money to come back the next day like a squirrel,
you know. So, you know, trying to find that balance
to navigate living or dying. And yes, it was very
hard to get out of North Philly. So I worked
three jobs and did poetry and hoped that I could
make some kind of a living. God in Dobbins High

(21:38):
School was teaching English. It was dope. I loved it,
but they weren't very helpful.

Speaker 3 (21:44):
Good got in and subsequently went back there to teach.

Speaker 4 (21:48):
No.

Speaker 1 (21:48):
I went to Girls High okay, but I taught at
Dobbins and I realized I wasn't going to make any money,
which is so foul to this day. That I wasn't
going to make any money and I wasn't gonna have
any kind of support. There's no support for teachers. My
principal told me I was young and idealistic and I
would get over it, and I quit. I quit everything

(22:12):
that day, like this sucks. There's gotta be something else.
And then Ozzi Jones, I don't know if you got
y'all know, Izzy Yes Jones. Izzy Jones called me the
day I quit everything and said, Yo, there's an apprenticeship
at the Ardent Theater Company. Do you want to try

(22:32):
out for it? It's one hundred and fifty dollars a week.
You're gonna end up working somewhere between fourteen and sixteen
hours a week, but you'll get free acting classes and
you'll learn everything about theater. What do you say? And
I auditioned, and I had several meetings and I was

(22:53):
the oldest and the only black person in the building.
One thing begat another. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (23:01):
So wait, so no freedom theater, none of this stuff
ever comes.

Speaker 5 (23:05):
Into your No, I wish I couldn't afford.

Speaker 3 (23:08):
We're singing in church as as a young like, none of.

Speaker 1 (23:10):
That didn't grow up in church.

Speaker 5 (23:13):
Wait, so that meant that story about you?

Speaker 8 (23:15):
It was a story about you not being a part
of freedom, but that like you actually used to help
clean up and do stuff around the building.

Speaker 5 (23:21):
That's not true.

Speaker 1 (23:22):
The cleaning up part came later when I was in college.
But that was that was just because I thought it
was dope. But I couldn't afford classes.

Speaker 3 (23:33):
Where'd you go to school?

Speaker 9 (23:35):
Temple?

Speaker 1 (23:38):
Which one? I went for two years and I took
off a year, went for three years, took off two years,
came back.

Speaker 3 (23:51):
Were major No.

Speaker 1 (23:53):
No, I don't even know how many times I went
to Temple. I don't It was just a blur, I
swear to you. I just was trying to finish, to
be the one in my family who finished school, and
you know, they ended up giving me a honorary PhD,
which I took. And I took that Scott, Scott, I

(24:17):
went that on my passports so bad.

Speaker 3 (24:20):
I don't know how to get that done.

Speaker 1 (24:22):
I'm trying to tell you the first, the first degree
I earned. After that, they gave me the next and
the next book. I'm cool with it. I'm good with it.

Speaker 3 (24:31):
Damn, Jill. I would have I would have known you, children, yo, I.

Speaker 1 (24:36):
Got in the creative and performing arts. I really would
have known you.

Speaker 3 (24:39):
I could have went to Kapa.

Speaker 1 (24:41):
Why got into both schools to girls Hiding and Kappa.

Speaker 5 (24:45):
And I was terrified.

Speaker 1 (24:47):
I was terrified of that neighborhood. I was like, I
already got enough ship. Now I'm going to South Philly neighborhood.
I'm scared, like they're gonna kill me. They're gonna try to.

Speaker 3 (25:00):
All day. Julie pronounced it scared s k A E
r d T scared.

Speaker 5 (25:07):
I was scared.

Speaker 1 (25:09):
I was like, they're going to kill me. I can't
go here. That was at the audition, and I changed
my mind and I got in as a writer.

Speaker 3 (25:19):
You were creative writing major.

Speaker 1 (25:21):
I was a creative I would have been the English teacher. Yeah,
I would have been, but I changed my mind and
went to girls high instead.

Speaker 3 (25:30):
It's crazy. Okay, okay, so wait, did you know Sean
in high school? I did?

Speaker 1 (25:35):
We went on together?

Speaker 3 (25:36):
Manager you know Sean in high school?

Speaker 5 (25:44):
Said she just said that.

Speaker 1 (25:48):
Yeah, but we weren't sure you were. No, we went
on the prom together. We all went and sat together.

Speaker 3 (25:58):
We were Yeah.

Speaker 1 (26:00):
How many Sean?

Speaker 4 (26:02):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (26:02):
It was me and my date, him and his date,
Court and in his date, so it was six of us.
That's right.

Speaker 5 (26:14):
Wow, that's dope. That a story of you and Sean,
Like what an evolution?

Speaker 1 (26:19):
Oh yeah, I think I met him when I was
I was fourteen. I had to be fourteen or fifteen.
I think I might have been fifteen. But I got
pictures of young showing in my office somewhere.

Speaker 3 (26:31):
We need this blackmail material. Oh come on, y'all.

Speaker 4 (26:36):
Oh wait, damn I know, wait a damn ship because
I know San's gonna listen to this episode.

Speaker 3 (26:44):
I got some really good on showing you got you
got some tapes?

Speaker 5 (26:52):
You got some rap tapes?

Speaker 3 (26:53):
What you got?

Speaker 5 (26:54):
What you got rap tapes?

Speaker 1 (26:55):
Man?

Speaker 4 (26:56):
I scowled the earth for Showing's record. Oh my god,
are you gonna pull up all right? Well wait, here's
the here's the thing.

Speaker 3 (27:07):
No, I got it. And he you know, like he
sounds like it's straight. He's straight ll eighty five.

Speaker 5 (27:16):
Like right now, he said he talked to his whole style.
That's what he says.

Speaker 3 (27:28):
Sounds.

Speaker 4 (27:29):
But the thing is that Sean was like the family
star Tarika Fomo because like, you know, Thanksgiving, Sean asked
twelve and shingle out and was getting played on local radio.
Bluie b was like, you know, and Tarik was like,
where they get a load of me? And then that's
what inspired to Rek to like step up.

Speaker 5 (27:52):
That Sean and Tarka are cousins because most.

Speaker 3 (27:54):
People, yeah, but this is where it even goes deeper.

Speaker 4 (27:59):
Angela and Whistle my Angie former Okay player partner in
current write writer at Mixed Dish one day she asked
me for like some interstitial rap music, Like do I
know like a real cheap, random rap song that's like
kind of bad from like nineteen eighty five eighty six,
like when they do a flashback thing like that time

(28:21):
back in nineteen eighty five.

Speaker 3 (28:23):
Yeah, then right, and so I was this close to
getting that song clear on mixed dish.

Speaker 4 (28:29):
But I would have had to I would have to
been the owner of the publishing to make it happen.

Speaker 3 (28:36):
Damn.

Speaker 4 (28:37):
Oh god, yeah, because I wanted to be something where
like Shorans is watching TV.

Speaker 3 (28:42):
And it just just hurt fem.

Speaker 1 (28:48):
How do I get this?

Speaker 3 (28:50):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (28:50):
Still, since I get off this phone, I will send
it to you. Oh man, I've been saving. I've been
saving this record for like the home to dry it.

Speaker 1 (29:00):
I say, you know what I want to I mean,
I want to hear the other six songs that Scott
and I did. What happened to them? I don't know
if you have them, but I'm curious because, yeah, my
first time with Scott not having Babbage, not having baggage

(29:21):
right Babbage?

Speaker 5 (29:22):
Babbage?

Speaker 1 (29:22):
Oh Babbage right Babbage?

Speaker 3 (29:26):
Oh real weird?

Speaker 1 (29:28):
Yeah yeah, Scott, Scott was on the whole other level.
I was like, wait, wait, wow, this is this is wonderful,
this is a beautiful sensation.

Speaker 9 (29:46):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (29:47):
Yeah, that was Scott's at work.

Speaker 4 (29:50):
At what point, even though you didn't have a traditional
church experience or community theater experience as most of our
guests do. Oh like, where does music play in your life?
For at least the first four mintive years like your
first eight years. Like, what was the first record you
ever brought of? The first content you went to?

Speaker 3 (30:10):
And were you allowed to?

Speaker 4 (30:12):
Uh?

Speaker 5 (30:14):
I said, was she allowed to have it?

Speaker 1 (30:15):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (30:16):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (30:17):
Wait yeah right.

Speaker 1 (30:20):
Blowing a dark record player?

Speaker 3 (30:23):
I was allowed.

Speaker 1 (30:25):
Let's see, I my first record. I don't know the
first record, but I took The Whiz to my third
grade show and tell and everybody hated it. I was devastated.
Something was wrong with those people.

Speaker 3 (30:39):
You play.

Speaker 5 (30:41):
And they hated it?

Speaker 4 (30:42):
So you brought the records to school? Yes, and they
didn't appreciate it as much at all.

Speaker 1 (30:48):
They thought it was awful. They booed. I was like,
you're all insane. I'm out of here.

Speaker 5 (30:54):
What was your jam on the record?

Speaker 2 (30:55):
Jail?

Speaker 8 (30:56):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (30:57):
Brandon Day? You know how I know how you are
about the Wiz, Like, yes, the Wiz poster is in
a frame above my son's toilet.

Speaker 3 (31:09):
I think the Wiz is a great horror movie. Dude.

Speaker 1 (31:18):
You know what.

Speaker 3 (31:20):
The Wiz is a hard cell.

Speaker 1 (31:23):
It is.

Speaker 4 (31:25):
One night, one night, I just I conducted experiment. It
was one of these nights where where we had like
Thanksgiving run uh, like a tour. I had Thanksgiving off
but not enough to really like plan anything with family.
So this time I was stuck with a bunch of
people that I work with. We call them white people,

(31:47):
and I was just wondering when you were to me,
and I was like, I want to see how white.

Speaker 3 (31:58):
People react to the Wiz. Oh this is good, yo.

Speaker 4 (32:03):
It freaked them out. It was to them it was
like an acid trip, like watching the Wiz through their eyes.
Then they were like, Yo, this is the scariest ship
we have ever seen.

Speaker 7 (32:14):
Like now as a kid, like watching the Wiz and
when Eveline's when her nails nails go.

Speaker 3 (32:21):
Backwards and get the fun out of that.

Speaker 5 (32:23):
Man.

Speaker 3 (32:26):
That was I think we were just happening to see
black people.

Speaker 7 (32:30):
I think that's what it was. We was like, we
got Michael Jackson, we got Dan A. Ross, So we're
just happen to see black people acting.

Speaker 1 (32:36):
But but the metaphors were so perfect. Black man can't
catch cab in New York City, Yeah, the young woman
who can't get out of the house, you know, still
living at home with her mama. You know, all of
those things that were actually occurring to poppy fields or
the hookers on the street, you know, all of that

(32:58):
it was. The metaphors were for the hood.

Speaker 4 (33:01):
It was.

Speaker 1 (33:02):
It was wonderful. As a writer, I just fell in love.
And then I met Quincy Jones and was like, I
just looked on you with the third grade. He was like,
I hated that. I hated that whole moment of it.

Speaker 5 (33:16):
Charlie, Yeah, Charlie. They hated each other. Well, he hated
Charlie because.

Speaker 3 (33:21):
It's you know what it was.

Speaker 4 (33:23):
Okay, as as the elder statesman of this crew, because
you all were three at the time when it came out,
I'm saying that to watch like the morning that it
came out, and to watch it in its first run,
I had to stand I had to stand in line
for three and a half hours.

Speaker 3 (33:45):
You remember the Sam Eric the movies, like you saw it,
you know, I'm just saying, yeah, that's a certain thing.
I was just like, oh shit, no, no, no, no,
the Wiz you.

Speaker 4 (34:00):
I think I think now that I'm looking in hindsight,
the excitement and the build up to what The Whiz was.

Speaker 3 (34:07):
Was probably better than the movie itself.

Speaker 4 (34:11):
No, no, I'm not saying that it was a bad film,
because this is the thing we have to know, Like
Sidney Lament, technically lost his career after The Whiz, like
after batting out the Park with like Dark Day Afternoon
was the one. Yeah, all these other films that he did,
I think he did Cerpaco and The Wiz was seen

(34:33):
as a failure now, you know. And I also have
issues with how black films are judged by non black critics.

Speaker 3 (34:43):
Yeah, by higher level.

Speaker 4 (34:45):
So I know that there is also points off of
that of just crulturally not understanding a tony.

Speaker 5 (34:50):
I mean, what are we talking about it?

Speaker 3 (34:53):
I know, but the Whiz is a hard sell now.
Recently watching it, it's a heart cell.

Speaker 4 (35:00):
Recently watching it, I realized what Jill was saying, like,
oh man, there's a lot of The Whiz could also
be like a self esteem motivational package because I saw
it in a whole different light now post therapy, life
coach and that stuff.

Speaker 3 (35:19):
And then I was like, oh, okay, I see the
lessons alive.

Speaker 5 (35:25):
You're standing stroll, Steve.

Speaker 3 (35:29):
Have you ever seen I saw The Wiz and I
saw the sequel, Whiz Wit. Wait what I thought that
joke would do better? I don't say there's a try
to keep up the Wiz reloaded.

Speaker 1 (35:55):
I wanted another one. I really I still want another one,
but it couldn't.

Speaker 7 (36:00):
Okay, So what's the second what's this plot line of
the Wiz? What's the second? What would be the next
the sequel in the Wiz? Like, what's the storyline?

Speaker 1 (36:08):
It would have to be a lost Dorothy. A lost
Dorothy meaning she doesn't know who she is or how
to be. She's trapped in a world where she's uh,
I don't know, weaved out and uh contacted and.

Speaker 3 (36:30):
Wow what it may be.

Speaker 1 (36:32):
But I think I think there's a lot of like
that going.

Speaker 3 (36:35):
On Black version of Wicked, just like they have it now.

Speaker 1 (36:39):
You know. I love Wicked because it was so good.

Speaker 7 (36:44):
The sequel to the Wizard of Oz was like, Yeah,
what's better the movie or the soundtrack.

Speaker 1 (36:52):
For the Whiz. Yeah, I'm gonna go with the movie.

Speaker 3 (36:55):
Because there's dancing. Aw the soundtrack doesn't make sense unless
you've seen the movie.

Speaker 4 (37:00):
And it's weird because the soundtrack is technically a story.
It's a movie without visuals, which is why I think
it was a hard sell for Jill to get a
bunch of third kids.

Speaker 1 (37:12):
Third and fourth grade class home homer.

Speaker 3 (37:16):
Teachers for them, No, I was a student, Okay, Yeah,
they booed.

Speaker 5 (37:23):
Live anywhere. Y'all think home can live anywhere?

Speaker 1 (37:27):
Yeah, but what does that mean?

Speaker 5 (37:28):
What does home mean of the song?

Speaker 1 (37:30):
I'm just saying the song, Oh yeah, anywhere, anytime, anybody.
But I wouldn't want to see. I wouldn't want to
see like pop stars sing it. I wouldn't want to see.
I would like to see, like, grab some folks out
of Juilliard, you know, and have them portray these incredible
people to make it stick to so it has ribs,

(37:50):
you know, not just you know, fancy characters. I don't
want to see that. I would like to. I would
like Dorothy to have guts. I would like her to
be afraid.

Speaker 4 (38:00):
What was it like for you to perform the in
front of Michael Jackson at the thirtieth anniversary performance?

Speaker 3 (38:06):
Or was that just a weird experience altogether?

Speaker 1 (38:09):
It was a very strange experience. I got there and it, honestly,
it felt like nobody was there about before Michael Jackson,
no one, And that bothered me a lot because I
had turned down a role with Denzel Washington to be
there because I really really wanted to honor Michael Jackson,

(38:30):
and I was doing the Wiz so it meant a
lot to me, and I got there and it just
felt like nobody was about it, like nobody was really
there to honor him. And I remember getting on stage
and now they've added other people to this performance, which
really frustrated me. Too great artists, but I just that's

(38:51):
not what I had in mind. And anyway, long story
short idea was to do what Too's do. You can't win,
to have a scare crows, the whole thing, the dancing.
I think they had Fatima on board at the time
to choreograph the thing. I wanted to present him the whiz,

(39:12):
you know, the way that he did it as best
as I could with all of my heart. And uh,
that didn't work out. They kept adding other people and
then added something from the Wizard of Oz to honor
e Liza Minelli, who was his homegirl, and I was like,
what the fuck? And I got on stage and I
looked to the left and there was Michael Jackson. He

(39:36):
he was paper white. It wasn't like it wasn't any
kind of human white.

Speaker 3 (39:42):
He was.

Speaker 1 (39:43):
He was paper white. And I didn't want to look anymore.
I was like trying to hold back tears doing the
performance because he was sitting Liza uh not E, Liza Manlly,
Liz Taylor was sitting on one side of him, and
Macaulay Coughtin was sitting on the other. He didn't he
just didn't even look like a person. He was there.

(40:03):
But when I tell you that color was not a
people color, it just it was. It hurt me. It
hurt me. And I get off stage and I'm all upset.
I'm so upset and everybody's so happy. I feels crazy.
When you're in the midst of this business and something
impacts you in a way, you know you're, yeah, in

(40:26):
the midst of it. Like so, I get off stage
and everybody's celebrating and how great that was, and I
can't even hear them. And then I turn my head
and there's Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston and why Bobby,
I mean Whitney Houston, God rest her soul walks over
and I'm trying to get myself together and I look

(40:49):
down and all I could think was that her her
knees were bigger than her thighs. My heart is racing,
and I just I cried the rest of the night.
I just I just could not stop crying. I could
not get myself together because these are people that I
admired and respected and wanted them to be okay, you know,

(41:12):
I wanted them to be healthy and thrive, and they
just weren't. They just they just weren't. What year was
this two thousand and one and the next day was
nine eleven, the next day was nine eleven.

Speaker 3 (41:27):
Because I know that there were I don't know, I
only had.

Speaker 1 (41:30):
I did one and then I saw it. It was
on TV one night years later, and I wasn't even
in it, and I was.

Speaker 5 (41:37):
Like, did you ever get to circle back? And like,
did you ever speak with him? Did you ever get
to have contact with Michael?

Speaker 1 (41:43):
I just talked to him on the phone. He called
me one time to say that he liked me, and
you know, that was it. I was on tour and uh,
he just called to say that he liked me and
he was going to send me a hat that I
never got. Mhm, oh yeah, I didn't. I didn't like
that Michael Jackson thing. I know you don't know. I'm

(42:07):
you've had.

Speaker 8 (42:08):
You must have had quite a few moments of like
those industry clarity moments. I know Fonte has them all
the time too. When you just like, this is where
I wanted to be.

Speaker 3 (42:15):
Man, you mean as far as diminist returns are concerned.

Speaker 5 (42:18):
Yeah, I mean reality of this reality?

Speaker 3 (42:22):
So how long is it before it kicks into you?

Speaker 4 (42:25):
Now? I got into an unfortunate place where the only
way that I could navigate my way through those disappointments
was to then lower myself and lower my spirit to
a place where I constantly.

Speaker 3 (42:41):
Just came in itself to be disappointed exactly, which.

Speaker 4 (42:46):
Is really putting a band aid over a bullet wound
because it might help cope with that moment, but in
the long run, that didn't service like my soul or
my being and enjoying life and that sort of thing,
because then, I mean, you do that for ten years
and then you become cynical, and then you become evil,

(43:07):
and then you become I mean it's just levels of
low self esteem and all that stuff. So I mean,
how long was it until, like, for you, was there
ever a point where you're just like, oh, all my
idols might disappoint me, or let me not meet them,
and let me not take this phone call or have

(43:30):
this lunch with this person. You know, I didn't even
know you could have access to Michael Jackson. I'm like,
wait a minute, you had Prince. Yeah, yeah, but meeting
him was a very big be careful for what you
ask for it because I meant, I'm not saying it
wasn't idea. I mean we had great moments where it

(43:50):
was fun and it was like everything I dreamed about
playing with my idol.

Speaker 3 (43:54):
But there were a lot of I mean you've seen
that stuff.

Speaker 4 (43:56):
There are a lot of moments that were like, ah, man,
it was better off in my head, the idea in
my head of Prince than what I got dealt with.

Speaker 1 (44:06):
There are a couple of things. One is I'm really
grateful that I grew up as a jehovah'switness. I had
posters of New Addition on my wall. I loved them.
I talked to them my grandmother. I came home one
day and my grandmother took all my posters down and
she said, you're idolizing these boys. And I was like, no,
I'm not, No, I'm not. And She's like, you're in
there talking to them and telling them how you feel.

(44:29):
They're they're people. No man is above you and no
man is beneath you. I was devastating I didn't like
my grandmother for a long time.

Speaker 3 (44:36):
That's really shit. Yeah, they cost you.

Speaker 1 (44:41):
This is the shits of it all. You have these
dreams and you have these ideas of what the world
is supposed to be like, and it is what it is.
So what do I do? I take the good wherever
I can find it, and I hold on to that
as hard as I can. That's all I can do.
The rest. I see it for what it is, and
you know, I'll oh forgive it for because it's whack.

(45:04):
You know, I'll just forgive it because just cousin, keep pushing.
There's no need to hold on to that. Shit is
disturbing and disappointing.

Speaker 7 (45:15):
But you know, has there been times in your career
where it may have been someone that you met, like
a younger artist or just anyone where you think you
may have came across the wrong way to them and
kind of in the disappointment of them and you had
to kind of go back and clear up and be like, yo,
I didn't really mean it that way, or whatever, like,
have you ever found yourself on that side of the transaction.

Speaker 1 (45:36):
I'm certain, I'm certain because I'm not you know, perfect,
I'm certain that they caught me in the middle of
something and I'm trying to deal, just to deal. I remember,
this is a you know, an advanced artist. But I
saw Sha Ka Khan. I was so excited. I was like,
oh my god, you're so beautiful, your peace. I just

(45:57):
love you so much. And I were at the Grammys.
I think I won that time. So I'm walking around like, oh, ship,
you know, I want to write shoes. I wore flip flops,
you know, don't hurt, so my personality is good, you know,
I'm so excited. And one of her folks comes over
to me and they're like, miss miss Khan is upset

(46:17):
with you. I said, miss Khan, who this a Shakaka.

Speaker 3 (46:20):
Is upset with me?

Speaker 1 (46:23):
So I don't know, but I'm going over there to
find out because it's Shaka Khana and I love her.
So I go over there and she was like, you
called me a beast.

Speaker 3 (46:32):
And I was like, wow, I'm glad.

Speaker 1 (46:46):
I'm so glad that I had the good sense to
go over there. We laughed hysterically. I was like, you
know what, but.

Speaker 5 (46:57):
Whatever, Like, who got the gall to say that? Ship
to you?

Speaker 3 (47:00):
Ms com for real?

Speaker 1 (47:02):
And me me, you know, how could I call? I
was like, Oh my god, this is this is crazy
but very funny. These things happen.

Speaker 4 (47:17):
These things happen, Jill, what are the what are the
beginning steps that starts with you getting your record deal?

Speaker 3 (47:27):
Wait a minute, First of all, can you clear up something?
I'll try What was is Hidden Beach Michael Jordan's label?

Speaker 4 (47:35):
And I'm only asking this because I'm so obsessed with
the ESPN thirty for thirty Michael Jordan's.

Speaker 3 (47:40):
Last dance documentary thing? Yeah I was. I think I
was told that Hidden Beach was his label or something
like like, what is what was Hidden Beach?

Speaker 9 (47:51):
Well?

Speaker 1 (47:51):
Hidden Beach Steve m Michael Jordan's invested.

Speaker 3 (47:58):
Oh okay, so here's this.

Speaker 1 (47:59):
Was I think, like the major investor in the face.

Speaker 4 (48:02):
Of At the time, I didn't know if if Steve
or Michael, if Michael like started the label and then
had him running or whatever.

Speaker 1 (48:10):
No, but it was it was incredible to be around him,
and uh, he certainly put me in really nice rooms. Sure, yeah, yeah,
he kind of liked me a little bit, and I
was glad I got a chance to see some things
and taste some things I didn't know existed. I was like,

(48:30):
what is this you say, don't.

Speaker 7 (48:36):
Yeah, one of my buddies of mine, a buddy mine
from down here, Charles Whitfield. He was around at that time.
And yeah, I've heard a lot of those stories, the
m J stories.

Speaker 1 (48:47):
A while, went to parties, he was parties all that
it was.

Speaker 5 (48:53):
It was great.

Speaker 1 (48:54):
I don't know bulet. You're gonna tell me.

Speaker 3 (49:00):
What the bulet?

Speaker 5 (49:01):
The bulet is the black scal.

Speaker 3 (49:02):
Bones and bones and you know, like Illuminati.

Speaker 5 (49:06):
Yeah, the black called the Bulet.

Speaker 1 (49:09):
Didn't want me.

Speaker 5 (49:10):
Okay, they didn't want me. They were like they recruiting
one of my DC friends.

Speaker 3 (49:15):
Bill.

Speaker 5 (49:16):
That's not for you to know, my friend, clearly.

Speaker 3 (49:19):
Thank you. You don't know what, Bill, I don't want
to join society.

Speaker 5 (49:26):
It's the black, the black skulling.

Speaker 3 (49:28):
Black skull boats.

Speaker 1 (49:29):
Okay, they never wanted me.

Speaker 3 (49:31):
Ever, I didn't get for I didn't give my bulet.
I mean, it's real quiet because it's in it, lit
be in it. Tell us Ji, So you've known Amir
for a long time, longer than you know of us.

(49:52):
Have God? You see him evolve? Who was the who
was the person you met?

Speaker 8 (49:57):
You know?

Speaker 3 (49:57):
Twenty this question? She's next? How have you seen wow.

Speaker 5 (50:06):
Okay, in the.

Speaker 1 (50:11):
In the beginning, he was so quiet. He hardly ever
said anything to me. He barely ever looked me in
the face. And you in my line, you would hardly
ever looked me in the face. And I was coming
and I was give me a hug, give me a hug.
And I had to you know, like, actually.

Speaker 5 (50:33):
Years ago were more lovely than you were.

Speaker 1 (50:36):
Rich was a lovey I want to you know, do
you remember you had played? I was on the road
with you guys. You had played or something, and you
were really tired. And I was like, well, let me
massage your ankles. Do you remember this? And I came
to your room and massaged your ankles and you fell asleep.

Speaker 3 (51:00):
That's my jail.

Speaker 5 (51:01):
By the way, we were like, I don't even let
my fucker see my ankles.

Speaker 3 (51:07):
He's very sexy.

Speaker 1 (51:09):
He allowed me that time and he rested, and which
is what I hope for. He seems so stressed and tired,
and I was like, jail, the ankles is rare.

Speaker 8 (51:19):
Amir did not rest, So that was a big right, Okay,
I have.

Speaker 1 (51:24):
Massaged a lot of people in this lifetime.

Speaker 5 (51:27):
Just that's your game, Ji.

Speaker 3 (51:29):
I wish I remembered this.

Speaker 1 (51:31):
It's just like you forgot.

Speaker 3 (51:36):
I think I can help.

Speaker 1 (51:38):
It's not the great I just think I can help.

Speaker 4 (51:42):
Wait wait wait sie side note because wait, wait, side note,
because the first time that Erica tells the story of
didn't you know she said the same thing about Dylan
and I hit him. I'm like, wait a minute, you
had a massage by Eric Abadu when you was making
She was massaging him as he was cutting up, chopping

(52:03):
up the sample turka blue sample. He's like, I don't
remember it happening like that dog it was.

Speaker 1 (52:10):
It wasn't anything but sweetness. It was good and.

Speaker 8 (52:16):
Good.

Speaker 4 (52:17):
I'm probably the happiest place in my life right now. Uh, Jill,
So that look you, thank you.

Speaker 1 (52:25):
I appreciate it.

Speaker 10 (52:26):
Take that on paid bill shot a sweats your ward.
Motherfucker though, So now that.

Speaker 8 (52:37):
We did all the soft and can I just ask
because the story because I know that Jill ended up
on tour singer you got me, But how did we
get to the point of the different vocalist?

Speaker 5 (52:48):
And then I want to know?

Speaker 3 (52:49):
Okay, so you get to play on the verses. Here's
the deal.

Speaker 1 (52:53):
Oh yeah, I want to hear yours.

Speaker 4 (52:55):
Here's so what I remember was Joe and I had
a lunch date. And do you remember us going to
Copas two on South Street.

Speaker 1 (53:05):
Yeah yeah, Jill.

Speaker 4 (53:07):
Jill is one of six people whose demo I actually
listened to and actually liked, like envy that it wasn't mine.

Speaker 3 (53:16):
The other and I've said the story before.

Speaker 4 (53:18):
The other acts were blow Slim Village, little Brother, Jill Scott,
Georgia m Maldreau.

Speaker 5 (53:25):
She's been around along that.

Speaker 3 (53:29):
Jay Davy. No, I heard it.

Speaker 1 (53:36):
I never let you forget. He told me I would
never sell a record.

Speaker 3 (53:40):
No no, no, no no no no no no no
no no no no no no no no no no
no I forgot. I forgot. I forgot. I forgot. First
of all, this is me? That is me? Is that
sounding me? Or that's selling Rich Nichols?

Speaker 1 (53:54):
That was you?

Speaker 3 (53:55):
It sounds like you, Steve Wow, you did. Wait, Jill,
you brought this up.

Speaker 4 (54:04):
Before you brought this up. You brought this up for
and I and I have issue with this. I don't
think I ever said that.

Speaker 3 (54:17):
Alternate fact.

Speaker 4 (54:18):
No, listen, I remember sitting at the table you handed
me your your your discmand Yes, it.

Speaker 3 (54:28):
Was nineteen ninety eight.

Speaker 1 (54:31):
I still have that by the way, and.

Speaker 4 (54:35):
I remember first, I was like, wait a minute, there's
someone else in Philadelphia making music. First of all, I
was envious to the tracks because I didn't know.

Speaker 5 (54:43):
You are skating around this one song. I'm just trying
to get there.

Speaker 3 (54:46):
No no, no, no, no no, I'm gonna get to that.
But this starts at Copas. It starts at Copas. And
she said that. I said, that's never I don't think
that ever. Like Joe Biden.

Speaker 4 (54:58):
Right now, I'm the king, Jill, I'm the king of
my thoughts and my words, being on the opposite sides
of the town. But I don't think there's ever a
time in life in which I was not your biggest fan.
So why is it not her A I'm just just

(55:20):
I'm gonna get to that. I'm gonna get to that.
I'm gonna get to that. Okay, but Jill, no, no, no,
But Jill has always said that. In the beginning, I
wasn't fully supportive and I said that she would never
sell anything, only because I don't think that I thought that,
or maybe I just thought like, oh, this is so
good that maybe mainstream, Yeah, I could see that that

(55:43):
mainstream audience won't get this but I was instantly in
love with it. I've heard this story about baduism. I
haven't heard it about Jill.

Speaker 1 (55:53):
Damn.

Speaker 5 (55:53):
You told her she wouldn't make it without you.

Speaker 3 (55:59):
No, no, no, no, no no. What I heard what
you saying?

Speaker 7 (56:04):
I've read in the magazine. It was I think it
was vibe or something. You heard a boy the wism
and you were like, yo, I like it, but will
you know the hood get it?

Speaker 3 (56:11):
We'll just right.

Speaker 4 (56:12):
I think the things that I love isn't necessarily palatable
to mainstream America.

Speaker 1 (56:17):
And I was wrong.

Speaker 3 (56:20):
So maybe that's what I was trying to say, but
I in no way was I not.

Speaker 4 (56:26):
I want to I want to repaint this history between
you and I, Jill Scott, and saving the record that
I was your I mean, if I took a lunch
date with you about your music. I've never invited no
one to the studio but you, and that includes D'Angelo
and Erica and anyone else I've worked with. You're literally

(56:47):
the lone human being.

Speaker 3 (56:49):
Agelo, he just didn't show up left and so all right,
now you know I heard that quote. I was listening
to that quote.

Speaker 4 (57:10):
It's an inside joke, all right. So now for Liea's story.
All right, So the story you got me is I
hear it and instantly know that this is going to
change my life. I run downstairs from Joe Tarcia's room
where Scott's playing it for me. Me, Scott and Rich
are listen to the results of him and Jill and

(57:34):
we're like, that's the one. And instantly I told Scott
stop playing it because I don't want Rich getting demo.

Speaker 3 (57:40):
As we ran downstairs, I did it.

Speaker 4 (57:43):
So the German bass argument was probably like a three
day thing, and I was like, okay, great, I'll just
do it the regular way.

Speaker 3 (57:52):
I won't put any fancy, spancy things on it, and
I'll do it. We do the song.

Speaker 7 (57:58):
It's fucking awesome. So we go to New York and
this is what reek'svocals on and everything is done and done?

Speaker 3 (58:05):
Or is it just the best? You know what I think?

Speaker 4 (58:08):
I think he struggled with the last verse, so I know,
all right, So we have other issues going on.

Speaker 3 (58:13):
Oh okay, all right, So here's the deal.

Speaker 4 (58:16):
Communication in the Roots banned in the nineteen ninety nine
wasn't too.

Speaker 3 (58:25):
Much all motherfuckers. Why we know communication?

Speaker 4 (58:32):
There's something that you guys don't know communication and the
roots band. He isn't two ideas. So here's the all right,
so snack number one and you got me okay number one.
I mean we've we've made it very public. Malik's codependency
problems now becoming a major problem for the band. There

(58:54):
have been situations of fights and money and all this stuff,
and it's sort of like, well, is he or isn't he?

Speaker 3 (59:03):
What's he doing? Is he drinking too much? Da da
da da?

Speaker 4 (59:05):
And then you see valves of white powder and shit,
and so we're dealing with that type of drama. So
something happens that gets us kicked out of Sigma because
of Malik. So now Vocal Vocal headquarters are now at
Larry Golds at the studio. So problem number one is

(59:29):
we're not all in the same place at the same time,
working and interacting.

Speaker 3 (59:34):
So now it's like a factory.

Speaker 4 (59:35):
Joe Tarci still likes me because of his history with
my father, so it's sort of like a mirror. You
can stay, but you know, Malick and all his running
buddies and all that stuff. They gotta do, right. So
all music's being tracked at Sigma and then we send
them to seventh and Cala Hill to the studio to

(59:56):
be recorded. So while that's happening, there's also a third
factor is mixing, So between mixing with the Axual NEOs
and Bob Power. So in the morning I'm tracking and
then the evening I'm mixing in New York. Suddenly I'm
getting these tapes and I'm hearing this girl like wait,
and I'm calling Rich like wait, who's this female voice

(01:00:18):
on track fourteen doing ad libs?

Speaker 3 (01:00:22):
And he was like, you know that girl, Eve, that's her?
And so I'm like, oh, man, come on, oh even.

Speaker 5 (01:00:28):
Have a part in the Eve party.

Speaker 1 (01:00:31):
It was I didn't know she was. That's ke.

Speaker 4 (01:00:35):
No, that was Rique em Mail and and comeal And
I mean, look by this point and we're we're totally
skipping over like the jam sessions that are happening at
the house and everyone being at the house. So Jill's
a presence, Jaguars a presence, the Jazzy fan Nazis are
a presence, News a presence. Uh occasionally, you know, ten

(01:00:58):
year old Jasmine Sullivan's a present And at some point
then suddenly it's like okay, Eve. And at the time,
you know, it was like her and her girlfriends that
she was stripping with or whatever, like they come to
the crib.

Speaker 3 (01:01:12):
Malex bringing over these dudes. I don't know.

Speaker 4 (01:01:14):
They putting a ship out of my carpet. I mean
Beanie and and bean and yeah, Chris and Nathan those guys.
But I don't know them from a cannapign They're putting
it out of my carpet. So I started hating the
jam sessions. So once it hit me, wait, wait, this
is this is the stripper joint, like the joint with

(01:01:34):
the short hair that's on this record, and Rich was
like yeah, And now I'm like, oh man, we're about
to do that, like come to the studio and I'm like,
this is this is like I don't know how I
feel about Like, no one had a meeting with me
about people on the record, So that's where communications started

(01:01:55):
getting bad. So that was ain't saying nothing new. So
it's like, okay, I'll put her ad libs down because
I'm just like, who, no one had a conversation with
me about it, so you got me time.

Speaker 3 (01:02:08):
Now I'm like, wait a minute, who's this wronging on
the thing.

Speaker 4 (01:02:12):
And it was the same situation and I was just
like yo, like y'all just putting people on this record
and not saying shit like this is our hit, Like
now we got we already have a voice on here,
and now what now another person is doing around like
this is our one chance to.

Speaker 11 (01:02:32):
Hit this ball out the park? There can only be
one unknown and now there's like four entities and like
what do we do? So that shit caused like a
three week debate argument whatever.

Speaker 4 (01:02:46):
So we get the song done, we're playing, we're playing
it for MCA, and now they're like, Okay, we believe
in the song, but you know, the girl sings good, but.

Speaker 3 (01:02:56):
We feel like you should have a name to really
do that. And we're like no, like this, she's killing
this ship. She's killing this ship. So then it.

Speaker 4 (01:03:06):
Became a group meeting of like you got me just
started to be a nightmare to deal with. Tarik didn't
have a third verse. Now it's like, wait, so now
we gotta or who's gonna tell Jill?

Speaker 3 (01:03:21):
Who told you Jill?

Speaker 9 (01:03:23):
No one bitch, No, nobody told me. Wow, nobody told me.

Speaker 3 (01:03:37):
Guys, mumpet new flash communication.

Speaker 4 (01:03:40):
It wasn't the best. Wait wait, I want to I
want to make an announcement. I want to make an announcement.
Communication was never the strong point, and it wasn't even
like a mean spirited thing.

Speaker 3 (01:03:54):
It was more just like he'll do it, or he'll
do it, or I got other ship to worry about.

Speaker 5 (01:03:58):
Asked Jill when she heard it.

Speaker 3 (01:04:00):
I remember, all right, I'm just saying that.

Speaker 4 (01:04:05):
Really, their logic was like, yo, you know, I've heard
stories of like, well she wasn't marketable, da da da da.
This to them it was like this is, yeah, she
sings great, but she's unknown and burn a hand beats
two in the push and Eric Abatu said yes, and
you gotta do it. And then me and Bob Power
and Tarique we flew to Dallas, which at that point

(01:04:29):
she was literally it was still I think we did.
You got me maybe early ninety eight, because I know
that Dre three thousand. When we got to the studio,
Erica just finished whatever she was singing on Outcast's Liberation,
so a quim and I wasn't out yet, so I

(01:04:50):
feel like this is early ninety eight, We get there,
we do it. It was cool, but I didn't have
the fire in my soul that I felt with Jill's version.
At one point midway Erica stopped and said, yo, her
version is jamming, Yo, Like, why don't y'all just use
her version? And I was about to agree, and Rich
was like, you know, Rich's whole thing is like, look,

(01:05:10):
let's let's say be it like just attempted a few
times and revenue you don't work with it. If it
doesn't work, then da da da da da. But knowing
good and well, like I'm not leaving here without without
your vocal, without this version, because I was ready to
give it and it was to.

Speaker 5 (01:05:24):
Play it a mir amir? Who gets to play it
this week? Who should get to play it this week?
On versus?

Speaker 3 (01:05:31):
First of all, will this episode even be?

Speaker 8 (01:05:33):
It does not matter, people will still want to know.
I just need to This is after this just yes,
this would be afterwards. But still who gets who gets
the right to put.

Speaker 4 (01:05:40):
Well, there's two versions of You Got Me? So Erica
can play her version from Being's small part and from
bell part. Say I say, I would say.

Speaker 8 (01:05:54):
It's because you did opera jazz blues, No anybody, that's
a whole Olympics long it is.

Speaker 4 (01:06:01):
Jill's version of You Got Me is also when the
Things fall apart in twentieth anniversary real it is.

Speaker 3 (01:06:07):
I think that's rather cute.

Speaker 7 (01:06:09):
Go ahead, I was gonna say. I think two things. One,
I think Jill should get to play it because she
wrote it. Two, I would like to offer my hot
take the complexity. Complexity is a far better song than
You Got Me.

Speaker 3 (01:06:23):
That's just me. Let's just start.

Speaker 7 (01:06:24):
That's complexity because I must give Jill props for complexity
because complexity is a very hard word to sing, and
you would not said it that so well. And yeah,
complexity is my joint. That's like my favorite roots Jill joint.
I love that fucking song.

Speaker 3 (01:06:45):
You know what's weird? We knock that often, like fifteen minutes.

Speaker 4 (01:06:48):
I remember it's knocking out very quickly and me actually
thinking like wow, this was not the like thank god,
this wasn't the drama that you got me?

Speaker 1 (01:06:58):
Was was there lyrics to Complexity?

Speaker 9 (01:07:01):
When I came in.

Speaker 1 (01:07:02):
I don't remember, no, but.

Speaker 3 (01:07:04):
It just hit me. It just hit me.

Speaker 4 (01:07:07):
You were one of the fourteen for the you Oh
my god, we did you know what? Complexity was so
easy it made me forget the drama that was that
you got me or now you got me to break
you off?

Speaker 3 (01:07:22):
To break off?

Speaker 4 (01:07:24):
Remember that and you know what's weird, e this is
so weird to say this on the air. Jill, you
wrote that bridge break You Off? I forgot she wrote that.

Speaker 5 (01:07:37):
Did she get that credit?

Speaker 4 (01:07:39):
That's what I'm thinking about that right now, Like wait
a minute, now is your time for all apologies that
you have to.

Speaker 3 (01:07:48):
Wait?

Speaker 4 (01:07:48):
I get to Actually I could do a whole episode
alone on the drama that was break you Off. By
the time it got to Jill, it wasn't even break
you Off. It was magic Foster whatever.

Speaker 3 (01:08:01):
It was your your metaphor magic false magic. Wait, Jill,
you don't remember it.

Speaker 5 (01:08:13):
Like it's like an old Jill Scott poem.

Speaker 3 (01:08:16):
Okay, so you know the second part, you know the
second part that the second part.

Speaker 4 (01:08:20):
Of the song that music sings by, right, he changed
the words, but that was that was Jill's course, and
it was like it was it was some sort of metaphorical,
uh definition of whatever, like i'll you know, I'll stroke

(01:08:42):
something and then your possible turned.

Speaker 1 (01:08:45):
You know, I wrote that.

Speaker 4 (01:08:54):
Well, the only part they kept was the baby, baby baby,
and then your words were different.

Speaker 5 (01:08:59):
Oh, but I think I think carbon that sounds foreign
to you, Jo.

Speaker 1 (01:09:03):
I think magic Fawcett elementary.

Speaker 4 (01:09:07):
No You You Break You Off started with weird enough
Keky Wyatt to read, all right, who's who's the guy
that invented the King of Comedy? Uh no, no no,
but uh the guy that that promoted the other black

(01:09:28):
ste Marveys, not bi Al Hayman, but whoever that guy
is that I meant he's the Will Packard of kind of.

Speaker 3 (01:09:47):
For the comedy.

Speaker 4 (01:09:47):
He's the reason why Harvey, Steve Harvey and Mack and
and all those et ceterac. The entertainers are the stars
they are now. He's the one that threw the Kings
of comedy that Spike shot. He had an idea, yeah,
to have a black SNL and we shot that, uh
that pilot in two thousand and one, and it was

(01:10:09):
like the Roots were the house band.

Speaker 3 (01:10:10):
Think of SNL.

Speaker 4 (01:10:11):
We shot a blown up with earthquake and whoever the
black comedians were that were popping at the time shot
this thing, and the Roots were the house band, and
Kiki Whatt and Music were sitting in with us and
just fucking around. That's how it Break You Off gets birthed.
And it was like, hey, that song we didn't sound check.
That was pretty cool and let's let's do it. And

(01:10:31):
so then it went for music to I think Alicia
had showed us up seven times, and then Joe Lavert
did his version, who he technically did the best version.

Speaker 12 (01:10:43):
I want to Jill wrote it, and then that didn't
work out, and then I think, yep, that was my plan.

Speaker 1 (01:10:59):
That plan was also Frankie Beverly. No no, no, no no,
I had three George Benson Gerald over Frankie Beverly. I
don't know.

Speaker 5 (01:11:10):
That was when I was twelve.

Speaker 1 (01:11:11):
That was my list.

Speaker 3 (01:11:14):
Twelve and that mustache. Okay, yeah, maybe I don't really
do mature old fast.

Speaker 1 (01:11:20):
I thought he was fabulous because I.

Speaker 3 (01:11:22):
Wasn't twelve years old thing about fucking Aretha Franklin when
I was right, right right, yeah, but yeah, that song
went around the world.

Speaker 4 (01:11:37):
Then then it went to Blow's version was the most
curious because he was crying on his version, like.

Speaker 3 (01:11:44):
And then somehow just wound up back to break you off.

Speaker 4 (01:11:47):
But yeah, it's so by the time all that was
done then, yeah, complexity was done in like ten minutes.

Speaker 3 (01:11:53):
So I love that song. I love that song.

Speaker 1 (01:11:56):
I like it when it's it's easy like that, when
it's you don't even think about it. It's just happening.
That's so fun, and then you go on to the
next thing. So how did I hear about it? I
was on twenty second Street. I was in North Philly.
I think I think I was probably headed to my
theater job. I don't know, I'm not sure, probably, and

(01:12:20):
it was coming out of one of the hair beauty
supply places. It was on you know how the wa
It was on the radio when I heard when she heard,
she heard the radio when I heard it for the
first we.

Speaker 3 (01:12:36):
Are horrible, we trash. Wait wait, she's still.

Speaker 5 (01:12:39):
We played the record on the radio, Wait, no, No,
on the agame.

Speaker 1 (01:12:45):
Out of the stores on twenty second Street. I was
coming to getting probably a perm or something, and I
was walking from the beauty supply place. It was coming
out of every store and I heard the beginning, and
I got all excited, and I was like, oh shit,
my inner you know, my inner self, I'm just so
pleased and nobody knows. And I was like, oh God,

(01:13:08):
and even when it comes on, nobody's gonna know it's me.
I'm so excited. And then I heard a voice that
was not my own, and I was like, that's Erica
and I'm looking. There's nobody to talk to. I don't
know any you know, I don't know anybody. I can't
share this story with anybody yet. I mean, I were

(01:13:29):
cell phones. I just think. I think. I just walked
to the end of the block. And by the time
I got there, I was like, Eric abad is singing
my song. Okay, song no no, I as a writer
to go from zip to a Grammy Award winning singer

(01:13:52):
singing your song like I was like, I'm in, I'm in.
I can't even deny that. And then you guys were, well,
let's take her on the road. And then I had
that horrible lawyer who tried to gank y'all for all
of this money. It was horrible. Luckily we were able
to work that out. Oh it was terrible. She was

(01:14:12):
just trying to bleed you dry to sing a hook
to one song. I didn't do anything else but sing
one hooks. And then you took me on the road
and and treated me like a newbie and left me
in Paris.

Speaker 3 (01:14:30):
Wow.

Speaker 5 (01:14:30):
Wait wait, wait wait wait that came through. I don't
know if you heard that. I got what happened.

Speaker 1 (01:14:36):
They there was a ticket at the desk for me
to go home. Luckily, Luckily, I got the ticket and
had to figure out how to get to the airport,
because you know the French, they don't like it if
you don't French. Straight out fact that I found a

(01:14:57):
way to get to the airport through the airport. At
the time, they didn't have English translation on anything in
the French airport. In the Paris airport, you.

Speaker 5 (01:15:12):
Could.

Speaker 1 (01:15:12):
You could left my ass in Paris, and I learned everything.
I learned everything from you. I'm gonna say I'm mayor,
but from the roots. I learned how I don't want
to travel.

Speaker 5 (01:15:26):
I learned how I don't.

Speaker 1 (01:15:30):
Love. I don't know about how you are now. But
they put me in a hotel that it was across
the street from their hotel. I think we were in Detroit,
and they said, your hotel is over there, and I
was like over here. They were like, yep, right across

(01:15:51):
the street.

Speaker 6 (01:15:52):
Damn.

Speaker 1 (01:15:53):
Clearly, the smell of cigarette smoke was so strong. When
I walked in the front door, I was like, I
gotta take a shower, or I gotta take a shower.
I'm on a bus full of dudes, I can't I
gotta take a shower.

Speaker 5 (01:16:05):
So I go in the room and.

Speaker 1 (01:16:09):
And it's you know how, it's when the woodworks have
been painted again and again and again. Yeah, the bad
I questioned. I was like, okay, I can't do that.
So I took all the towels and I put them
into and I showered and dried off with my clothes
and got out of there. But while I was in

(01:16:31):
the shower, I had my luggage up against the door
because on the outside they were like, I told you back,
my money just.

Speaker 3 (01:16:42):
Sold on.

Speaker 7 (01:16:43):
So let me understand that. So this was a hotel.
This was a motel, Like you opened the door and
it led to outside.

Speaker 1 (01:16:49):
It led to crazy house. It was a small house
with winding steps that they called the hotel that I
think they used prostution.

Speaker 3 (01:16:58):
That was the damn halfway house.

Speaker 5 (01:17:02):
That's where I was staying.

Speaker 8 (01:17:04):
Yes, samn, Yes, explains a lot, because I bet you
on that tour in Switzerland and I was like, man,
she showing short with the hello nice okay she.

Speaker 3 (01:17:13):
Yeah, damn y'all had jill in the lack of wanna
blues house.

Speaker 1 (01:17:19):
Guys, I feel like everybody has to have they have
to be haze to a certain degree. You have it's
a writer. It was the same way with theater. It's
the same way with this business. It's the same way
with touring. Y'all would do this, this is my favorite.
You never you didn't smoke. But the guys would be like, yeah,

(01:17:41):
me and so.

Speaker 5 (01:17:47):
Oh is good for that? No he is, admittedly so
he don't.

Speaker 1 (01:17:52):
It was it was everybody. The only person that was
nice to me. Kamal was nice to me, and Kamal
was nice to me, and Hub would occasionally hub.

Speaker 5 (01:18:06):
Okay, okay.

Speaker 1 (01:18:08):
There was a gentleman there.

Speaker 3 (01:18:10):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (01:18:13):
Yes. Occasionally he would tell me you're doing okay and
I said okay. Other than that, that was it.

Speaker 5 (01:18:22):
I learned so much.

Speaker 1 (01:18:25):
I learned so much. Thank you. Did I ever tell
you thank you? Did I ever tell you?

Speaker 3 (01:18:28):
Thank you?

Speaker 1 (01:18:29):
So so so much my life.

Speaker 7 (01:18:34):
I feel like if we had the sound bite of
Miss Sophia saying, woman ain't chasing a house full of men?

Speaker 3 (01:18:42):
Damn.

Speaker 1 (01:18:44):
Yeah, that's the roughest tour I've ever been on, and
maintain that fro, that whole tour, that that fro was beautiful.

Speaker 5 (01:18:54):
It made Muhammada go, wait, somebody with me.

Speaker 1 (01:18:57):
I feel like that my barber had my hair like fevers.
It was gorgeous.

Speaker 3 (01:19:02):
Man remember Barber's oh Man, Yeah, thank you, so Jill,
damn it.

Speaker 5 (01:19:13):
It's okay, okay, it's okay, it's okay.

Speaker 1 (01:19:16):
Crime I've done.

Speaker 8 (01:19:19):
Everything happens for a reason, nothing but none of this
would have happened if not for the other thing.

Speaker 4 (01:19:23):
So right, it's like our first real extended conversations lasted
more than an hour in our twenty years of knowing
each other.

Speaker 3 (01:19:31):
Now, I don't understand why she ended up working with
Jesse Jail