We’re on the verge of getting a new album from the one-and-only Jill Scott and we couldn’t be happier. The singer is readying her latest album, To Whom This May Concern, for release this February and is amping up the rollout. That means that the renowned singer-songwriter is releasing new music and sitting down to give insights into her process. To that effect, she delivers the set’s second single “Pressha” and continues her podcast tour with a sit down with journalist Angie Martinez to talk about the collection and her journey.
Where previous single “Beautiful People” gave us a signature Jill Scott sound, “Pressha” really gets things cooking. Producers Adam Blackstone and Vincent “VT” Nolan create a jazzy, bluesy vibe utilizing keys, bass, horns and hi-hats and drums that ride right inside the pocket. It’s a backdrop perfect for a storyteller to weave a tale.
Jill enters on that note as she speaks to a lover that felt the need to keep their love confidential in order to project a certain image. Though she initially goes along with the premise, and even eventually falls in love, she soon realizes that she’s worth much more than being a secret. And though she knows he’ll regret missing out a good thing like her and will even come crawling back, she makes it known that she understands the game on the song’s chorus even if she thinks it’s a bit basic.
“I wasn’t the aesthetic / I guess, I guess, I get it / So much pressure to appear just like them,” she sings on the chorus. “Pretty and cosmetic / Elementary, alphabetic / So much pressure to appear just like them.”
Jill doesn’t necessarily get into the specifics of “Pressha” during her visit Angie Martinez’s IRL podcast. However, she does get into the nitty gritty about her artistic process — whether that be writing, singing or acting — and what she’s been up to in the decade since her last album. Along the way, we get a few insights into her life and how she’s enjoying the phase that she’s in and why she has an affinity for legendary adult actress Vanessa del Rio. It’s quite the interesting conversation and a window into who Jill Scott is.
You can listen to “Pressha” down below and peep the entirety of the IRL episode. To Whom This May Concern is set for release on Friday, February 13th.
