It’s a fine time to be a Jill Scott fan. We finally have her sixth album To Whom This May Concern in our hands, headphones and hearts, and it’s immediately landed in heavy rotation. Jill has kept an extremely high profile leading up to the new set’s release, and now that it’s out in the world, she’s ramped up promotions even more. It’s only right that her media tour would take her to Washington, D.C. to NPR Music’s headquarters where she made her long awaited debut on the Tiny Desk Concert Series by popular demand.
Jill Scott lovers have begged and pleaded for her to appear on Tiny Desk for years, but, much like a DJ, NPR Music doesn’t take requests. However, with the arrival of To Whom This May Concern, the stars aligned and the time was right. Accompanied by her band, two horn players and background vocalists Gene Noble, Bluu Suede and Deonis Cook (who collectively go by the name Freeman), Scott was ready to set it off, “In celebration of live music.”
And set it off she did. Jill began her set by taking a stroll down memory lane on “A Long Walk.” The instruments were tuned and the mics were on as they performed the prized single from her first album Who Is Jill Scott?: Word And Sounds, Vol. 1. The next song on the setlist was “Beautiful People,” the first offering from To Whom This May Concern that put everyone on alert in early January that Jill Scott’s so back.
“Gotta knock the nerves off. I’m so excited to be here!” she exclaimed while the not-so-tiny audience showered her with applause. “I thought about you so much. I was like ‘one day I’m gonna be on Tiny Desk’.” That led into “Cross My Mind,” another beloved single from her discography taken from her sophomore album Beautifully Human: Words And Sounds, Vol. 2. Jill brought the neo-soul/spoken word piece to life and had a little fun with the lyrics and arrangement. The members of Freeman may have been in the background, but the camera caught them acting out the words complete with pelvic thrusts and running motions.
Before digging into her next new track, Scott shared that she found inspiration for “Don’t Play” on TikTok. She then sung her saucy lessons in lovemaking, and after going through the song once, she ran it back and took time to spotlight a few verses in case anyone missed them. The audience appreciated her breakdown by the sound of their hooting and hollering.
To end her Tiny Desk debut, Jill doubled back to her debut album to perfom “The Way.” There was an update to the arrangement, but the song still sounded like a warm, loving hug from the songstress. After giving it her all, Scott received all the love in return from everyone in attendance at the end of her performance, and she deserved every bit of praise.
