It feels good to hear the blues again in rhythm and blues. First, the Grammy-nominated Angie Fisher graced us with a powerful taste on the B. Slade written and produced “I.R.S..” Then Jazmine Sullivan gave us a mournful cry with “Forever Don’t Last.” Now in the spirit of the classic Muscle Shoals/Aretha Franklin collaborations in 1967 for the classic I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You, Jill Scott returns after a four-year hiatus in the years since The Light of the Sun with her first single, “You Don’t Know, from her fifth studio album.
Directed by Nzingha Stewart, the modern day juke joint represented by Studio D in Nashville smolders and smokes with the spirit of every belting blues soulstress from Bessie Smith to Esther Williams. Backed by Questlove on drums, Adam Blackstone on bass, a screaming horn section, and a wailing trio on supporting vocals, Jill Scott has seldom been so raw and unleashed on wax as she is on this 12-bar blues. Lyrically, it shoots straight from the hip with a simple, yet stingingly accusatory message: “You don’t know nothing about love.” Already available on Amazon and iTunes, we hope all those crying for that real R&B to comeback to radio makes some industry noise by getting their wallets out and laying it down for Jill Scott, because ma certainly just laid it down for us.
By L. Michael Gipson
Jill Scott – “You Don’t Know”
