I played a Jill Scott record sandwiched between two Nahjai Soul songs so I could determine if it was me or my lyin’ ears. You can do a whole lot worse than to sound like Jilly From Philly. That’s kind of like saying you play quarterback like Dono…(oops). Of course, there is more to being a successful artist than being a professional mimic. If forced to choose between Jill Scott and Jill Scott, I’m going to choose the real thing – especially if other artist pales in comparison to Jilly as a writer. Nahjai soul isn’t yet consistently at that level as a lyricist yet, but the album Soul Therapy shows that she is on the right path. Nahjai Soul proves she can combine Scott’s vocals and style on songs such as "360 Degreez," in which she sends her man on his way, and the dreamy ballad "Love Conversations." Thematically, Nahjai Soul covers much of the same ground as Scott – mainly relationships. However, Nahjai is more apt to bring a more overtly spiritual and inspirational spin to some of her tracks, whereas Scott is more personal and political. Still Soul Therapy proves that Nahjai Soul is a distinct enough artist who bears some watching.
Notable tracks: Easy 2 Love, Just Relax, 360 Degreez, Love Conversation
Vocals: 3.0
Lyrics: 2.5
Music: 3.0
Production: 3.0
Soultracks call: Moderately recommended
By Howard Dukes
