Jill Scott is back with her first album in a decade
After a decade-long hiatus, Philly R&B legend Jill Scott has announced a new album, To Whom This May Concern, and a much-anticipated return.
On December 21st, 2025, Jill Scott’s Instagram page posted a collaborative video with Gillie and Wallo’s wildly popular Million Dollarz Worth of Game podcast. In the clip, Gillie and Wallo crack jokes as Jill sings, improvising a few lines about sex that is as sweet as “grandma’s yams with the marshmallows on top.” With Scott’s classic, bluesy vocal tone and lyrics that strike a balance between romantic devotion and playful raunch, the clip is quintessential Jill Scott. The full episode of Million Dollarz Worth of Game presents a fuller picture of Scott’s personality and artistry. Clocking in at over an hour and forty minutes, the trio dives deep into Jill’s history, creative process, and personal life lessons. By now, the story of Jill Scott’s ascent is the tantamount to Philly music legend. Born and raised in North Philly, Jill cut her teeth performing at local open mic nights and even got an early break with a touring production of RENT. Jill Scott famously gained industry attention in 1998 when she penned the hook for The Roots and Erykah Badu’s Grammy-winning single “You Got Me.”
While her name was bubbling up in music circles, the rest of the world would discover Jill Scott’s considerable talents in the summer of 2000, when she released her debut album, Who Is Jill Scott? (Words And Sounds Vol.1). Featuring a rogue’s gallery of gifted Philly musicians like The Roots, production duo Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, DJ Jazzy Jeff, James Poyser, Larry Gold and more. A watershed moment in contemporary R&B, Who Is Jill Scott? signaled a momentary return back to the warmth and color of ’70s soul that launched Scott into stardom. Over the next 15 years, Scott would release a number of live and studio albums that solidified her place as one of the great voices in modern Black music. When she released her fifth studio album Woman in 2015, no one could’ve imagined that it’d be ten years before Scott would release another solo album.
While Scott wasn’t releasing albums for the last 10 years, she was far from inactive. Notably, there was her Blues Babe non-profit, which supports and empowers North Philadelphia youth through scholarships, and the Camp Jill Scott youth summer camp. During this period, Scott also kept busy musically, logging collaborations with De la Soul, Conway, Kehlani, Pusha T and more. With the announcement of To Whom This May Concern, out on February 13, Scott returns to retake her place at the top of the R&B landscape. Led by the gorgeous and funky first single, “Beautiful People,” the album will feature collaborations with DJ Premier, Tierra Whack, JID, Ab-Soul, Too Short, Om’Mas Keith and more. While the musical landscape has changed dramatically in the last decade, the anticipation for To Whom The May Concern is palpable. And why wouldn’t it be? If there’s any single characteristic that one would ascribe to Jill Scott’s music, it’s timlessness.