Bras by Jill Scott? Is Jill now designing bras?

Here is a Ariticle Jill did recently with the JAMAICAN OBSERVER.. Enjoy (Thanks to

Jill Scott’s voice radiates soul with a simple . “Hello.”
Mere weeks before her slated performance at the Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival 2008 in Montego Bay, ‘Jilly from Philly’ is chirpy, even after just admitting via phone her inability to sleep. “I have been doing so many things at once, I think my mind just can’t relax,” she says.

Last year was a busy one for Scott who divorced her companion of 13 years and husband of five, Lyzel Williams. She released her album, The Real Thing: Words and Sounds, Volume 3 and starred in Tyler Perry’s major motion picture Why Did I Get Married?

When asked by Splash to elaborate why her five-year marriage dissolved, Scott does not resist and softly answers, “I think it had a lot to do with us not being meant to work together, it was a poor choice. The line between our relationship and work got blurred, so we had very little personal time and were too concerned with business. And somehow my husband stopped being my husband.”
On coping with the issue, she states, “Some days are good; some days are not. It is a different brand of lonely that I am learning to deal with, but overall, I am happier than I have ever been, and that makes all the difference in the world.” Her hopeless romanticism becomes evident when asked if she still believes in love, “I have too much to offer as a person to live my life alone and not to be in love again,” she says.

Recognising her innate talent at an early age, the North Philadelphian who was raised as an only child by her mother and grandmother did not want people to know that she could sing. “My mother has always been a big lover of all types of art and culture, so as a child it broadened my horizons and made me a fan of really great music. I liked to imitate singers such as Chakka Khan, Donnie Hathaway and Prince. But I thought if I let people know that I could sing it would change things and they would treat me differently.”

The turning point for Scott came when, as she says, “I got to a point where I just couldn’t hold it in anymore.”

Her entrance into the music world, like many others, was no easy feat. When Scott finally decided that music was her calling she had already done an adequate amount of theatre work, but wanted more. “I called every producer I ever heard about in Philadelphia, but none of them returned my calls,” she says. Determined to make it, Scott came up with a strategic plan to get what she wanted. “I got a job at Jazzy Jeff’s studio (as in Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff), staining the wood on the walls of his lobby. I made sure to start early in the morning and to sing all day so that if any of the producers passed by they would hear me and hopefully be interested.”

Scott’s plan worked wonders and producers began to invite her to listen to tracks that they were working on. Scott laughs as she reminisces, “Eventually, they gave me a tape and I think I recorded my first album on it.”

She continues nonchalantly, “The first song I did on the tape was A Long Walk.” It was not until one night when Jazzy Jeff offered her a ride home from work that she sang A Long Walk for him. Astonished, he asked why she had not mentioned her singing skills before and encouraged her to record a proper demo and send it to record labels. “The demo was shipped to different labels and many were interested, but I opted to work with Hidden Beach, and as they say the rest is history,” adds Scott.

In a world where size zero stars are emulated, the buxom Jill seems very happy in her skin. “I don’t think that I am a particularly big girl, clearly I am not a small girl, but I think I am an average-sized American woman,” she told Splash confidently. Noting that she has always wanted her music to speak for itself, she admits, “When I was sending my music to labels I didn’t send pictures with them, because I didn’t want the labels to try and fix me in anyway, because I like who I am.”

With a giggle she divulges further, “I did a nude photo shoot two days ago for Allure, which I loved. It was so empowering and after it was all done, I was congratulated by staff members of Allure for breaking the mold.”

Her ’sista girl’, happy-go-lucky persona is contagious, but leaves many wondering if she ever just loses it. “I am not always happy but I have been blessed with family and friends who appreciate all sides of me. I go through everything that everybody else does, I get angry, upset, tired and annoyed but I try my best to remain positive at all times, because there is so much to be positive about.”

Scott has many plans for 2008, including the launch of a new bra line called Butterfly for which she says, “I got big boobs and I need to be fly, I got tired of my shoulders hurting and marks being left in my skin from bras that weren’t designed for all of this, so I created my own.” She will continue to be the face of plus size clothing store Ashley Stewart until next year and has wrapped another movie called Number One Ladies Detective Agency, ensuring that the Jill Scott train will keep on rolling full speed ahead.

Thrilled to be making another trip to Jamaica, she is even more ecstatic about performing at Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival on January 25. “I can’t wait to get there and do my show which will be full of great music, hot vocals, among a load of other things.” And, as if she has an ephiphany, she says “Maybe Jamaica is where I will finally be able to get some good rest.”