Jill Scott Returns — Adventurously — on ‘To Whom This May Concern’

To Whom This May Concern is Jill Scott’s first album in more than a dec­ade. Listeners who missed Scott’s turn-of-the-century heyday, when she recorded her classic 2000 debut, Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1, have had to settle for her appearance with Erykah Badu on a popular 2020 edition of Verzuz, replaying Kaytranada’s remix of her 2004 hit “Golden,” and watching the sometimes actor make cameos on sitcoms like Abbott Elementary. 

Now, with her long-awaited sixth ­album, Scott pushes her adventurous streak to the fore, dabbling in everything from trip-hop to New Orleans rhythm & blues. On “Norf Side,” she uses a DJ Premier beat to capably spit alongside fellow Philadelphian ­Tierra Whack. “They stay chatting about my body on IG,” raps Scott, perhaps referencing a viral incident where an NFL player obnoxiously insulted her. Longtime fans who adore her babymaker R&B anthems may be initially disappointed with the musical eclecticism. But To Whom This May Concern reveals its treasures with ­repeated listens, even if the experience isn’t as smoothly edifying as her past work.

It’s not always clear which direction Scott’s headed, whether that’s adopting an ethos to “Be Great,” or meditating on the past. On “Pay U on Tuesday,” she sings in a bluesy drawl, “I don’t want no more nigga blues,” then adds, “If you think I’m just talkin’ ’bout somebody Black/Well, you is the nigga, and you need to know that.” She could be singing about anyone, male or female, Black or otherwise. She could also be arguing with herself.

Scott’s performances are girded by a hard-won graininess instead of the light and feathery flirtations of past gems like 2000’s “Love Rain.” But she’s hardly lost her sense of play. There’s plenty of tricks and treats, like “BPOTY,” where Scott and Too $hort label crooked preachers and pharmaceutical companies as the “biggest pimp of the year,” and “To B Honest,” a pairing with rapper J.I.D, or “Liftin’ Me Up,” with its bubbly go-go rhythm and a strong, gospel-­inflected hook. It all adds up to a freshly made portrait of a warmly familiar, complex, all-too-human artist.