My earliest influence was Quincy Jones. I thought 'The Wiz' soundtrack was the most amazing thing I'd ever heard. It was my first record and you had Michael Jackson, Ted Ross, Nipsey Russell and Diana Ross on it. I even took it to show and tell in third grade!
Jill ScottIt excites me when a person puts their whole self in a song or rhyme, or instrument. It fills me.
Jill ScottWhen I write a song, I tap into the emotion and the feeling and then I use the emotion to write the words. It's the opposite when I act. I use the words and tap into the emotion.
Jill ScottI was backstage at the House of Blues in L.A where I was about to perform, and Stevie Wonder and Prince turned up at my dressing room together! Stevie started beat boxing and Prince started singing one of my songs, all of a sudden it was like I was in a cypher with these incredible artists.
Jill ScottIn order to grow emotionally and mentally, sometimes you have to grow physically as well. I'm just trying to grow, man, and always I just want to be the best and most confident me I can be.
Jill ScottI'm excited about turning 40. I've been an adult for a long time, but there is a difference between being an adult and being a grown-up. I'm someone's mummy now and I'm enjoying that. I feel as if I'm about to hit my peak.
Jill ScottI just want to continue to grow, as an actor, and dig. Hopefully, one day, I'll lose myself in a role. My only worry about that is that I just want to be able to come back home. I don't want to get lost forever. That scares me.
Jill ScottI'm a world-class people watcher. I like to watch people's body movements, their expressions. It says so much about them.
Jill ScottAll you ever really want is a great character and great writing. As an actor, that's the juiciest sandwich you could ever ask for.
Jill ScottI'd love to work with Missy Elliott. I'd love to work with Bonnie Raitt. I'd love, love, love to work with Barbra Streisand. I'm reaching, because why not? You don't know what's going to happen in this life.
Jill ScottI'm the girl that waits for the director to say, 'I like that,' or 'Can you boost it up?,' or 'Can you pull it down?' I'm that kind of actor. I started in theater, so that's the feedback that I'm accustomed to. It's the feedback that I really thrive off of.
Jill ScottI was once making a burger for myself at my boyfriend's house and a lyric started pouring out and I had to catch it, so I ran to another room to write it down, but then the kitchen caught fire. His cabinets were charred, and he was furious. But it was worth it for a song.
Jill ScottWhatever happens in my life, whether I stand up or I fall down, whatever the case, I'm going to use it in my art. Why? Because I'm an artist and I have to.
Jill ScottI think the first time I really heard poetry was in the schoolyard. Just the little limericks that kids say when they're jumping rope and playing games. I think that's the first time I heard rhyming words - I don't know if I'd call that the definitive poetry, but that's when I heard rhyming words said and not necessarily sung.
Jill ScottI am making an effort to truly live. I don't mean to imply by that that I haven't been alive before but, with my son being here and such a powerful force in my life, he's given me a freedom to be more. I think that sometimes we can get stuck, and just the fact that he's here says so much to me about my own existence. I didn't think I'd be able to have children, and this level of blessing is something I can't even put my finger on.
Jill ScottI think every individual has his or her own power, and it's a matter of working, taking time and defining what that power is.
Jill ScottI like a man who smells good. Puts on cologne; lotions his body. It keeps me wanting. I like feeling that way.
Jill ScottMy heart and prayers go out to all single moms because it's tough, and I can't imagine any teenager dealing with a baby and all those hormones raging.
Jill ScottWhen I sing, I have to live in that moment, so my audience can feel that. That is my reason for doing art.
Jill ScottI think what irks me is that I feel like women are really being compartmentalized physically, and it's been done so much that now we're doing it to ourselves. I don't like it.
Jill ScottOnce I started looking for a record deal, I had a trainer. And the trainer told me that I would never sell a record if I didn't lose weight.
Jill ScottPeople say that they like the characters that they believe that I am. But, I don't as much. I like the characters that I believe that I am not. Like my role on 'Law and Order.' That character unnerved people. And I loved every second of it. I want to continue growing as an actress. There are ways that I can reach quicker, or deeper, with acting.
Jill ScottAt my aunt's funeral, I promised myself that I wouldn't be bound by the belief that I'm supposed to stay in anything - whether it's a relationship, a job, a house, or a circumstance - if it makes me miserable. She gave me the courage to find my own happiness.
Jill ScottBeing on set is a hard thing. A lot of people are like, oh, you get to make a movie, and it's all fun. But the reality is, it's a lot of hours. It's a lot of reshoots; it's a lot of waiting. And you can become increasingly agitated by the amount of time that you are waiting. But that's real.
Jill ScottPeople is, I think, it's their nature - some people's nature, in a way, to be angry or jealous or just spiteful about somebody else's blessings.
Jill ScottIt's frustrating me - that booty is gonna sag at some point. And if you allow enough people to come inside your physical space, they leave traces.
Jill ScottWhen Jett puts my face in his hands and tells me, 'Mommy you're so pretty' or smells me, it's so wonderful.
Jill ScottAnytime you share life stories with other people, you know, you are acknowledging their humanity and kind of accessing some things about yourself, and other people start to expect things about themselves. It's kind of like a fellowship.
Jill ScottI get scripts all the time, but I read this [Baggage Claim] thoroughly, and I loved it. It was light hearted, cute, sweet, and funny. I told my agent that I liked the script, but I did let my acceptance of the role slide a little, until I was watching television one day; scrolling through the stations, and there was this play. And I don't like plays made for the screen. But, this one, "Suddenly Single", caught my attention.
Jill ScottThere's a certain level of realness in Philly. You know, just - people are people. You know, it doesn't matter who you are or who you think you are, you're just a person in Philly.
Jill ScottA lot of the girls I grew up with were pregnant by the time they were 16. I just was lucky.
Jill ScottEverything starts with writing. I heard Nikki Giovanni and was blown away. I just thought 'wow'; she was writing from a black girl's perspective, and the imagery was so vivid that I started doing spoken word.
Jill ScottOne of the things I love about Africa is the amount of dignity and respect and humility you see all the time. You don't realise how often you're disrespected until you are surrounded by respect.
Jill ScottI think, as an artist, you have to have experienced some deep turmoil, some kind of pain, because that's what connects you with the world. That's what makes it juicy!
Jill Scott'Fringe' is one of my favorite television shows, from its inception. I absolutely love all of the science fiction of it, the mystery of it, and the science in it.
Jill Scott