By TJ Love
The Neo Soul movement and alternative Hip-Hop have long been associated with one another. Okayplayer, both as a record label and web destination, has nearly singlehandedly spearheaded this association and its growth thereafter. This has engendered a mutual respect, admiration, and collaboration between artists of both genres. Both have distinguished themselves by proudly and defiantly creating music distinctly different from the mainstream in regards to the quality of craftsmanship, in addition to a general disdain for any trends prevalent in mainstream Black music.
DMV representative Substantial, best known for his work on QN5 and the well-received Home Is Where The Art Is, is one of Jill Scott’s biggest fans and he’s released a free project, Jackin’ Jill, as an ode to the inspiration she provided while he was going through one of the most daunting challenges a person can encounter: cancer. Luckily, the preventative surgery was successful and while he was infirm, he began work on a tribute to his favorite songstress with the intent of inspiring people to “smell the roses while they still can.”
The majority of the production on Jackin’ Jill comes courtesy of Marcus D with Substantial taking the reins for a few tracks. The LP, more than an entirely fresh sound, is a reinterpretation of many Jill Scott standards but to keep it completely one hunnit, the majority of it is just Substantial rhyming over Jill Scott joints. Nothing wrong with that though, as much of her catalog lends itself pretty well to somebody with a decent flow and something to say.
Jackin’ Jill opens up with So Blessed(Unofficial Remix) a harbinger of things to come. Clocking in at just under two minutes, the first of which is a direct swipe of Jill’s vocals from the original, the latter half features Substantial delivering some bars about how blessed he is. Not much to see here, really. Warmed Up feat. Dominion is one of the more decidedly Hip-Hop joints, the only one really, with Timbaland-esque drums and clicks reminiscent of Snoop’s Drop It Like It’s Hot accompanied by a simple and soulful hum from Miss Scott serving as the backdrop for Substantial, Pack FM, and Mr. Mecca to get off with cipher-ready punchlines.
Cross My Mind feat. JSoul is one of the better offerings on the project, mostly because of Substantial’s bars. The soundscape is a slightly sped up version of the one on Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds 2, which works better with Substantial’s flow. Topically, it’s nothing new as Substantial spins a tale that every guy knows oh too well; a relationship based on physicality and little else. In terms of the actual rapping though? He rhymed his ass off. Normally sex,lust, and love raps are as played as last year’s Madden but the way he puts lines together structurally speaks to his dexterity as an emcee. That he did it all while maintaining a coherent narrative that anybody with a Y chromosome can empathize with is just icing on the cake.
The crown jewel of this tribute is easily Golden Lady feat. Steph The Sapphic Songstress. While I hoped that he would have done something with Jill Scott’s hit song Golden, a la Capital STEEZ’s Hypebeast, using Stevie Wonder instead isn’t a bad look. Substantial details all the ways his muse has inspired him, from his recollections to the first show he attended to his confession that he used Golden at his wedding listens to Jill’s music to put him in a positive state of mind.
For what it is, a one-off heartfelt project dedicated to one of contemporary R&B’s greatest artists, Jackin’ Jill is solid. It’s not great and the subject matter really correlates more to matters of the heart and other things pertinent to the “Grown and Sexy,” but ultimately as a singular tribute by an individual deeply affected by Jill Scott’s music it’s more than sufficient. It’s a safe bet that if this project ever gets to Jill she’ll be smiling from ear to ear.
3.25 Out of 5
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