this is a super brief review of Jill Scott’s album The Light of the Sun.

I first heard the album when a dear friend of mine emailed me, with no comment, a link to the video for the single Hear My Call. in the video Jill is stark, gorgeous, praying weeping mourning and wailing in song, deeply lonely and vulnerable. scared.

a few days later I was at a friend’s house and she put it on in the background. the conversations we had were raw, and rough, went deep into the night. and the music was a perfect backdrop.

so I downloaded the album, and listened to it.

at first there were songs I didn’t like, or understand. and I felt pity for Jill, shame for her, wishing she had love in her life.

then I slipped into a deeper place with the album, wanting to listen to the songs one more time. and again. I realized that Jill is putting into song all these normally private, incredibly normal painful grown up feelings.

she is unabashedly saying out loud the things we only tell our best friends, after a few drinks, when we are crying because – how did we get here? what the fuck? and then picking ourselves back up, recommitting to good choices and being fine and opening our hearts to love.

it’s a remarkable album, it’s intentional and intimate, emotional and unique and sexy and confusing…it’s telling a particular and true story that many women are living right now. women who are incredible and alone, women raising children on their own, women who are sure they can’t trust anyone anymore, including themselves, women who do things they can’t articulate reasons for, women who are turning within for healing and love.

i want people to listen to the album, and honor the transparency of an artist in transformation. she suffered for this one, and she holds nothing back in letting us all learn from it.