Jill Scott
To Whom This May Concern (released February 13, 2026)
We often demand too much of our legends.
Blame social media for giving overeager fans a platform to guilt artists into coming out of retirement; blame the culture of streaming, where artists are expected – and encouraged – to drop new projects every six months; heck, blame overeager R&B fans for demanding legends to save the genre from constant dry spells.
Make no mistake, Jill Scott owes us NOTHING. She was one of the lynchpins of the neo-soul movement of the 2000s. Her catalog is crammed with iconic songs – even interludes! Her discography is one of the most consistent listens of her generation; there’s not one dud in the mix. If the last album we received from her was 2015’s Woman, her legacy would be still be bulletproof.
But 11 years later – with a country in turmoil, with the once-mighty genre of R&B limping along, and with scores of fans dying for a voice, Jilly from Philly decided she had something to say.
On her time, not ours.
That’s what makes To Whom This May Concern such an urgent message of love and unity.
It’s what neo-soul fans want. It’s what R&B needs. And, most importantly, it’s the balm that a wounded world craves.
If you’re familiar with Jill’s previous albums, rest assured you’ll feel right at home from the jump. The album opens with “Dope S***,” the customary spoken word track that manifests excellence. Maha Adachi Earth has bars in full supply: “Autumn, that’s the only time I fall/I don’t wish ’em bad, but my enemies crawl.” It’s the perfect launching pad for the bombastic “Be Great,” a bombastic flex of power and grace. Jill bounces through big bodied brass section with sky-high confidence. I can’t wait for HBCU bands to replicate this magic.
While Jill’s biggest hits often have been on the more mellow side, her Day Ones know that her sonic dexterity is one of her strengths. To Whom This May Concern is no different. “A Universe” and “Liftin’ Me Up” are beautiful, yet familiar grooves, but she doesn’t stay in that space long. The big horns and smokey atmosphere of “Pay U on Tuesday” may seem like bluesy satire on the surface but don’t miss the message:
Well, if you think I’m talkin’ ’bout just somebody Black, huh
Well, you is the n**** and you need to know that
You’s a ign’ant motherf***er, yup, facts is just facts
I don’t want no more n**** blues
She’s not criticizing her people, she’s shooting down ignorance in all forms, skinfolk or not.
“Right Here Right Now” transforms our neo-soul queen into a disco diva, while “Offdaback,” which tributes to the genes that made her, feels closer to a freestyle. Then, on the next track “Norf Side” she tosses out the subtlety entirely and gets her Lady of Rage on, going bar for bar with Tierra Whack over DJ Premier production.
Can we get a remake of Bahamadia’s “3 tha Hard Way” with Jill, Tierra and Rapsody? Like yesterday!?
We even get a Blaxploitation bounce for “BPOTY,” where Jill uses biting satire to shake the shackles of capitalism:
Pharmaceutical, ah, industry got me dying to heal
Keep me in the hospital, bills sky high
Suppress my symptoms (‘Til I die)
With a little pill (‘Til I die)
What you tryna do to me?
Keep me coming back like a ho on a track and that’s a fact
But it’s the album’s more lowkey moments that often are its most powerful. Second single “Pressha” – which might go down as one of my favorite Jill songs to date – rumbles with resentment, a woman cast aside because she didn’t fit so-called beauty standards. And even when her beau comes crawling back – “the wolf outside my bedroom door/Howling at the moon for me” – the rejection still stings. “Don’t Play” is Jill’s not-so-subtle attempt to take command in the bedroom over a midtempo banger: “You ain’t no jackhammer/I ain’t no city street.” And “The Math” is a socially conscious statement of accountability, urging the listener to look within for the source of their pain (“Could it be we flee responsibility/All cuz mom and dad made us sad … Could it be that our ugliness/Our ugliness is our favorite bad habit?/You do the math”) and realize they have the keys to overcome it.
To Whom This May Concern winds up so much more than just a great R&B album. It’s a message of hope in uncertain times – activism through song. Call it recenecy bias if you want, but in a discography filled with great releases, To Whom This May Concern easily is among her best. None of Jill’s previous albums feel as vital to the moment as this one.
As the album comes to a close, the duo of “Ase” and “Sincerely Do” ends the experience on almost spiritual note – “Ase” serves as the blessing, “Sincerely Do” the benediction. “I been reaching out/From my heart and soul … Hope this clarity comes through.”
Jill said in an earlier interview of this project: “It’s for the people it’s for.”
The message is clear. It’s for her longsuffering fans. It’s for the culture of R&B. It’s for a world needing peace through song.
This album is for all of us. And the timing couldn’t be more perfect.
Best tracks: “Pressha,” “Ase,” “Norf Side”
4 stars out of 5
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