Jill Scott celebrated the 20th anniversary of her debut album Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 with a special message to her supporters. In an IGTV video the celebrated artist revealed that she was met with criticism and resistance from the very start of her journey to greatness.
“I want to tell you that no matter what you do, if it’s genuine to you, you’re always going to come up against some kind of obstacle or and somebody that doesn’t understand or doesn’t want to see you glow or want to see you win,” said Scott.
She learned this lesson at a young age thanks to finding evidence of it cleaning out the desks in her 6th grade classroom.
“I found a notebook and the notebook on the inside said ‘I Hate Jill Scott Club,’” said Scott. She revealed that these mini-haters were organized. “There were members, they kept minutes, there was a treasurer,” she added, with a smirk.
“I just put the notebook back and kept it pushing there’s always been something or somebody that doesn’t like you or hate you even,” she continued.
There were more hurdles to leap over as the Grammy award-winning artist worked her way to the top of the charts.
Scott said: “I remember 20 years ago I’d go into a radio station in New York and the radio host, he was cool, cool with me or whatever. We had a good time. I left and heard through the grapevine that he had called me a ‘fat pork chop eating bitch that would never sell another record.’ I was like damn son!”
At another radio station, Scott was warned that a host was difficult to deal with but she was shocked at their kindness during their interview.
“I got there and they were so nice to me and we had such a pleasant interview and it was all supportive and everything. And I get in the car and I’m headed back to Philly feeling like, okay it was scary, but job well done.”
During her trip home she learned that while the host was polite to her face, they were silently setting her up for failure. “I’m in the car listening to the radio and they played the sound of a cow mooing under everything I said,” she said.
Scott smiled at the fact that she was able to thrive despite the haters.
“Baby I have been lied on. I’ve been cheated. I’ve had someone hack into my phone. I’ve gone from ‘Queen’ to ‘thot’ in hours. I have been sued and I’m still here,” she said. She thanked her supporters for standing with her.
“I’m still so grateful for every single person that has organically gravitated to my energy. You don’t have to, you don’t have to, but I thank you for doing it. This has been a beautiful 20 years. Here’s to 20 more thank you so much,” she concluded.