Jill Scott is one busy lady. Not only is she starring on the popular BET+ series “First Wives Club” she’s also embarking on a tour to celebrate the 23rd anniversary of her hit debut album “Who is Jill Scott? Words & Sounds Vol. 1.” The tour will kick off in February in Augusta, Georgia, at the Bell Auditorium. Pre-sales for Scott’s tour began Dec. 6.
This will be Scott’s second attempt at getting the tour on the road; it was previously forced to end prematurely due to the pandemic.
“My band and I were so excited three years ago, but that damn COVID shut us down,” Scott said in a press release. “Now, we outside! Come see me. Come feel again. Relive your favorite moments. Ya’ll ready to settle down and get with this?!? It’s a lot of love here.”
The tour is being produced by Live Nation Urban and is set to hit more than 20 markets nationwide. In addition to the tour, Scott will also have special multi-show residencies in Washington, D.C., at the MGM National Harbor on Mother’s Day weekend and later at The MET Philadelphia.
“Who is Jill Scott? Words & Sounds Vol. 1” was released in July 2000. It went double platinum and garnered several Grammy nominations.
Music isn’t Scott’s only income stream.
Scott has had as much success acting as she has during her first artistic endeavor of music.
Scott, 50, has amassed a fortune of $12 million.
Here’s how.
‘First Wives Club’
“First Wives Club” is a television series based on the 1996 film of the same name but featuring an all-Black cast. The series premiered on September 19, 2019, on BET+. On the popular series, Scott plays Hazel Rachelle, a well-known R&B singer who was married to the president of her music label.
Acting Abounds
In 2000, Scott’s friend, film director Ozzie Jones, suggested she launch an acting career. She studied first, joining a fellowship at a theater company in Philadelphia. Scott made her film debut in 2007, in the films “Hounddog” and Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married?” She’s also been in such films as “Why Did I Get Married Too?,” “Sins of the Mother,” and the Showtime movie “Cavedwellers,” among other projects. In 2014, she starred in the film “Get on Up,” a story about the life of music legend James Brown.
While her acting salaries have not been made public, she’s starred in films and TV projects and continues to add to her acting resume.
On TV, she has appeared in “Girlfriends,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and others. In 2008, she landed her own series. Her BBC/HBO series “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” was based on the novels of the same name. It ran from 2008 to 2009.In 2018, Scott appeared in The CW DC Comics superhero series “Black Lightning” as Lady Eve.
Scott also does voiceover work. She was the voice of Storm of the X-Men on the BET series “Black Panther” in 2010.
Music
Born on April 4, 1972, she started her career as a spoken word artist. She was discovered by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of the Roots, who invited her to join the band in the studio. Then she transitioned into singing and songwriting. Scott was the first artist signed to the Hidden Beach Recordings label. Her 2000 debut album, “Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1,” went platinum, and the follow-ups “Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2” (2004) and “The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3” (2007) both earned gold status.
Her next album wasn’t until 2014, when she dropped her fourth: “The Light of the Sun,” in 2011. She released another collection the next year, “Woman.”
Record Company Drama
Early in 2010, Scott was sued by Hidden Beach Records for leaving halfway through her six-album contract. The company claimed she owed millions of dollars in damages. Scott countersued.
The legal battle got nasty as Hidden Beach planned to release several compilation albums consisting of previously unreleased material by Scott. Scott went to court to block the release, claiming her fans would get confused with the new material she was releasing. Scott went on to sign a distribution deal with Warner Brothers in early 2011, that gave Scott direct control over her marketing and promotions. Warner would distribute her material under her imprint of Blues Babe Records, Billboard reported.
“Verzuz” Battle
On May 9, 2020, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu competed in the first live stream “Verzuz” battle between women. More than 700,000 viewers tuned in to the three-hour singing battle, including notables Michelle Obama, Spike Lee, Quincy Jones and Janet Jackson.
Costly Divorce
Scott and her long-term boyfriend, Lyzel Williams, a graphic artist and DJ, married in 2001. They divorced in 2007. Scott has a son with drummer Li’l John Roberts, born on April 20, 2009.
Scott later married Mike Dobson in June 2016, a union that lasted for just over 17 months. The divorce was messy. She took out a restraining order against him after he blasted her in the media. Even though there was a prenup in place, as part of the divorce settlement, Scott has to pay a nearly $50,000 lien on a car for Dobson. Scott agreed to pay the $47,815 lien on his Mercedes, absolving him of any debt on the vehicle. Neither had to pay spousal support, and a judge denied his request for her to pay his $6,500 legal fees.
Philanthropic Efforts
In 2003, Scott established the Blues Babe Foundation to help young minority students pay for university expenses.
