Top 77 Jill Scott Quotes

One of the things I love about Africa is the amount of dignity and respect and humility you see all the time. You don’t realise how often you’re disrespected until you are surrounded by respect.

A lot of the girls I grew up with were pregnant by the time they were 16. I just was lucky.

I’ve always been a firm believer that soul music never dies. The artists we still listen to today, years after their music was first heard are mostly soul artists; Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, Chaka Khan. We still sing along to all of them with our hearts.

I think all any artist or person wants to do is grow spiritually, emotionally, professionally and mentally.

The best gift I was ever given was the arts. My mum gave me those on a silver platter. Growing up, her and my grandmother would take me to ballets, classical concerts, even smoky jazz clubs I wasn’t supposed to be in!

I like to be in the now, now. Sometimes musicians have to wait for me to be genuine with it. As an actor, I don’t have that luxury. You have to make it legit when they say ‘action.’

Common is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and to describe him as a vile rapper because he has an opinion… just says a lot about the state of America. You are allowed to have an opinion in the United States – he’s never harmed anybody, he just has an opinion about a president that wasn’t good for our country.

I could float in the pool for hours, just letting the water carry me.

I don’t write on demand – I wait for inspiration to come.

I’m going to keep it real gully with you; the first two months, I wanted to give him back. I expected someone to come and save me because after you have the baby, nobody cares about you anymore. Nobody cares if you sleep, nobody cares if you eat. It’s just you and this all-consuming thingy!

I just want to continue to grow, as an actor, and dig. Hopefully, one day, I’ll lose myself in a role. My only worry about that is that I just want to be able to come back home. I don’t want to get lost forever. That scares me.

You owe it to yourself to live beautifully. And I am.

The artists who stand out to me have a passion for what they do. There are a lot of people who can sing. It’s just like when you go to church and people are singing because it sounds good, not because it feels good. There’s a difference.

I could hear music playing in the background of works by certain authors, like Poe and Shakespeare. And I discovered Nikki Giovanni when I was in eighth grade. Her writing has a musical energy with pulse and rhythm, almost like jazz or hip-hop.

For anyone who feels they are overwhelmed by their job, or maybe they take their job too seriously or are working too hard, I say go to a safari, particularly the Okavango Delta, and just be humbled.

I see myself being a great-grandmother at my great-grandson’s graduation from a school that has my name on it.

I just think it’s silly to be stingy with compliments. If you see someone and they strike you as beautiful in any way, why not let them know?

I’m excited about turning 40. I’ve been an adult for a long time, but there is a difference between being an adult and being a grown-up. I’m someone’s mummy now and I’m enjoying that. I feel as if I’m about to hit my peak.

I don’t think I’ll get married again. I’m not looking for it. What I can say about my divorce and my failed engagement is that I learned where my bar is.

For a writer it’s a dream to sit and watch people as close as possible.

Sometimes I feel like a Buddhist and I need to chant; sometimes a Baptist and I need to holler and shout; and sometimes I need to be a Catholic and need to purge my sins and confess. It just depends on where I am.

I’m sorry that ‘Fringe’ is gone. I really wanted to do more on that show. It was great!

When you get a jean for a larger girl, you have to have them tailored for you. Tailoring is indeed everything.

Seriously, in America there are more big, curvy girls than there are little girls, and men love us, too.

‘Saturday Night Live’ is a show that I think I could have a lot of fun on, just being different characters and maybe singing, too.

My intention is to make music that you can enjoy at all times.

I believe the relationship you have with your government is not so different to a love relationship.

I’d been told that when you first put your feet on African ground, you’ll be hit by a feeling of overwhelming understanding, like you’ve returned home and suddenly belong. Quite frankly, I didn’t feel that.

Being a mom, it feels like I did something so powerful and amazing. It’s such a gigantic blessing, and a confirmation that the Creator exists. And all of that has made me feel sexier and stronger. I call it ‘lava in my spine.’

Africa doesn’t leap on you immediately; it seeps slowly, and it’s incredibly important to be respectful and humble there.

I need to find creative diversity because if I get stuck, I get unhappy.

I always wanted to be a renaissance woman, do as many things as I possibly can and hopefully do them well or don’t do them at all.

My stepfather was a very nasty individual.

When I was 12, I wrote a list of things to do before I died. ‘Own a Picasso’ was one of those things.

My grandmother told me: ‘Never be in debt to anyone or anything.’ Which is probably why I’ve never been financially extravagant – I still go to Costco. I’m always conscious of living within my means.

I have been training since 8th grade, but it has to do with listening, more than practice.

Whatever happens in my life, whether I stand up or I fall down, whatever the case, I’m going to use it in my art. Why? Because I’m an artist and I have to.

The highs, the lows, the peaks, the valleys, whatever, it’s all going to go into the art, whether I’m singing or acting or whatever.

‘True Blood’ excites me. It scares me, but it excites me.

We all get angry and jealous sometimes, none of us is perfect, but we should not try to be different.

I do so play an instrument! I play air! I play the air with my fingers, and I’m in touch with the deepest emotions within. It took me a while to learn that whatever I feel like doing is the right thing. If I want to play an invisible instrument, I will.

One day, I just got up to read a poem and started singing. I looked around – the reaction was great. And I said, ‘Oh, boy. I like this.’

All man-made religions are limited. I go my own way.

I’ve been enjoying playing with fashion – gold grills and diamond grills have just become a part of that.

You have to be humble when you’re dealing with God.

I don’t rhyme right now, but I may ten years from now.

I was reading poetry to my girlfriends, and they were like, ‘You’re really good. You should go to some poetry readings or something.’ And I eventually went and got a, you know, somewhat of a name for myself and a little bit of a following.

I’ve always enjoyed shows like ‘The X-Files,’ where you’re on the edge of your seat and you’re so invested in these characters.

I would say for every successful black woman in America or in the world, really, it’s difficult to be the head of the household, financially. It is for the man in your life. It can be very hard for them. And there’s a delicate balance. I’m not quite sure I know what that balance is just yet.

I was once making a burger for myself at my boyfriend’s house and a lyric started pouring out and I had to catch it, so I ran to another room to write it down, but then the kitchen caught fire. His cabinets were charred, and he was furious. But it was worth it for a song.

Soul music is about longevity and reaching and touching people on a human level – and that’s never going to get lost.

I think, as an artist, you have to have experienced some deep turmoil, some kind of pain, because that’s what connects you with the world. That’s what makes it juicy!

I think human beings will always still really enjoy using our imaginations, and ‘Fringe’ allows you to do that. It’s slightly scary and believable. There just might be an alternate universe. There just might be people on the other side that are like us, living a different life.

Heartbreak was the impetus to me writing poems and music in the first place.

When I first became famous, I didn’t know if I could go where I wanted to because I didn’t know how people were going to act. Some folks would scream and holler, and I didn’t know what to do with that.

The video for ‘Whatever’ is kind of a documentary in a way. It’s showing that love can last. Not just in your early 20s or your late 30s, but in your 50s, 60s and 70s. There’s an awful myth out there that when you get married, love and lovemaking fade. It’s not true.

Everybody’s looking for love, and you want to love somebody and be loved in return.

When I was growing up, my mother would take me to plays and museums, and we’d talk about life. Those times helped shape who I became.

I’ve learned that friendship does not equate business, business does not equate friendship.

At my aunt’s funeral, I promised myself that I wouldn’t be bound by the belief that I’m supposed to stay in anything – whether it’s a relationship, a job, a house, or a circumstance – if it makes me miserable. She gave me the courage to find my own happiness.

There are a lot of difficulties with people trying to conceive.

‘Fringe’ is one of my favorite television shows, from its inception. I absolutely love all of the science fiction of it, the mystery of it, and the science in it.