Transcript
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“Crown Ones” off the album Stepfather by People Under the Stairs. [Music continues under the dialogue, then fades out.]
oliver wang
Hello! I’m Oliver Wang.
morgan rhodes
And I’m Morgan Rhodes. You’re listening to Heat Rocks.
oliver
Every episode, we invite a guest to join us to talk about a heat rock. You know, an album that burns its way into our collective memory. And today, we’re gonna be letting the love rain shower down upon us. [Morgan chuckles.] To exclusively revisit the 2000 debut album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott.
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“Love Rain” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. Love rain down on me, on me Down on me Love rain down on me, on me Down on me Love rain down on me, on me Down on me [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
Many of us were introduced to Jill Scott in the late nineties when The Roots rolled her out on the strength of their and Scott’s hit “You Got Me”. Even if she was taken off the eventual commercial version of the single in favor of Erykah Badu, Scott refused to stay behind the scenes. And come Y2K, we all got to bear witness to Scott in her full, resplendent glory on her debut. We use the term “vibe” on here a lot. [Morgan affirms.] And I’m always a little bit wary of using it as lazy shorthand, but how else to describe Who is Jill Scott? if not that it sets a vibe from jump and keeps you deep in it for the 73-minute runtime? Along the way, Jill takes us into her world and boudoir with songs about love and sex, romance and betrayal, and the high fiber advantages of a collard greens diet. It’s easy to forget all of the millennial anxiety that came with the year 2000, but Jill’s velour voice spoke comfort and coziness, reminding us, “Baby, don’t worry. You know that you got me.”
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“Love Rain” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. He, he had me tongue tied I could hear his rhythm in my thoughts I was his sharp, his horn section His boom and his bip And he was my love Love rain down on me, on me Down on me The rain was falling… [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
Who is Jill Scott? was the album pick of our guest today, Yola. Her debut project, 2019’s Walk Through Fire released in February on the Easy Eye Sound label, let the world know what I already knew because I’m super-ahead of my time: that Yola’s vocals are matchless. Her pen game is compelling. And that music is all the better because she’s here. The hybrid of rock, soul, and country, and Yola’s sweeping flourishes kept us all captivated for the full 13 tracks, including a gorgeous cover of “Yellow Brick Road.”
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“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” from the album Walk Through Fire by Yola. You can’t plant me in your penthouse I’m going back to my plow Back to the howling old owl in the woods Hunting the horny back toad [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
Not surprisingly, the Recording Academy heard and loved all they heard and nominated this album and this artist for four Grammys. Her latest, “Stand for Myself,” is due out July the 30th. I find her voice irresistible and the lyrics on her title track transparent and so necessary.
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“Stand for Myself” from the album Walk Through Fire by Yola. Let go of yourself for a new beginning It was easier to sing than stand for myself It was easy to give in... [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
She is so necessary, and I’m honored to have her with us. Yola, welcome to Heat Rocks.
yola
Hiii! Thank you so much for having me.
morgan
Glad to have you with us. So, what was your introduction to Jill Scott and to this album, in particular?
yola
Well, I was in a club probably in the—you know, around 2002, maybe? I had a friend tell me like, “This album is something that you’re gonna love.” And I was, like, clueless. And I felt as though that I was connected to the neo-soul movement, but clearly I’d missed a trick. [Morgan chuckles.] And someone played me the song “Long Walk” and that just changed—just my idea of, like, what an album could do.
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“A Long Walk” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. Sometimes we all got to swim upstream You ain’t no saint, we all are sinners But you put your good foot down And make your soul a winner I respect that, man you’re so phat And you’re all that, plus supreme [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
yola
It was that fiercely personal. But in that era, we’d come out of the nineties and there was a lot of this polarizing of the Black woman experience. And you were really either like—you know—this angel, like, Benedictine angel, or you were the full-on hussy. [Chuckles.] And there seemed to be no middle ground for just anyone I’d ever met. [Laughing.] And so I was like, “This is—it just doesn’t feel representative of just human beings.” And so, I had this record and it felt like a representation of human beings! That were Black! And are still currently Black! And— [Yola and Morgan laugh.] And I thought, “That is, in itself—why is this revolutionary? Why, oh why is this a revolution? I have no understanding why. I’m at this moment listening to something that is reminding me of my own humanity." It’s weird, but like especially in the UK—where, as you can tell by my accent, I was born—there seems to be this extreme erasure of any imagery of, like, a Black woman experiencing just a romantic time of any description, a tender moment of any description. And so, this album spoke to me because it was just so relatable. You know.
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“Brotha” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. So many times, you tried to cut we You wanna tear we down, but you Can’t touch we We ain’t invincible But Lord knows, we are beautiful And blessed Check the affirmative (oh yes) [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
For me, and I mentioned this in my intro, I first heard her on the original—I guess live—version of The Roots “You Got Me”. And this was, of course, as I mentioned before, MCA forced the group to replace her with Erykah Badu.
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“You Got Me (Live)” by The Roots, featuring Jill Scott. Black Thought And now we rocking shit like Jill Scott She keeps telling me, telling me, yo Jill Scott If you worry about where I been or who I saw or What club I went to with my homies Baby, don’t worry, you know that you got me [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
But I don’t think I really paid attention to her until this album dropped, which was very much a proper magnum opus from her. And considering that the neo-soul movement was already out of its infancy by at least a few years, I think it’s all the more impressive to me that Scott was able to come out with this heat rock of a debut and still make that sound feel vibrant, because it could have easily gone the other way and it’s like, “Yeah, we’ve already heard D’Angelo. We’ve already heard Erykah. We’ve already heard—” You know, whoever else. Fill in the blank. And somehow, this album didn’t sound dated. It sounded fresh, even for a neo-soul album. Yeah. How about you, Morgan?
morgan
Well, I just wanna add real quick that a really beautiful moment during the pandemic was at the start of Verzuz when they did a Jill Scott, Erykah vs.—and when the song came on, they were so complimentary to each other as sisters by saying, “You really did that thing.” It was nothing but love, because heretofore, all the talk around it that—is—was all the acrimony. But in that moment, which was so good for Black women and so good for advancing the cause of Black women friendship, which is a real thing. And so I loved that moment and that song. So, I just wanted to say that. My introduction to Jill Scott was through Giles Peterson, as I have come to know a great many songs. It was Giles Peterson’s worldwide program, which at the time was running at KCRW late at night. And I heard “Slowly Surely” and I was just beside myself. I was driving and I had to pull over because I was super-close to where I was going and I didn’t wanna have to get out of the car. And I hope for every, just, music fan that you have that moment where a song will make you pull over and not wanna get out of the car. And I was just like, “Good lord, what is this?”
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“Slowly Surely” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. Slowly, surely, I walk away from I walk away from Slowly, surely, I walk away from… [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
And then fast-forward to June 23rd—and I’ll always remember that day—June 23rd, 2000, and Garth Trinidad had her on his show. And a bit of that conversation—of an earlier conversation they had is at the beginning of Who is Jill Scott?.
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“Jilltro” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. Garth Trinidad Give her love, yo Give her love, Jill Scott Jill Scott Love, love, love, love, love I got to write about it What’s up everybody? I’m glad to see you all here tonight It’s nice to get this love, I need it (Love, love, love, love, love) I love to write poetry, I love to sing I love to write poetry… [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
What makes Who is Jill Scott? a heat rock for you?
yola
Well, I think in my mind, I can cast my consciousness back to that era of my life and where I was. I think it spoke to me through a solid decade, at least. And sometimes not just in a “Oh, this is a jam,” or “Oh, this is like a grand production,” but it was relevant. [Chuckles.] It was advice. It was like a go-to. It was necessary! It’s a heat rock for me, because even though I might not be, like, wading in the mire of some of the issues—a decent number of the issues—that, on this record, that dogged my life anymore, that advice is still something that is timeless in that regard. You’ll still be like, “Oh, no, I do need this love checklist. I do need to be like, 'Is it—but is it? But is it?!'” You know. [Oliver chuckles.] And, like, reinforcing. It’s like a reinforcing of all the stuff that you know that you’ve learned the hard way. You know? And so, yeah, it’s hella relevant to regular women across the globe, constantly.
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“Try” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. Try and try and try to Now, as a grown woman, I still stumble and fall But with a lot of faith and the same amount of effort I can withstand it all I done seen some things… [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
Morgan, I’m sure you have your own thoughts on the album as a heat rock in and of itself, but I’m just curious to ask, given what Yola was talking about and thinking of the album as this checklist, as kind of this—an advice column, almost, right?—of an LP, was that your experience listening to this, as well?
morgan
Well, as I love to say on this show, confession is good for the soul. So, I have to say, for Jill Scott albums in general—for all of the albums—I’m either just getting into something or just getting out of something. So, for me, it was a way to check my little relationship, you know, Ps and Qs. Jill Scott is the little sister that you’re cool with and the big sister that you didn’t know you needed. She’s got advice. [Oliver agrees.] Considering she was a 28-year-old woman when this came out, she was worldly. She had vision. She was trying to prevent you from some things before therapy became popular. She was just your homegirl helping you process those emotions. And so, I think the things that she said on this album—I mean, listening back in prep for this chat, I was like, “Good lord, this is wisdom.” And this is wisdom that you usually earn much later in life. But to be a young woman imparting that sort of advice on us about relationship, love, criteria, sexuality—it is—it’s more profound to me listening to it an hour before we taped than it even was in 2000 when it—when it came out.
yola
Yes! One hundred percent! [Laughs.] That—the profundity of it, like—I can’t believe how much more I was like, “Wow.” [Morgan laughs and agrees several times as Yola continues.] Like, I don’t—I think I missed so many messages! Like, in your youth, you’re like, “Oh, this is great!” And you lean into the sentimental yearning sides when you’re younger. And, like, even though you agree with the advice, it’s like you don’t know how to apply it! You’ve got no idea! [Laughs.] So, yeah! That became a really big kind of like—when I was prepping as well, listening to it again, I was like, “Wow.” All of those bits, I’m like, “That doesn’t speak to me. This does, now!” So, it’s like this seesawing of, “This is how it is. This is how it should be.” It’s like—it’s what it makes it a cross-generational experience. And sonically beautiful, which is another thing that I think, for the singers, really, like—it was the song—it was the album all the singers practiced top to bottom to get their chops. And so, then it—artistically, it had, like—it forced you to emote, and it forced you to be technical. And it forced you to engage. And you couldn’t really deliver a Jill Scott song without emotionally engaging. And so, I think it gave birth to a lot of singers. I remember being in West London and the broken beat scene in West London was rife with people who were influenced by Jill Scott. I was in a band called Bugs in the Attic, at the time. And like— [Oliver affirms.] They worked with so many singers and we’d all be referencing Jill Scott.
oliver
Just to go on a quick tangent—and Morgan, I know you had wanted to ask Yola about, just, the qualities of Jill Scott’s voice, and I—Yola, I was just struck at the fact that you were saying how the people that you knew in that broken beat scene who were singing were all trying to take their cues from Jill Scott. So, I’m really curious about what it is with that. And so, Morgan, you wanna ask your question now?
morgan
Well, yeah, you know, we love to have singers on this show and one of the things that’s so special to me, as a non-singer but just as a—as a lover of her voice, is the texture. And that I think her range is so modest. You think that you know Jill Scott until she hits one of those notes and you’re like, “Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Where did this come from?” The other thing I like about her voice is how she takes her time with words. And I think that comes from her as a poet. So, I just wanted to ask you what is it that’s so special, to you, about Jill Scott’s voice?
yola
For me, like, I am so obsessed with the expressive. So, like, her being a poet obviously leans into her natural proclivity for expression, lyrically. But we might not always think that a poetic inclination can lead to melodic expression. But it’s a mindset. Once you are in this mindset, once you have the inclination to this mindset, the concept of play is unending. Like, the idea of time, the idea of tonality, everything is play or is range, is possibility and a way to take the concept of that art that you create and to put another layer of expression in there. It’s not just that we’re gonna throw down the chops. We’re not just gonna turn every trill that exists. That we’re going to really make a point of making sure that we do what we can to… put heart into what we sing. And so, she’s feather-light when it’s really necessary to be feather-light. And she’s booming when it’s reeeally necessary to be booming. And, like, to miss that, to think that she’s just having fun—there is play in there, for sure. You can hear it. Especially like “It’s Love.” That—like, there’s a lot of play in there. But it’s so important to be realizing that she’s—that the way she’s saying something is why you love that song. It is the words. It is the melody. But it’s the—it’s the how. The how is the art. The how is why you love it.
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“It’s Love” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. Do you want it on your collard greens? Do you want it on your candy sweets? Do you want it on your pickled beets? Give it to me, give it to me, give me Do you want it on your rice and gravy? Do you want it on your biscuits, baby? Do you want it… [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
yola
So, the thing that I love about her voice is the emotionality of it, that ability to convey something, a feeling that—you don’t know if someone else has the capacity to convey that feeling in that way. When she’s talking about something, you’re like, “Wow! I felt that.” [Morgan chuckles.] I don’t know if I wanna listen to “Exclusively” with anyone in my family, or—I don’t know— [They laugh.] You know?!
oliver
We—we’re gonna come back to that skit, definitely, 100%, no question. [Yola laughs.] And I think—I think I have the same feeling that you do, maybe for the same reasons why, but we’ll definitely come back to it.
yola
[Laughing.] A hundred percent.
morgan
Two things I wanted to add to that, what you were saying about—you know, singers in the UK, you know, being—having this, you know, attachment, this connection with Jill Scott. I knew that was true when Jill Scott showed up on the 4hero album, with that “I gotta, gotta get up.” I was like, “Wait a minute. Wait a minute! Jill Scott and drum and bass?! That’s a perfect—that’s peanut butter and jelly!” Right? [Yola agrees.] But it was just so perfect to know that she was recognized across—across the pond.
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“Gotta Get Up” from the album Experience: Jill Scott by Jill Scott. Swim the river, climb the hill, complacency Ain’t gon’ get me, no, no, no, no ‘Cause I gotta get up, I gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta Gotta, gotta, gotta get up [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
The other thing I wanted to say was—to your point about the way that she says certain things—I think one of the best songs that illustrates this on this album is “Honey Molasses.” And she gets to a point in the song where she says—I think she says, “We made music. We trombone.” And the way that she sings “trombone”—you’re just like, “C’mon, Jill. Don’t kill us out here.” It’s just so—it’s—[chuckles] it’s just so gorgeous and perfect. And so, I think we, uh—I think we’re speaking the same language in terms of how we see Jill’s voice, how we hear Jill’s voice.
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“Honey Molasses” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. We made music We trombone It was magic the way it happened [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
Morgan, we still haven’t heard about why you find this album a heat rock.
morgan
Well, I think it meets all the criteria that we addressed at the beginning of the show. It’s fire, flammable, and it’s an album that bumps continuously. Right? [Oliver chuckles.] It’s turning 21 years old this year and it sounds just as good to me now as it did back then. I mean, it’s still—you can play it from cover to cover. It’s groundbreaking. She was one of the very few poets that I’ve been aware of to transition to recording artist and to do it successfully. Like, she wasn’t just any poet. Like, she was killing on the poetry scene. I feel like Who is Jill Scott? is like a very long spoken word piece specifically for Black girls, set to melody and to that pretty voice of hers. And just a reminder how nice she was on the poetry circuit; I just want you to hear a piece of this. Christian, if you could play it.
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Jill Scott: I had been turning tricks longer than I actually knew it. Being whatever they wanted me to be whenever they wanted me to be it. A freak, inside, outside, kitchen counters, laundry mats, two at a time, hotels, motels, and backseats in leased cars, vans, and jeeps. Made myself like it, ‘cause they liked it. And I liked that they liked it. So, I continued being the perfect image of a wet dream.
morgan
Who is Jill Scott? Jill Scott is nice with the lyrics. And also, what was groundbreaking about this was that it so represented Philly. Philly’s got great poets. I mean, three of the best in the game: her, Ursula Rucker, and a poet named Lyrispect. [Oliver and Yola agree.] So, she brought all that energy. She brought that North Philly. And seminal albums bring their hoods with them, and she brought Philly. And then also too, I think the whole album is a heat rock, but there are three scorchers that whenever she sings them live, every Black girl I know across every generation sings them word-for-word. [Yola agrees emphatically with every choice.] “Long Walk,” “The Way,” and “Slowly Surely.” As soon as she gets to “grits,” everybody sings “grits” at the—at the same time. And that’s classic material, that people remember that part—you know—of that. And also, too, interludes. Everybody that listens to this show, you know how I feel about interludes. And “The Roots (Interlude)” on here is well-placed. It’s thoughtful. It’s a great way to introduce herself and tell you where she came from. It’s a great way to big up The Roots.
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“The Roots (Interlude)” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. What’s your name, girlfriend? Girlfriend, what’s your name? My name is J-I-L-L S-C-O-T-T Jill Scott representing North Philly, y’all J-I-L-L S-C-O-T-T [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
A long way to say, this for me is a heat rock. It’s one of my favorite albums of all time.
oliver
You know, the spoken word part of it keeps coming up here and I’m gonna talk about it in just a second. The first thing that I just wanna say about how I—especially on revisiting this LP, which I had probably not done in about 20, 21 years—and I said this during the intro, it’s just the vibe of it. And really, you’re just doused in that from jump with just the few—the first few chords of “Do You Remember.” [Morgan hums thoughtfully.]
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“Do You Remember” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. Oh, oh [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
See, now, our audience can’t see this, but we are all just nodding. [Morgan and Yola laugh.] We’re just head bopping along as that just melds in. And, to me, that aspect of it is completely timeless. I think it’s one of the great qualities of this album and I think what both of you have alluded to is that you could drop this in 2021 and it still sound as fresh as it was when it came out in the year 2000. Now, on the flip side—and I’m just gonna say this for me personally, right? I don’t want this to be associated with anyone else here on this—on this chat. I think the spoken word part of it—and 2000 was probably the year that I kind of dipped my little pinky toe into the spoken word scene. I never got super-deep into it, but to the extent that I ever did, would have been around 2000, 2001. So, this part of it was not timeless. This was very much, “Yeah, this is some early 2000s ish.” And this is, again, just me speaking: I, personally, am not sure if the spoken word stuff has aged all that well. Though maybe I’m just picking on one specific line off of “Love Rain.”
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“Love Rain” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. Slowly and sweetly And stinging my eyes and I could not see That he became my voodoo priest And I was his faithful concubine Wide open, wide Loose like bowels after collard greens The mistake was made Love… [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
So, I’m not sure that was the best simile that, you know, she could have whipped out there. You know, “loose like bowels after—[chuckling and struggling with the words] after collard greens.” But that element of it—and obviously, to your point, Morgan, she is drawing from the fact that Jill Scott entered into—as a performing artist, she came to it through the poetry scene. Which is awesome. I mean, like one of my favorite contemporary artists, right—G YAMAZAWA, who we’ve talked about. He started off as a spoken word artist. [Morgan affirms.] So, it’s not like I’m denigrating the act of it. But that—the cadence of it, like the sound of it—because that just takes me instantly back to, like, 2000 and going to spoken word shows. And so it’s a time warp. I’m not gonna say it’s a bad time-warp, but it’s one that I’m a little bit ambivalent about, because there’s a lot of—there was a lot of great spoken word from that era and a lot of, uh, maybe less so, for that reason. Yeah.
morgan
It’s just a reminder, to me, of that time and the feeling around being at spoken word events and being in cyphers and the great things that you would hear, the great poets that came out of there. Saul Williams comes to mind. [Oliver agrees.] And so, it just gives me a tingly feeling. You know. I live for nostalgia, anyway. That’s also another show. [Oliver chuckles.] But I love what it conjures up in me. It—I love what it reminds me of, I guess I’d say.
yola
Yeah. And I think, as well, to a degree—although I can definitely speak on being in slam poetry events, knowing slam poets, and being like, “Okay, this is gonna be either glorious or awful.” [Morgan and Oliver chuckle.] I’m gonna have to do that really awkward thing where I’m like, [cheerfully] “Heeey! Hiiii! How did that feel?!” without—instead of like saying, [flatly] “Dude. No!” So, [laughs] like—like, it’s easy. I think I had that experience with jazz as well. I was singing jazz for like five years. My first shows were jazz shows. And like, again, it had been so kind of—I’d had it be misused so much that I had moments where I’d hear something and it would trigger this unwelcome feeling. And it’s—and so, yeah, no. It’s funny that you get that, because I get that sentiment, but for me the spoken word is a vehicle to speak on—like, people that you see in the neighborhood. People that you see next door. People that you see in your life that, through the vehicle of song, you might not have space to speak on. You might—and with the way that poetry works, you can get so much more in. And so I felt like I was being introduced to people, to the diaspora across the pond. And the service that did for a dark-skinned Black girl growing up in a very, very white village outside of Bristol, was that I had a touchstone. I had something to connect to that was the tropes that you’re presented with aren’t universal.
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“I Think It’s Better” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. What I feel, you just haven’t heard So, I think it’s better that I tell you now I think it’s better that I tell you now [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
I wanted to come back to something that, Yola, you were mentioning earlier around the—especially around how Jill Scott talks about love, and I think, in particular, sexuality on this album. And how it felt—that it found a lane that wasn’t really being explored by at least the kind of—the dominant artists, you know, in that era. And this is where we kind of come back to talking about “Exclusively” and the—sort of the awkwardness of listening to it with family, as you were saying earlier. [Yola chuckles.] So, on our show, we recently talked about Lil’ Kim’s Hard Core. And it was really interesting listening to Jill’s album just a few weeks after Morgan and I were talking about Lil’ Kim’s album, because both of these albums have explicit expressions of a Black woman’s sexuality but coming from—I think—very different angles on it. And what really struck me about coming back to Jill’s album, and really—not just “Exclusively”, but that song really stands out in this way—is that what, to me, feels uncomfortable about it is not because it’s either on this kind of hyper-pornographic fantasy level that we get with something like Lil’ Kim. And on the flip side, nor is it the kind of album that shrouds talk about sex in so much metaphor that you’re not even sure if they’re actually talking about sex or not. Like, Jill is just putting it out there, right? She’s being really earnest about it and straightforward and somehow that seems unusual. Like, just talking about the pleasure that she finds in sexuality seems refreshing, which kind of tells us about how narrow the band—at least in, you know, circa 2000—how narrow the band was in terms of the ways in which sexuality, especially Black women’s sexuality, could be spoken about. And so, yeah, for whatever reason—and again, I think—I guess this is the same for you. I just found myself listening to “Exclusively” and feeling very bashful about it! Like I’m being let into a conversation that maybe I really shouldn’t be listening to, except that she’s telling us this. So, clearly she wants us to hear it. [Morgan chuckles.]
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“Exclusively” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. He was licking and sucking on everything Just the way he should This morning’s extra loving was good We lay there sweaty, sex funky Happy as we wanna be Loving exclusively… [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
I’m getting a little flushed right now! So, I would love to hear what each of you think about Scott’s songwriting approach to sex and love.
yola
Oh! Well! [Morgan chuckles.] Uh, all I have to say [chuckling] about that is, um… I think I have seen and heard and watched in movies things that are as explicit from white ladies and felt maybe less bashful. I think—I don’t think that we are exposed to regular Black lady sexuality. I don’t think that we are exposed to lady sexuality at all as much as we should be. And that is important, especially from a Black woman. Because to have just a straight up, nice, ordinary type—none of us are virgins here, I’m guessing. I don’t mean to out you if you are, but— [They laugh.] But I’m assuming you’ve had nice sexual experiences with people before you were married, if you are indeed married. And, like, they weren’t all toxic. They weren’t all you being the wildest hoe in the streets and they weren’t all you, like, making a hole in the cover and just going, “Oooh! Lay back and think of England!” Like, we’ve had normal connections! [Laughs.] And so, I think to be able to speak on them in the way a guy does is the kind of equality that we’re looking for. And if we feel uncomfortable, we should explore that bias.
morgan
I love her eloquence as it relates to sexuality that comes from her being a poet. She’s so poetic with it that you get swept away and it is poetry and Blackness wrapped together. It had to be. [Yola agrees emphatically.] For you to name a song “Crown Royal,” that’s poetry and Blackness wrapped together. Everybody knows about that purple bag, that’s listening in.
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“Crown Royal” from the album The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3 by Jill Scott. Your hands on my hips pull me right back to you I catch that thrust, give it right back to you You’re in so deep, I’m breathing for you You grab my braids, arch my back high for you You’re diesel engine, I’m squirting mad oil Down on the floor ‘til my speakers start to boil I flip shit, quick slip… [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
Ooh! I mean, I love the way that she speaks about what we know she’s talking about and it’s so eloquent. But for me, she didn’t have to be. I just love the agency and the freedom that this young Black woman claimed for herself, following in the footsteps of Lucille Bogan and Victoria Spivey and Millie Jackson and Janet Jackson and Lil’ Kim and Donna Summer and Megan Thee Stallion. For me, it’s not the way that she sang it, necessarily, it’s that she decided to say it and she decided to say it without a man over her shoulder telling her how she should do so. So, I love that this is a continuum of Black women’s power with their own sexuality, and I celebrate her for that on this album.
oliver
We will be back with more of our conversation with Yola about Jill Scott’s Who is Jill Scott? after a brief word from some of our sibling Max Fun podcasts. Keep it locked.
music
“Crown Ones” off the album Stepfather by People Under the Stairs.
promo
Music: “Baby You Change Your Mind” by Nouvellas. Rileigh Smirl: Hello! I’m Rileigh Smirl. Sydnee McElroy: I’m Sydnee McElroy. Teylor Smirl: And I’m Teylor Smirl. Rileigh: And we host Still Buffering, a cross-generational guide to the culture that made us. Sydnee: Every week, we share media that made us who we are. Things like Archie comics! Teylor: Sailor Moon. Rileigh: And lots of Taylor Swift. Teylor: And now that Rileigh’s an adult, it comes with 100% more butts. Rileigh: And now I am totally comfortable with it. Sydnee: So, check out new episodes of Still Buffering every Thursday on MaximumFun.org. Teylor: Butts, butts, butts. Join in, Rileigh. Butts, butts, butts, butts. Rileigh: Butts, butts, butts, butts, butts. Sydnee: Butts, butts, butts, butts, butts. [Rileigh laughs and the music fades out.]
promo
Music: Cheerful, jazzy, old-timey music plays in background. Freddie Wong: Hey, you like movies? How about coming up with movie ideas over the course of an hour? ‘Cause that’s what we do every week on Story Break, a writers’ room podcast where three Hollywood professionals have an hour to come up with a pitch for a movie or TV show based off of totally zany prompts. Will Campos: Like that time we reimagined Star Wars based on our phones’ autocomplete! Will: Luke Skywalker is a family man and it’s Star Wars but it’s a good idea. [Multiple people laugh.] Matt Arnold: Okay. How about a time we wrote the story of a bunch of Disney Channel Original Movies based solely on the title and the poster? Matt: Okay, Sarah Hyland is a 50-foot woman. Let’s just go with it, guys. Freddie: Or the time we finally cracked the Adobe Photoshop Feature Film. Matt: Stamp Tool is your Woody, and then the autofill— Freddie: Ohhhh. Matt: —is the new Buzz Lightyear! [Multiple people laugh.] Freddie: Join us as we have a good time imagining all the movies Hollywood is [accusatory voice] too cowardly to make! [Dramatic voice] Story Break comes out every Thursday on Maximum Fun. [Regular voice] I don’t know why I’m using this voice now. [Music ends.]
music
“Crown Ones” off the album Stepfather by People Under the Stairs.
morgan
And we’re back on Heat Rocks. We’re talking Who is Jill Scott? with Yola.
oliver
Jill Scott emerges with this album at—I guess you could either describe it as the end of the first wave of neo-soul or maybe she helped to spearhead the second wave, but obviously she was compared or in the same discussions as people like Erykah, like India.Arie, like D’Angelo, amongst many others. And so, I’m curious in terms of where do you all think Jill fits within that pantheon or within that community of neo-soul artists? What makes her unique within it and what makes her similar, perhaps, to some of these other colleagues of hers?
morgan
Well, I think she belongs to the illustrious second wave or the sophomore class of neo-soul that was founded by artists like Joi, The Pendulum Vibe, we wanna talk—give her—give her her shouts. And she’s illustrious—she belongs to an illustrious class because the class of 2000 was huge for neo-soul. This is D’Angelo’s Voodoo. This is Erykah’s Mama’s Gun. This is Bilal’s 1st Born Second. This is Musiq Soulchild’s Aijuswanaseing. And this is also Lucy Pearl’s self-titled album. [Oliver agrees.] Right?! So, it is a huge year where Jill—where Jill Scott start—kicked us off. And so, it is the second half of neo-soul, which we know would taper off a little bit later. But we’re a year before we get to India.Arie’s Acoustic Soul. It’s huge! And so, to me, she’ll always be considered one of the architects, just as important as the artists that we mentioned. She just came in the back half. They laid the foundation. Right? Brown Sugar and all that. Baduizm laid the foundation and then Jill Scott came in with these artists that I mentioned and just brought it home.
yola
Yeah. I can only agree with that. Her significance across the pond was also felt. And I don’t know how she was received in, like, a comparative sense in the US, on the ground. But in the UK, we felt like this was a true second wave. Like we got hit with Brown Sugar and the cover of “Cruisin’,” the whole of Baduizm. You name it, we were hit by it. And like, I feel like—as iconic as “My Life” was to my life, this was the next “My Life” moment and the wave that it took through the UK allowed her to tour here. We—there’s so many artists we didn’t get here. But she was so beloved, she was able to come and tour here. And so, I got to see her. And there’s so many artists I didn’t get to see. And I’m so grateful for that moment in time where I felt as though—like, that sense of feeling a little isolated felt a little less so. That really gave birth to something in the UK that was deeper, that needed to kind of be—not just beats. We’d been doing drum and bass and we’d been doing minimalism through Massive Attack and things like that. We’d been doing all of these—but, like, that kind of really story, vocal-led, jazz-led aesthetic was something that was, like, we were just discovering again. And then that’s when all these amazing players come to the fore. And you go to the gigs. You go to Plastic People or Curtain Road, in London.
morgan
[Interrupting.] Co-op.
yola
And that’s where—yeah! The Co-op! You see all of these artists come through. You see all these people innovating. And that was this hotbed for all of these badasses.
music
“He Loves Me” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. You woo me, you court me, you tease me, you please me You school me, give me some things to think about Ignite me… [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
We have to get into the tracks, because that’s what we do on this show. So, I have to ask you: what is your fire track off this album? What’s the one, for you?
yola
Okay, I’m predictable. You already know. It’s everyone’s—you said it first, we—“Long Walk!” It’s “A Long Walk!” [Morgan chuckles.] It’s always “A Long Walk.” It’s always been “A Long Walk.”
music
“A Long Walk” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. You’re here, I’m pleased I really dig your company Your style, your smile, your peace mentality Lord, have mercy on me I was blind, now I can see [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
yola
There is so much, like, songs that pertain to [singing], “You’re the one, forever.” And that’s great. We need those too. [Chuckles.] But it takes the balls out of the whole idea of there’s only one way to exist, the monolith of romance as told by Hollywood, predominantly with white ladies and predominantly from a patriarchal lens. And you’re not going hear your story, not by anyone that looks like you, not in a way that’s remotely normal, that reflects on ladies very well. And “A Long Walk” is—it’s beautiful and I don’t think I dared to imagine… like, connections that were profound, that I didn’t have to forego so much of my own person to attain.
music
“A Long Walk” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. … around the park, after dark Find a spot for us to spark Conversation, verbal elation, stimulation Share our situations, temptations, education, relaxations [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
Uh, O-Dub? [Yola cheers in the background.] You?
oliver
I’m gonna keep this short and sweet. You know, my honorable mention—and this came close—would have been “It’s Love” and I’m gonna talk a little bit more about that when we get to favorite moments. But in terms of fire track, I still just come back to “Do You Remember,” because it opens the album as the first full song, and it just sets the tone for everything that you’re about to get into. And I think it does such incredible work of just—like I said in the first half, just setting the vibe that you’re about to enter. And that whole song, I could just sit within it forever and be just very, very happy with that. And so, to me, that’s the fire track.
music
“Do You Remember” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. I was there, I remember When you got your first pair of sneaks (Oh, they are phat!) Mmm, Converse I think (do you?) I remember you swore… [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
Morgan, how about you?
morgan
No question. For me, it’s “Slowly Surely.” No question for me. Not only is it sonically delicious and just fire, but it’s a whooole mantra for self-care. Jill knew in 2000 what we needed. And I still say it to this day: “Slowly, surely, I walk away from that old dazed and desperate love, caught up in the maze of love. Thought it was love. Thought it was real. Thought it was, but it wasn’t love.” I know those words. I’ve said those to myself over and over again. How many times does a song come in—come with a built-in mantra? But this one did. So, I love that, and I love what the song is built on. I can’t listen to the song “Slowly Surely” nor the sample without getting emotional. And I want you guys to hear it. It comes from a jazz album called Egyptology, and the song’s called “Days Gone By.”
music
“Days Gone By” from the album Egyptology by Moe Koffman. [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
[Yola makes a sound of amazement.] That piano as he goes into it? Moe Koffman, “Days Gone By.” And what they ended up doing with the sample is just—it’s so beautiful. But everything that she sang on there, it’s like I said—Jill knew. Jill been knew. And she let us know in the 2000s that we didn’t have to settle for less.
music
“Slowly Surely” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. Slowly, surely, I walk away from Confusing love, misusing love, abusing love This can’t be Slowly, surely, I walk away from [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
Alright. Favorite moments—and I will start. I have two. One is how the end of “I Think It’s Better” fades into “He Loves Me”. [Oliver hums in agreement.] It’s a sequencing choice.
music
“I Think It’s Better” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. … go. [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
music
“He Loves Me” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
[Oliver hums in agreement.] And it’s just so smooth. It just—
yola
Hell yeeeah! [They giggle.] Sorry, you saw that. I was like, [yelling] “Damn it! She took my one!” Uh, sorry, speak on. It’s beautiful. [Laughs.]
morgan
[Laughing.] My bad, Yola. It just—
yola
You literally burst out laughing. [Cackles helplessly.] I was like, “Okay.” That’s alright. I’ve got another one. It’s fine. You go. Live your best life. [Laughs helplessly.]
morgan
Alright, alright. I think the second is—is her [laughs]—is her spoken word at the beginning of “Watching Me.”
music
“Watching Me” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. First thing, when I wake up And right before I close my eyes at night I think, sense, feel, man Like I’m under some kind of microscope Satellites over my head Transmitters in my dollars Hawking… [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
And what I love about that is it sounds like—the arrangement of it sounds like her homegirls are behind her. So, Jill is saying the words and her homegirls hit those background vocals like they’re some sort of Greek chorus letting her know that she’s saying all the right things and I love that. And if I could be greedy, I’ve got a third. And that’s the end of—is it the end of “A Long Walk?" It is the end of “A Long Walk,” where the arrangement switches up and her vocals become stacks. It’s where she gets into the maybes. “Maybe we can do this. Maybe we can do that. Maybe we can do this.” And it’s so short, but it starts at like 3:38, Christian. If you could just play it.
music
“A Long Walk” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. Maybe we can take a cruise and listen to The Roots or maybe eat some passion fruit Or maybe cry to the blues Or maybe we could just be silent Come on, let’s take a long walk [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
I mean, there’s just so much. It’s like we have—there are so many choices for us. And then there could just be one. We could do all these things. We could be all these things. Or we could just be this. And I love how she layers her vocals to make that point, that we got choices in this thing. This is aspirational. We could get all deep. We could read all these great works. Or we could just sit and enjoy each other’s company. Or we could take a long walk. That’s what I’m looking for. Can someone take me on a long walk out of here? I’m not really ready to be outside, but I am ready for a good offer. Make me a good offer out here and we could take a long walk. So, yes. Those are my favorites. Yola, I’m sorry I took yours off the table. Love me through it.
yola
No, ‘cause I was gonna move to another one and then you went for that one too. It was, [singing] “or maybe we can take a cruise and listen to The Roots or maybe eat some passion fruit or maybe cry to the blueees.” And I was like, “Hello!” [Oliver and Morgan laugh.] And it’s more directed. [Morgan agrees.] It was like—it was like, “Okay.” I was already doing a breathing pattern the first time ‘round. So, earlier in the song, a favorite moment, I’m going like this: [sucks in a gasp of air before singing] “Or maybe we can see a movie, or maybe we can see a play on Saturday, [gasps] or maybe we can roll a tree and feel the breeze and listen to a symphony or maybe chill and just be [gasps] or maybe [gasps], maybe we can take a cruise and listen to The Roots or maybe eat some passion fruit or maybe cryyyy to the blueees. [Gasps.] Or maybe we can just be sileeeent.” And I’m like breathing patterns, people! [Laughs.] Like, it’s a whole breathing pattern. If you don’t got no diaphragm, you ain’t got no hope! Go home! Give up! Pack your bag! You ain’t welcome! [Laughs.] Like, it’s—this is, like… Pure! Joy! And so, that’s—it spoke—it spoke to me in what it was doing in the song, for that pure expression of joy. And since then, and ever since, I’ve been obsessed with melody. And so, yeah. That was like another big moment. I think, as well, like even though it’s, like, petty as heck [chuckles], like "Getting' in the Way" and it’s just like, you know, [singing] “I’m gonna have to take my earrings off. Get me some Vaselineeee.” I was just like, Okay, so she’s all, like, the commitment level of [chuckles]—the commitment level of, “Oh no. No. This isn’t happening. Not today.” And it’s my favorite for two reasons. One, because I remember feeling that whole, “Oh no you didn’t. Not today. Not never.” And I now also appreciate it because I’m like, “Oh! Like, if there’s any chance of you taking him, please! Go ahead! I [laughing]—if someone’s take-able, take them now! I don’t want—if I—if it’s take-able, I don’t want it. If it’s thinking about it, I don’t want it.” But I get—this whole album’s life lessons, for me. So. [Laughs.]
music
“Gettin' in the Way” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. I’ve been a lady up ‘til now Don’t know how much more I can take Queens shouldn’t swing, if you know what I mean But I’m about to take my earrings off Get me some Vaseline You better go on get out of my face, girl You better chill Chill and I mean it [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
Oliver.
oliver
Why do I have to follow her on that?! [Laughing.] This isn’t— [They laugh.] This is a tough—a tough gig to follow! I do not have anything quite as, uh—you know, ebullient. I just wanna say that—I mean, I think my favorite moment is the opening to “Do You Remember,” but because I’ve already talked about it three different times now, I’m gonna go with my one B choice, which is on “It’s Love”, and it’s when the full band jumps in around the 1:10 mark. Because up until that point, this song just has this gorgeously slow build. [Morgan hums in agreement.] And you know—you know the band’s gonna come in. Like, you know it’s gonna come in and so it’s that atmosphere of anticipation. And when it delivers? [Kiss sound.] Chef’s kiss.
music
“It’s Love” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. It’s love They say I’m tripping The way you got my whole life flipping They say I’m losing it Just can’t… [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue.]
oliver
[Morgan “ooo”s in delight.] Shoutout to the horn section, ‘cause I did not—I expected the drums, and I expected the bass. I was not expecting the horns, and that was just like a cherry on top of this beautiful frosting that this—that song delivers. So, my favorite moment there.
music
[Volume increases.] When love is gone, we’re not the same It ain’t a question of brains Oh, it’s love [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
This question does not come up every single time, but—again—because this is one of—an album that is very near and dear to you. If you had to place a song off of this LP, which one would you pick and why? Have you ever placed a Jill Scott song?
morgan
I have not placed a Jill Scott song. [Oliver affirms.] Um… I’m so emo. I think that I would probably place “I Think It’s Better.” It’s short and sweet, like me. [Oliver chuckles and agrees.] It’s, uuuh, a minute—a minute and 42 seconds. And it just says a lot without taking too long. So, other music supervisors out there, just let me have this one. Let me have this one. Place something else, but that would be my one. “I Think It’s Better.” I love that song and that’s the one I would probably place.
music
“I Think It’s Better” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. I think it’s better that I tell you now He’s so sweet and good, good [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
Yola, if you had to describe this album, Who is Jill Scott?, in three words, what would they be?
yola
Oooooh! I feel like agency is something that comes to mind in a really profound way, for me. And maybe most obviously, when she’s introducing herself she’s like, “These are my influences. These are my influences." And love! So, love! You can’t avoid that word. Agency in love. That’s what I would say.
music
“The Roots (Interlude)” from the album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 by Jill Scott. Jill Scott, representing lovely Show your love, ladies and gentlemen Show your love for Ms. Jill Scott Representing Philadelphia, you know what I mean? [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
Well, before we bounce, we always wanna leave our audience members with some other listening recommendations. So, if you enjoyed Who is Jill Scott?, we have some suggestions for what else you should add to your five-CD changer. Morgan, let’s start with you.
morgan
Oh, I’d say go back to 1999 and an album called Black Butterfly. And the artist’s name was Grenique—is Grenique. She only had that one album released on Motown. It is quintessential neo-soul. It’s beautiful. Start with her cover of Heatwave’s “Star of the Story” and if you can get out of that without being completely broken down, keep going.
music
“Star of the Story” from the album Black Butterfly by Grenique. Angel Come to me, let me be Part of all the love you are [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
What about you?
oliver
Adriana Evans’s self-titled debut from 1997. [Morgan makes an excited sound.] This is just one of my absolute favorites, I think underrated, slept-on albums from that era. It’s one of my favorites from the nineties. Her collaborator back then was rapper and producer Dred Scott, who I think did all the tracks on here. And between her singing and his production, I just think this whole LP is top tier Sunday listening.
music
“Love Is All Around” from the album Adriana Evans by Adriana Evans. And when you feel it all around, around All around [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
oliver
Yola, take us out of here. What would you recommend our audience check out after Who is Jill Scott?
yola
Well, because of the range of artistry that I feel on this record, this idea—grand ideas, small ideas. I’d be pushing you towards the grand, with Welcome to My Garden by Minnie Riperton. [Morgan and Oliver both react excitedly.] ‘Cause—so, after this, you need a full—you need to just be going deeper. This is like—this has tenderized you. It’s left you very open. [Oliver chuckles and Morgan agrees.] You’re not closed after this record! You’re open after this record. You’re trepanning after this record. And so, the perfect state it’ll put you in is for you to receive the excessive lushness of Welcome to My Garden! The production will blow your tiny mind! We know Minnie Riperton’s range is out of control crazy. She’s been doing all of those dolphin notes way before Mariah was! [Laughs.] And—but it’s all—like everything has this playfulness about it. [Singing.] “Will you—will somebody wear me to the fair?” I’m like—and it starts just so, like, light! And then it just gathers, and it gathers, and it GATHERS! And then you’re like, “Oooh! It’s coming!” And like, there’s so much delicacy and so much drama. And it’s like, the one doesn’t have to give way to the other. And I love—I love the agency within Minnie Riperton’s aesthetic journey. And like, she’s probably my—one of my biggest heroes and influences. And if you’re ever in a state of being truly open and in the wonder of life and nature, listen to Welcome to My Garden.
music
“Les Fleur” from the album Come to My Garden by Minnie Riperton. Ring all the bells, sing and tell the people everywhere That the flower has come Light up the sky with your prayers of gladness And rejoice, for the darkness is gone Throw off your… [Volume decreases and continues under the dialogue then fades out.]
morgan
Well, that’s gonna do it for this episode of Heat Rocks with our special guest, Yola. Let us know what you’re working on now.
yola
I have a record coming out on July 30. [Theme music fades in.] It’s called Stand for Myself. Clearly, I am still ruminating on some of the things we’ve been talking about, because I’m—I’m dicing with the idea of being this token, this isolated Black girl. And with what you do to minimize yourself. And then the journey out of that. And I touch on all of these moments where I feel I’m reaching towards tenderness. And so, yeah! Like, goodness. Like, I feel like we’ve come full circle. [Chuckles.]
music
“Crown Ones” off the album Stepfather by People Under the Stairs.
oliver
One last plug that we wanted to make is, if you have not yet had a chance to check out the incredible documentary Summer of Soul, we absolutely recommend you do. It’s on Hulu now and I do think it has appeared at least in some theaters around the country, but it is just an amazing document of the Harlem Cultural Festival from 1969, which was one of the most important music festivals that most of us have never heard of, for reasons that the doc gets into. It was executive produced by Questlove, but also produced by Joseph Patel—who you all might remember was one of our guests a couple years back, talking about Gang Starr’s Hard to Earn. Could not be more proud of Joseph’s work on this. And it is just a phenomenal documentary with incredible musical performances by everyone from Mahalia Jackson to Stevie Wonder to Ray Barretto and many, many more. It’s a document of a time, of a community, of a history. Summer of Soul. Please check it out, again, on Hulu or look in your local theaters. We could not give it a higher recommendation. You’ve been listening to Heat Rocks with me, Oliver Wang, and Morgan Rhodes.
morgan
Our theme music is “Crown Ones” by Thes One of People Under the Stairs. Shout out to Thes for the hookup.
oliver
Heat Rocks is produced by myself and Morgan, alongside Christian Dueñas, who also edits, engineers, and does the booking for our shows.
morgan
Our senior producer is Laura Swisher, and our executive producer is Jesse Thorn.
oliver
We are part of the Maximum Fun family, taping every week live in their studios in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles.
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Cheerful ukulele chord.
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Comedy and culture.
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Artist owned—
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—audience supported.
About the show
Hosted by Oliver Wang and Morgan Rhodes, every episode of Heat Rocks invites a special guest to talk about a heat rock – a hot album, a scorching record. These are in-depth conversations about the albums that shape our lives.
Our guests include musicians, writers, and scholars and though we don’t exclusively focus on any one genre, expect to hear about albums from the worlds of soul, hip-hop, funk, jazz, Latin, and more.
New episodes every Thursday on Apple Podcasts or whatever you get your podcasts.
Subscribe to our website updates for exclusive bonus content (including extra interview segments, mini-episodes, etc.)
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