Jill Scott’s debut turned 25 years old today, and we celebrated with the second installment of our Music Nerds vinyl listening experience.

For 80 minutes, the room swayed with head nods and two-steps, quiet mm-hmms, a little karaoke, and the kind of deep sighs that come when you feel seen as Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 spun front to back at the Association for Creative Enlightenment.

As each track rolled in, so did the reflections. We talked about how Jill didn’t just sing, she spoke. About the way she fused poetry and melody. How her jazz-like phrasing stretched words into moments. How the go-go rhythms and live instrumentation gave her space to breathe and testify. And how “I Think It’s Better” might be one of the greatest transitions into a love song ever. (Okay, that one might just be me.)

It’s been 25 years since Jill Scott asked us a question that still lingers in the air like incense, Who is Jill Scott? And somehow, even after all this time, the album still feels like both an introduction and an invitation into Jill’s sonic journal pages lined with love, longing, and liberation.