Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds, Vol. 2

Initially one of the gaggle of black women tapped to be the “next Lauryn Hill,” Philly native Jill Scott is really nothing of the sort. Her 2000 debut flexed a strong hip-hop influence, but four years later, there’s little evidence of rap on Beautifully Human, save perhaps the nodding beat and G-funk-laced production on her ghetto tale “Rasool.” She pushes instead toward supersmooth R&B and jazz, though the music often feels like an afterthought here. “Golden” may be the meekest ode ever to self-empowerment: Scott’s voice sounds clear and powerful, but the gentle piano-dotted R&B behind her is just lame. Elsewhere, “Cross My Mind” spins loungey piano jazz behind Scott’s spoken-word declarations of desire, and “The Fact Is (I Need You)” is a quirky love song undermined by its too-cutesy soul accompaniment. All is not wasted: “Bedda at Home” bumps some genuine funk into its jazzy arrangement, and “Talk to Me” is a big-band detour that works. That said, the next volume of Words and Sounds needs to pay more attention to the sounds.