Songstress/actress Jill Scott recently opened up about her pregnancy to Essence magazine.

ESSENCE.COM: Congrats, Ms. Scott! We are so happy for you. What was your gut reaction when you learned you were pregnant?
JILL SCOTT: Shock. I didn't think it was possible for me to have kids because I was told I couldn't conceive. I had given up hope of becoming a mother one day.

ESSENCE.COM: What a blessing—a miracle baby! After you got over the shock where did you stand emotionally?
SCOTT: I had to slow down because after I found out, I was supposed to leave for Africa the next day. I called my doctor and talked about what I needed to do, what I couldn't do and what I could do. I was just trying to take as many precautions and be as knowledgeable as I possibly could. Quite frankly, I was freaked out and everyone was asking me, "What are you going to do?" My agent was distraught, but it wasn't about anybody else other than me finding out if the baby was going to be okay, so that's what I did first—slow down. [Read More of Jill's Essence interview here]

Jill told Essence that she's expecting a baby boy mid-April with fiance and drummer Lil' Jon Roberts. Jill and Jon have been friends since high school. Jill found out about her pregnancy while filming the HBO series The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency in Botswana, Africa.



Congrats to Jill & Jon!

Labels: Celeb Offspring, Jill Scott

Boris Kodjoe, Solange Knowles, Musiq, Jill Scott, Sanaa Lathan, Tichina Arnold, Keisha-Knight Pulliam, and Chrisette Michele were seen at the on-going Essence Music Festival.



Solange's father Mathew Knowles accompanied her for a fan autograph session. When Mathew tried to plant a kiss on his daugther, Solange put on a sour expression - jokingly of course. If you check out the background, you'll notice that Solange and her father are promoting their hip-hop inspired toy company Baby Jamz as well.



Random tidbits: Musiq let his shirt show his political stance via a tee-shirt featuring Barack Obama's slogan, "Yes We Can." Sanaa came along with her boyfriend Adewale Ogunleye . Estelle was seen with Alegbra, Lyfe Jennings, and Mathew Knowles. Tichina, Sanaa, Chrisette, and Lynn Whitfield also wore LBD's (little black dresses) to the event. Lyfe, Bryan Michael Cox, Algebra and Estelle apparently filmed a segment for VH1 Soul's "Black Girls Rule."




Photos: WIREIMAGE

Labels: Boris Kodjoe, Chrisette Michele, Estelle, Jill Scott, Keisha Knight-Pulliam, Music Hoopla, Musiq, Out and About, Solange

Let's all take a moment to check out Jill Scott's new engagement ring. Her drummer Lil' John Roberts proposed to Jill via a bended knee and roses in front of a wild crowd at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall. (Congrats!)



BET President Debra Hill held a private dinner celebration with Ashanti, Nelly, Lance Gross, Eva Marcielle (and her Jimmy Choos), and Jill Scott as celebrity guests at the Vibia.

Labels: Ashanti, BET Awards, Eva Pigford, Jill Scott, Nelly, New Couple, Out and About

Kimora Lee Simmons (better known as her fashion-forward moniker KLS) was honored by "Giant" magazine at Indochine in New York City. I don't know if the lightening is to blame or the makeup. However, Kimora's makeup artist did NOT blend in her foundation at all as you can check out for yourself in that last photo...



Anyone tuned into her STYLE Network reality series, "Life in The Fab Lane" lately? If so, you most likely caught the following sneak preview of her "Fablosity" fragrance commerical...



Jill Scott was joined by Mo'Nique and Angie Stone at the launch of her new "Butterfly Bra" for Ashley Stewart collection.



"Instyle" Spring 2008 magazine did a one-page review on the bra which you can view here. Check out this commerical Jill recently did in support of her new spokesmodel gig...

Labels: Angie Stone, FFW, Jill Scott, Kimora Lee Simmons, Out and About, TV Hoopla

Check out these portraits of Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, and Mary J Blige taken from the June 2008 edition of "Essence" magazine.

Essence: Have you ever regretted folding to pressure from record labels?

Alicia Keys: In the beginning, I didn’t understand the concept of boundaries. I wanted to make sure the music was heard, but there’s a price you pay for that. I did everything and anything to promote my first album, like flying from New York to Los Angeles and back on the same day, which was a bit excessive.

Essence: Have you figured out the ingredients for the perfect song?

Mary: Yes, but I won’t tell. [Laughs] For me, it’s about being real and honest. And the lyrics have to be relatable.

Jill: Oh, I wish I knew. I think Ne-Yo knows. I think Carvin Haggins, who does a lot of writing for Musiq Soulchild, has the ingredients, too. My songs are mostly about life experiences, about being human and falling and getting back up. About loving and losing.

Labels: Alicia Keys, FFW, Jill Scott, MJB, Newsstand Snapshots

For Essence's annual "Black Music Month" issue, the urban publication picked three contemporary R&B artists Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, and Mary J Blige as their cover girls.

Each collector's edition cover has the caption - "Black Women Rule!" (Wouldn't it be nice if all three ladies went tour in the future??! FYI: MJB just wrapped up her "Heart of the City" tour while Alicia has her on-going "As I Am" tour and Jill's tour dates can be seen on her official website.

You can check snippets from the interview over at ESSENCE.COM.



Honestly, this magazine spread is gorgeous and something I wish Jill's "Vogue" photo session look like this. Other noteworthy R&B artists that made the cut for this "Essence" issue are Rihanna, Chris Brown, Prince, Beyonce, Usher, and Mariah Carey.

The June 2008 issue with Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, and Mary J Blige is on newsstands now.

Labels: Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, MJB, Newsstand Snapshots

Gabrielle Union and Jill Scott are two of five actresses who shed their clothes for the May issue of "Allure" magazine.

Jill Scott told Cara Litke of "Allure" that "nobody ever celebrates women whose bodies are bigger than a size 8. But here I am, naked in a magazine at size 16. I hope that I can be an inspiration to all women. We're all beautiful, each and every one of us."

Just in case you can't read the articles written on Gabrielle and Jill's photos, continue reading...

GABRIELLE UNION:

"I worked my ass off for this shoot," says Union. "I've always been athletic, but I stepped it up for this. I ran up and down stadium stars and went hiking. I'm cool with being naked, but I wanted to push myself." When the big day came, Union felt good about her toned body -especially her arms. At the shoot, however, the star of the comedy "Starship Dave" wasn't thinking about any of her body parts: "My iPOD was hooked up to the studio speakers, and I was paranoid that someone was going to think my playlist was weird - it has everything from show tunes to rap. But that's typical Gaby. I'm naked up there, and I'm worrying about my music."

JILL SCOTT:

Scott's reaction to the idea of disrobing: "No, Naked? You mean 'naked' naked? No Way," she says. "It was a frightening concept, and I had to be convinced." At the shoot, the Grammy Award-winning singer and star of the upcoming movie and TV series, "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" (she plays the full-figured Mma Ramostwe) was apprehensive. "I didn't sleep the night before. I love to be naked when it's just me at home, but I had no idea what it would be like to take my clothes off for the camera," she says. Turns out, "it took a lot of stand there naked in front of strangers and try to be comfortable and carefree. But I did it - and I'd do it again." As for the picture, "I'm blowing it up and putting it in my house," she says. "Just not where the cable guy can see it."

I don't understand how Jill got the short end stick of photoshop yet again! Regardless, both ladies are brave for going nude.

Jill and Gabrielle joined Kelly Rowland (May 2005), Vanessa Williams and Cassie (May 2007) who also went nude for the beauty publication.

Labels: Gabrielle Union, Hilary Duff, Jill Scott, Newsstand Snapshots

Grammy-winning R&B artist/actress Jill Scott is featured in the April issue of "Vogue" magazine. Here's the rundown from PAGESIX.COM:

JILL Scott must feel bittersweet about her profile in next month's Vogue, where the Grammy-winning R&B artist is praised as possibly being Hollywood's next big thing. The comments were made by Oscar-winning di rector Anthony Minghella, who tragi cally died yesterday of a hemorrhage following neck surgery. "She is ex tremely stellar. I think she can be a real star," raved Minghella, who recently di-rected Scott as Botswana gumshoe Pre cious Ramotswe in the upcoming flick "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency."

Standing tall in couture pieces from Carolina Herrera and Badgley Mischka, Jill spoke about a list she made at age twelve about things she wanted to do in her life.

"There were simple things and extravagant things. I wanted to be a cat owner when I grew up, and I have a cat. Then to own a Picasso, and I checked that off"- now she wants a Dali , too. "To win a Grammy. I checked that off a couple of times (now three times, including February's win). "I wanted to be a wife. I did that," she adds a touch sardonically. "I definitely want to be a mother. That's still on my list. I want to be Storm from X-Men. So this Halloween I'm going to go ahead and be Storm".

Photos scanned by Urban-Hoopla.com via VOGUE.COM

Labels: Jill Scott, Newsstand Snapshots