Vol. 1 was an introduction to the artist who is Jill Scott. Vol. 2 found that artist sharing her experiences with love. With her latest The Real Thing: Words & Sounds Vol. 3 Jill Scott bares her soul sharing with listeners the various levels of heartache. This album finds Scott going through some rough times, most notable of which is a break-up. So most of the songs mirror the various emotions & attitudes individuals have after ending a relationship.

This is definitely Jill Scott's hardest album to date and not all the tracks are as blatant about it as the song ''Hate On Me''. Production on the album is usual fair that we've come to expect from the artist in particular and from the Hidden Beach label in general. Production duties are handled by Adam Blackstone, Vidal Davis, Andre Harris and newcomer JR Hutson. Stand out tracks include the aforementioned single along with ''All I'' and ''The Real Thing'' which uses a sample from The Mahavishnu Orchestra's ''You Know You Know''

Even when the production is mellow, the lyrics are intense. This album must have been a form of therapy for the artist because she seems to be getting a lot off her chest. Even when the songs are about love or more specifically love making the metaphors are some of the strongest ever from Scott. While not explicit in nature the adult's may pick out a few more of the references than the children in the room.

Overall this is another stellar release from Jill Scott and a must have for anyone who likes R&B/Soul.
''Nuff Said''.

SonicAmp Rating: 9/10