Jill Scott still in shock over No. 1 "Light of the Sun" (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Six weeks have passed since R&B singer Jill Scott hit No. 1 on album charts with "The Light of the Sun," and she still finds herself in shock.

That may sound odd from the Philadelphia native whose debut album, "Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1" was released 11 years ago. Since then, she has recorded more music and become a well-respected actress with roles in films such as "Hounddog" and "Why Did I Get Married," as well as starring in HBO television series "Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency."

But for "Light of the Sun," Scott took a new path in her singing career. She veered into hip hop, and the road that heretofore was less chosen, proved to be a good direction. Scott kicked off her 18-city Summer Block Party tour this week in Boston and stopped in New York on Thursday night.

"I (still) don't believe it...I have a copy (of the Billboard album chart), but I still don't believe it," Scott told Reuters about her success with "Light of the Sun."

"Somebody sent me a text message, 'Congratulations on the No. 1 album,' and I thought they were talking about the R&B chart. I was really happy about that. Then I found out it was the No.1 album in the country. It's overwhelming," said Scott.

"Light of the Sun" marks other significant milestones for Scott. The record was her first project since a split from Hidden Beach Recordings last year, and it is the inaugural project for her Blues Babe imprint in collaboration with Warner Bros. Records.

On the new album, the classic rap songs she listened to growing up and the current hits she keeps in rotation today heavily influenced Scott, she said, whose musical style has typically been a fusion of soul, jazz and R&B.

PERSONAL FAVORITES

One of her personal favorites on the new album, "All Cried Out Redux" features Doug E. Fresh, who was a pioneer in rap music and among Scott's early favorites in the genre.

"As a child of hip-hop, having recording anything with Doug E. Fresh is just surreal," said Scott.

Houston rapper Paul Wall, whom Scott calls one of the "nicest guys in hip-hop," joins her on "So Gone (What My Mind Says)" representing the voice of a mesmerizing, but less than chivalrous, lover she can't seem to shake.

How did the transformation to hip hop come about?

Last year, Scott was on a neosoul tour opening for singer Maxwell, singing the songs with which her fans were familiar, such as "Lyzel in E Flat" and "The Way." But Scott said her head, and heart, were in hip-hop.

"I started thinking about what kind of music I needed to hear before I went on stage. I think that was the catalyst. I need to hear Lupe Fiasco, Rick Ross and Mobb Deep," she said.

Hip-hop not only influenced the sound of this album but also Scott's recording style, approaching the music from the position of wanting to freestyle the beats, rhythms and lyrics.

"I went in and had fun. I didn't really write much. Some of the songs were recorded in one take. I freestyled pretty much the entire record," Scott said, echoing respected lyricists such as Jay-Z, who famously does not write down his lyrics.

"So Gone," for instance, was almost entirely improvised, Scott said.

In keeping with the old school theme of her album, Scott's Block Party tour is deejayed by acclaimed producer, master of turntables and fellow Philadelphian, DJ Jazzy Jeff.

The tour also reunites Scott with Doug E. Fresh. Vocalist Anthony Hamilton and R&B band Mint Condition open the show.

The tour next visits Detroit and has further stops in Chicago and Cleveland before ending on August 28 in Houston.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Author's "Gray Zone" sheds light on dark subject (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Daphna Ziman is on a mission to help foster children, and she's picked a novel way to do it -- novel, being the key word.

Ziman, a Los Angeles-based philanthropist and activist for kids placed in foster care, has written a fictional novel, "The Gray Zone," whose protagonist was orphaned as a child.

Now, that kid is a grown woman named Kelly Jensen, and she's on the run from the law following the brutal murder of a Las Vegas politician. But with the help of a sharp-minded, handsome defense lawyer, Kelly could clear her name.

Sound like a fast-paced, breezy crime thriller meant for any summer reading list? Well, it is -- and it isn't.

Ziman's aim is two-fold: get people to read her story like they would any thriller from the likes of novelists James Patterson or Harlan Coben. But she also aims to engage readers in a serious problem in America -- the plight of kids in foster care who, Ziman says, are victims of neglect, abuse, human trafficking and sex slavery.

"You can write a (nonfiction) book and put the facts and statistics in it and nobody will read it, or you can take the public, the readers, on a journey," Ziman told Reuters about why she chose to write the novel.

"This way, I could create something that would stay around forever, and maybe somebody would be interested in transferring it into a movie" or some other medium, she said.

Ziman's approach to raising awareness may be a "novel," but it's hardly new. Fiction has long been used to expose truths that many officials might prefer were better left unexposed.

There was, of course, Upton Sinclair's 1906 muckraking novel "The Jungle" that blew the lid off unsanitary practices in Chicago's meat packing business. Charles Dickens looked at the plight of English orphan boys in "Oliver Twist."

STORY GETS PERSONAL

Adding to Ziman's zeal is a personal reason to advocate for foster kids. She has adopted two daughters out of the system and founded nonprofit group Children Uniting Nations, to raise money and awareness about issues impacting kids.

Not all kids are victimized by foster parents, of course, but the number who are is hard to determine because they don't speak out publicly as kids. Moreover, many of their cases are discussed behind closed doors by adult guardians and government officials, hence the title "The Gray Zone," Ziman said.

But back to the book. It begins with Kelly Jensen working in a Vegas nightclub as a celebrity impersonator. After a local politician turns up dead, Kelly meets handsome Los Angeles attorney Jake Brooks and together, the pair embark on an adventure that exposes unspeakable crimes.

Ziman wrote the book, she said, as much as a catharsis when she was coming off a bad divorce as a way to help kids. In a way, she figured, she'd get two things done at once -- advocate for kids and exorcise her own demons.

"I thought if I was going to write about Kelly, I could vicariously live through my characters, and if she could overcome such monumental obstacles, then my obstacles seemed minor in comparison," Ziman said.

Whether Ziman succeeds at reaching readers and telling them about a serious problem with "Gray Zone" remains to be seen, but she is off to a good start with the novel making several best-seller lists.

And even if it doesn't, there's no stopping her activist spirit. On Thursday, (July 28), Children Uniting Nations, is holding a one-day forum in Washington, D.C. to discuss new laws that could better serve kids in America and open up all those closed-door meetings.

Moreover, she's also decided that, post divorce, she has a new career ahead of her -- author.

"I'm finding that going into the worlds I'm creating is hugely therapeutic," she said. "This swan is emerging and somehow the ugly duckling is not popping up as often."

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

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