Cross My Mind Explained

"Cross My Mind" is a single released in 2005 by American R&B/soul singer/songwriter Jill Scott and from her second album, . The song was an R&B top 40 hit, peaking at number 38 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song earned Scott her first Grammy Award in 2005, for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.

Composition

"Cross My Mind" includes a jazz piano and loop, with Scott alternating between singing and speaking the lyrics.^[1] BBC music critic Daryl Easlea considered the song to reflect her background in poetry.^[2] Easlea described the song as a "poem set to minimal piano and beatbox" and considered its chorus "infectious". R&B website Okayplayer included the track in its list of eight Scott songs that "celebrated sexuality through song", highlighting the lyrics "How amazing, how amazing/When you would spread my limbs cross continents", "Bump our bed way over mountains", and "Kiss this and this and this and this".^[3]

Reception

Critical

Rashod Ollison, writing for The Baltimore Sun, deemed the song a "prime cut" from Beautifully Human.^[4]

Commercial

The song became a top 40 hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at number 38 on the chart dated October 22, 2005, and maintaining that position the following week.^[5] It also became her seventh top 10 hit on the Adult R&B Songs chart, reaching number 6 on the chart dated September 24, 2005.

The September 24, 2005, issue of Billboard reported that the song was the most-played track on two stations: WHUR (Washington, DC) and WSRB (Chicago).^[6]

Accolades

At the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, held in 2005, "Cross My Mind" was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance.^[7] It was one of three Grammy nominations for Scott that year, along with Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (for "Whatever") and Best R&B Album (for ). Scott ultimately won the award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance, becoming her first Grammy win. She would go on to win two more Grammy awards in 2007 and 2008.^[8]

Track listing

US CD" Promo Single

Charts

Chart (2005)	Peak position
US Adult R&B Songs (Billboard)[9]	6
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[10]	38

Notes and References

1. Web site: Jurek . Thom . Overview: Beautifully Human — Words and Music, Vol. 2 . AllMusic . RhythmOne . July 2, 2023.
2. Web site: Easlea . Daryl . Jill Scott — Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds, Vol. 2 Review . BBC . July 2, 2023 . 2012.
3. Web site: Ani . Ivie . Eight Times Jill Scott Celebrated Sexuality Through Song . Okayplayer . July 2, 2023.
4. Web site: Ollison . Rashod D. . For Jill Scott, life is 'awesome,' and it shows . Baltimore Sun . July 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210622191156/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2005-03-03-0503030346-story.html . June 22, 2021 . March 3, 2005.
5. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs . Billboard . October 29, 2005 . 117 . 44 . 79 . July 2, 2023.
6. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs . Billboard . September 24, 2005 . 117 . 39 . 77 . July 2, 2023.
7. Web site: Artist: Jill Scott . Recording Academy Grammy Awards . Recording Academy . July 2, 2023.
8. Web site: Jones . Okla . Jill Scott Turns 50: A Look Back At The Award-Winning Singer's Amazing Career . Essence . July 2, 2023 . April 4, 2022.
9. Jill Scott Chart History: Adult R&B Airplay . Billboard . July 2, 2023.
10. Jill Scott Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs . Billboard . July 2, 2023.