Jimmy D. Scott’s “Enough is Enough”

Jimmy D. Scott’s “Enough is Enough” plays as we watch the images of tragedy flash across the screen in this new video from the acclaimed funk artist, the pictures adding a bit of honest emotionality to the straightforward groove we find as we press forward. The words are synchronized with heartfelt imagery that matches up with their extended meaning, and though the tempo of the song is somewhat rambunctious, it doesn’t start to feel like we’re moving at a million miles a minute by the time we reach the track’s epic climax. 

Right off the bat, the melodies are larger than life in “Enough is Enough,” but they’re delivered unto us in a very conservative, unassuming manner. The fragility of the music behind the vocal track is preserved by this meticulous master mix, and our focus is never swayed from the volatile relationship between Scott and the bassline. The rich, natural timbre of his voice is constantly grinding against the thick low end of the strings, but thanks to the tender arrangement of the beats, the two meld together to make one heck of a strong cocktail. 

There’s a lot to be said about the instrumentation that drives “Enough is Enough,” but I feel like the mix deserves just as much of our attention. When Scott belts out the chorus, his vocal slips through our speakers and hits us at full force as if we were sitting in the front row at one of his concerts instead of listening to a studio session from the comforts of our own home. This sharply-appointed single sums up the production quality of what I expect out of most pop music but so rarely get to hear in the underground. 

Scott himself sounds very relaxed here, and I would argue, more so than his peers have in previous efforts of similar weight. There’s no hesitance, no sense of inhibition looming over his voice. The subject matter doesn’t feel forced or alien in his lyrical interpretation of it; quite the contrary. It sounds and feels like a personal admission, something held deep within his consciousness that could only be conveyed through music. Scott is completely in touch with his creative self in this song, and the tonality that he’s rendering in the process is nothing short of brilliant. 

You don’t have to be the biggest funk fan in the world to dig what Jimmy D. Scott is laying down in “Enough is Enough,” but I will say that those of us who can’t get enough hard soul of the classic American variety can find a genuine anthem in its seductive harmonies. There’s been far too much debate as to whether or not this kind of music is in total stagnation lately; artists like Jimmy D. Scott have been rewriting the rulebook from the underground and based on the buzz that this single has surrounding it right now, the notion of his sound segueing into the mainstream and eventually conquering it doesn’t seem all that farfetched anymore – if it ever did, to begin with. 

Mindy McCall