(Photo: Essence Magazine)

Jill Scott is all smiles and all natural on the cover of Essence magazine's October issue. The singer is looking svelte in a waist-hugging jacket, chunky necklace and mini natural afro and sounds like she's loving her new look.

“This is the simplest form of myself," she says. "I look in the mirror and it’s like, ‘Here, there you go. What’s up, girl?’ For me, hair is an accouterment. Hair is jewelry. It’s an accessory. Tomorrow I may want a wig down to my butt and I’m gonna rock it, and the next day I may want a big afro and I’m gonna rock that too.…"

Scott, who went through a divorce in 2007 and later broke off her engagement with her son's father in 2009, is still all about positivity. In her interview she talks about her Lifetime TV movie, a remake of the film Steel Magnolias with an all-Black cast, and her new views on relationships.

"In my ideal world, he has to be doing what he loves, whether he makes as much as I do or not," she says about her dream man. "I need someone with some kids, somebody who works hard for them, loves them and is an active presence in their lives."

He also has to be God-fearing and have a good signature smell. "It keeps me wanting. I like feeling that way."

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