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Lauryn Hill

 
Gale Contemporary Black Biography:

Lauryn Hill

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singer; songwriter; music producer

Personal Information

Born on May 25, 1975, in South Orange, New Jersey; daughter of Mal (a computer analyst) and Valerie (a teacher) Hill; married Rohan Marley, date unknown; children: Zion David, Selah Louise, Joshua, John. Education: Attended Columbia University.
Memberships: none.

Career

Actress, singer, songwriter, and producer. The Fugees, member, 1988-1997; solo artist, 1997-; The Fugees, brief reunion performances, 2004, 2005; The Refugee Project, youth outreach program, founder, 1996-2000.

Life's Work

The adoration and respect accorded Lauryn Hill seems unparalleled. "The most versatile vocalist of her generation," wrote Kevin Powell in Horizon magazine. "Beautiful, multitalented, whipsmart," wrote Harper's Bazaar. "Catalyst...shining star...a divine singing voice and an up-front rhyme flow that ranks her among hip hop's dopest MCs," assessed Vibe. Public Enemy's Chuck D compared her to reggae legend Bob Marley. After creating, as Essence declared, "a new image of womanhood in the world of hip-hop" with her group the Fugees in the mid-1990s, Hill went on to score with her own phenomenally successful solo debut, 1998's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Just when Hill's stardom seemed to reach its zenith, she stepped out of the limelight, taking a several-year hiatus from the public eye. When she resurfaced in the early 2000s, Hill revealed new depths of her musical talents.

Explored Music from an Early Age

Hill was born on May 22, 1975, and grew up in South Orange, New Jersey, not far from its public-housing projects. Her father Mal, who once sang professionally, was a computer analyst, while mother Valerie taught school in nearby Newark. Hill recalled many hours as an adolescent spent listening to her parents' old R&B records, which gave her an appreciation for the likes of Gladys Knight, Curtis Mayfield, and others. The Hills, however, stressed academic achievement for their children--she has an older brother, Malaney-- and she won entry to Columbia High School, an academically challenging school, where she became acquainted with a friend of her brother's named Prakazrel "Pras" Michel. A Haitian immigrant, Michel formed a rap group and asked Hill to join.

Hill, who also ran track, was a popular and magnetic personality even in high school. She once asked her father if she could have a birthday party in their backyard, and he agreed as long as it was kept small. "By the end of the night, 250 people must have showed up," Mal Hill told Rolling Stone reporter Alec Foege. By this time, she had ventured out on a few auditions, and won a recurring role on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns. "You'll see that my house is right on the borderline of the suburbs and the ghetto," Hill pointed out to Foege, who was visiting Hill at her family's home in South Orange. "I always had this duality. I went to school with a lot of white kids--it was really like a suburban environment--but I lived with black kids."

Formulated New Sound with the Fugees

Hill, Michel, and another girl had formed a group called the Fugees-Tranzlator Crew. The "fugee" part was taken from the word "refugee," based on their conviction that all blacks outside of Africa are, in a sense, refugees. They cut demos in which they rapped in other languages. One day Michel's cousin, Wyclef Jean, came by the studio to hear them. Jean was also from Haiti, but grew up in a rough section of Brooklyn in a strict household headed by his minister father. "When I heard Lauryn sing, I was like 'Wow!'" Jean told Edwige Danticat in Essence. "It clicked. I knew it was meant to be."

By this time, Hill had already won a billed film role opposite Whoopi Goldberg in the 1993 film Sister Act II: Back in the Habit, as insubordinate student Rita Watson. Accepted to several colleges, including Yale and Spelman, Hill chose to stick close to home and concentrate on her recording career by enrolling at Columbia University. After the other member departed for college, the three of them--Hill, Jean, and Michel--began performing in local talent shows and in New Jersey clubs; they also dropped the "Tranzlator" part of their name. "We sang, we rapped, we danced," Hill recalled for Foege in the Rolling Stone interview. "As a matter of fact, we were a circus troupe," she added. They won a recording contract with the Philadelphia rap label Ruffhouse, who released Blunted on Reality in 1993.

Hill and the others were unhappy with the finished product, however. Like many other young, inexperienced artists, they were shut out of the production and creative process, and the album was an edgy, quick-paced work of rap. "Hailed in Europe as a glimpse of the future, Blunted was summarily trashed in the American hip-hop press for missing the mark altogether," noted Rolling Stone's Foege. It languished on the charts, but when a producer remixed two of the tracks, the songs became underground club favorites. Then word of mouth began spreading about the female rapper who could also sing, and Hill soon became the focus of attention for the group. She, Michel and Jean fought for and won producer rights for their next effort, The Score, and their perseverance paid off. Bolstered by singles that showcased Hill's talents, such as a cover of the 1973 Roberta Flack hit "Killing Me Softy with His Song," and "Ready or Not," and the 1996 release sold millions and was the number-three pop album in the country at one point while in first place on the Billboard R&B charts. With sales of 17 million, the Fugees became the biggest selling rap act in history.

Solo Star Rose

Hill's appearance on magazine covers without her bandmates may have fueled speculation early on that she would ditch them for a solo career. The issue became one of the most overreported non-events during the peak of Fugee success. She emphatically dismissed such talk--"It's not a compliment when people tell me to break off from them," Hill told Vibe magazine in early 1996. "That's like telling me to drop my brothers," she continued. The group toured heavily in 1996, but by the time they performed at the Grammy Awards ceremony in early 1997, Hill was three months pregnant. She had met Rohan Marley, son of the late reggae giant Bob Marley, when he showed up for a Fugee show and tried to talk to her. At first, she was uninterested in the beginning because of a past relationship that soured. "But back then I wasn't really checking for anybody," Hill told Essence writer Monifa Young. "I was very much into my music. You know, I'd spent so many years working at a relationship that didn't work that I was just like, 'I'm going to write these songs and pour my heart into them.'"

Yet Marley persisted, a romance developed, and soon the fact that Hill was carrying the grandchild of late Bob Marley only added to the aura of divinity that seemed to surround her. She had initially refused to disclose who the father was, and took heat for taking the "single mother" route at such a young age. "A lot of people told me, 'Don't do it. It's not the right time, you're a superstar,'" Hill recalled in an interview with Daisann McLane in Harper's Bazaar. "But I looked at my life, and I said, 'Well, God has blessed me with a whole lot in a little bit of time.' At the end of the day, the only reason for me not to have a child would have been that it was an inconvenience to my career, and that wasn't a good enough excuse for me not to have my son."

Carrying a child, Hill has said, gave her even more energy--she recorded a track with gospel star CeCe Winans the day before she gave birth--and she wrote over two dozen songs for her own project. Hill's solo debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, was released in August of 1998. Writing in Essence, Young called it "one of the most anticipated albums of the year by fans and industry insiders." It debuted to platinum sales. On it was a tribute to her son, named Zion David, titled "Joy of my World Is in Zion." Time magazine put Hill on the cover, and inside wrote about her and other African American artists such as Maxwell and Erykah Badu who were producing a fresh wave of "emotionally relevant" music that seemed to embody what writer Christopher John Farley called the "neo-soul" movement. Farley termed Hill's solo debut "the kind of galvanizing work neo-soul needs: unabashedly personal, unrelentingly confrontational, uncommonly inventive."

Hill has also become one of the most lauded of behind-the-scenes talents as well. She executive-produced Miseducation, and went to Detroit to work with Aretha Franklin and wrote the song "A Rose Is Still a Rose" for the Queen of Soul, which became the title track for Franklin's album. Hill also directed its video. "She's positive, detailed, conscientious," Franklin said of Hill to McLane in Harper's Bazaar. "Frankly, I was surprised to see that in such a young woman," she continued. Still, Hill found that fighting for control over her talents was not easy in the music industry, and she ultimately realized that success of her vision brought with it its own demons. "This is a very sexist industry," Hill told Young in the Essence interview. "They'll never throw the 'genius' title to a sister. They'll just call her diva and think it's a compliment."

In addition to her musical career, Hill sought opportunities to give back to her community. In 1996 she founded the Refugee Camp Youth Project, an outreach organization aimed at improving the lives of children in places like Haiti, Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, and New Jersey. The organization's projects included a day camp for inner-city kids in New Jersey and well-building projects in Africa. Hill's charity put on the first ever concert by an American act in Haiti. Over 75,000 showed up, including the country's president, for the benefit concert for the country's orphanages and rehabilitation camps. The money was mismanaged, some say by the Haitian government, but a second concert in Miami also garnered money for the foundation. Hill also organized "Hoodshock" in Harlem, which featured the late Notorious B.I.G. and the Fugees among others. In July of 2001, she teamed with Marc Anthony and Luther Vandross in a benefit concert, called "Aftershock," to provide relief to earthquake victims in India and El Salvador. The Refugee Camp Youth Project closed its doors in late 2000.

Turned from the Limelight

At the height of her popularity, Hill did something unusual: she retreated from the public eye. Hill bought her parents' house in South Orange, New Jersey, and eventually had three more children with Marley, whom she eventually married. And though she did not grant interviews and limited her appearances, Hill continued to compose her music. Her 2002 release of a performance on MTV Unplugged highlighted a new side of Hill, a side full of pain and emotion. Her emotional acoustic performance shocked fans who had pigeonholed her music talents into the hip-hop renditions of her earlier work, but her commanding lyrics and vocal performance marked a new high in her artistic career.

Slowly, Hill sought out performance opportunities, appearing with the Fugees for the first time since the late 1990s at various concerts in 2004 and 2005. Hill reemerged with a keen focus on her artistic vision, not a desire to please critics. In Trace magazine, her first interview in five years, Hill declared that the music she creates from now on "will only be to provide information to my own children," adding "If other people benefit from it, then so be it." She spoke of work on a new solo album and the possibility of a new album with the Fugees.

Awards

Two Grammy Awards for Best R&B song by a duo or group, for "Killing Me Softly with His Song," and for best rap album, The Score; 1997; triple platinum certification, November 1998, for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Recording Industry Association of America; five Grammy Awards, including two for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, best R&B song for "Doo Wop (That Thing)," best new artist, and best female R&B vocalist; Essence Award, for humanitarian work, 1998; three NAACP Image Awards, 1999; two American Music Awards, for The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 2000.

Works

Selected works

    Albums
    • (With the Fugees) Blunted on Reality, Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1993.
    • (With the Fugees) The Score, Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1996.
    • The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1998.
    • The Lauryn Hill Story, Chrome Dreams, 2000.
    • MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, Columbia, 2002.
    • Greatest Hits, 2003.
    Films
    • Sister Act II: Back in the Habit, 1993.
    • Restaurant, 2000.

    Further Reading

    Periodicals

    • Essence, August 1996, p. 85; June 1998, p. 74.
    • Harper's Bazaar, April 1998, pp. 204-208.
    • Rolling Stone, September 5, 1996.
    • Time, July 6, 1998, pp. 85-86.
    • Trace, July 14, 2005.
    • Vibe, March 1996; June/July 1996; August 1998.
    On-line
    • Lauryn Hill, www.laurynhill.com (August 4, 2005).
    • "Lauryn Hill Returns to the Limelight," CNN, www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/13/people.laurynhill.ap/?section=cnn_showbiz (August 4, 2005).
    • "Lauryn Hill: She Knows Why the Cage Bird Sings," Horizon Magazine, http://horizonmag.com/1/hill.htm (August 4, 2005).

    — Carol Brennan and Sara Pendergast

    Gale Musician Profiles:

    Lauryn Hill

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    Singer, songwriter

    For Lauryn Hill, gaining a certain level of independence and control as a singer, songwriter, and producer in the predominantly male-centered rap and R&B industry was a formidable struggle. On the first record she ever made, 1993’s Blunted on Reality, Hill was nothing more than the ultra-hip lead singer and writer of her own raps. By the time The Score was released in 1996, Hill was a minor celebrity and object of adoration in the media, a talent so obvious—and with looks so photogenic—that the clamor for her to go solo was incessant. But after gracefully letting her fellow Fugees take that route first, Hill unleashed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill to a platinum sales debut as well as overwhelming critical acclamation and adulation.

    In less than six months t, Miseducation had sold three million copies. Spin named Hill "Artist of the Year, and inside its pages writer Craig Seymour commented upon Miseducation’s wide range of fans. "In a fractured musical landscape, it simultaneously united the Sound-Scan masses—from hip-hop heads to frat rats to Lilith Fair maidens," Seymour wrote, and called it "the most

    ‘feel-good’ record of the year, and not just because you can feel good about yourself for liking it. When a black artist brings together people like this, it seems like societal gaps are a little bit narrower."

    Hill was born in the mid-1970s and grew up in South Orange, New Jersey, a neighborhood of modest houses on quiet streets that nevertheless was situated not far from a much rougher area with the high-rise buildings of public housing. Her parents were professionals. Her father, Mai, once sang professionally in nightclubs and at weddings, but became a computer analyst, while her mother, Valerie, taught school in nearby Newark. As a child, Hill spent long hours listening to a trove of her mother’s old 45s, hundreds of boxes of singles she found stashed in the basement from the likes of Gladys Knight, Curtis Mayfield, and Aretha Franklin from the legendary black music labels Motown, Stay, and Philly International. "One o’clock in the morning, you’d go in her room and you’d see her fast asleep with the earphones on," Valerie Hill told Toure in a 1999 interview for Rolling Stone. "This sixties soul that I’d collected just seeped into her veins."

    Teen Rapper
    Hill made her performing debut on Showtime at the Apollo at the age of 13. Her parents rented a van and brought along a group of her friends for the trek to Harlem to hear her sing the Smoky Robinson tune "Who’s Lovin’ You." But Hill was so afraid of the microphone that she kept her distance from it, and the result was jeers from the merciless audience. Her uncle yelled at her to move closer, "and she grabbed the mike and sang that song with a vengeance, like, ‘How dare you boo me’," Valerie Hill told Rolling Stone. Determined despite her rough start, Hill persevered, pursuing music as well as acting as a teen. She won a role in As the World Turns while still in high school, and in 1993, appeared in the Whoopi Goldberg movie Sister Act II: Back in the Habit.

    Hill had also become acquainted with a friend of her brother’s, Prakazrel "Pras" Michel. A Haitian immigrant, Michel formed a rap group and asked Hill to join. The trio became the Fugees-Tranzlator Crew. They danced and rapped in other languages and cut their demo tapes in a basement studio that belonged to Michel’s cousin. One day, another cousin of Michel’s, Wyclef Jean, came by the studio to hear them. Jean was amazed by Hill’s voice and decided to work with them. Later the other female member went off to college, and the trio eventually dropped the "Tranzlator" part and became just the Fugees. Hill herself put off college—though she was accepted by a number of prestigious schools—to take part-time courses at Columbia University.

    The Fugees soon attracted attention on the local circuit—in part due to a combination of Hill’s stunning looks and her raps—and were signed to the Pennsylvania rap label Ruffhouse. With the Fugees, she recorded Blunted on Reality, released in 1993. But the group—still in their teens—felt steamrollered by the whole event, and had been allowed little input into the production process. Their music was given pumped-up, gangsta-style beats by their creative team working on behalf of the label, who wanted to make a standard rap album. The record failed to make a dent in the charts. "Hailed in Europe as a glimpse of the future, Blunted was summarily trashed in the American hip-hop press for missing the mark altogether," noted Rolling Stone’s Alec Foege.

    Scored
    However, a New York producer remixed two of Blunteds tracks, the songs became underground club favorites, and suddenly the Fugees—with Hill as their frontperson—were a sensation. For their second album Hill, Jean, and Michel successfully argued with management to gain more creative control, and produced it themselves. The Score was released in 1996, a massive success of an album, widely hailed as one of the best of the year and even as a turning point for contemporary African-American music. The record was launched with Hill’s lauded vocals on a cover of the 1973 Roberta Flack hit, "Killing Me Softy with His Song," a single that spent five weeks at number one. In the end, The Score sold 18 million copies and made the Fugees the best-selling rap act in history. "Rather than reform hip hop, they’re re-forming it, with a gumbotic, frenetic amalgam of rock-steady samples, Castilian guitar, and verbal dexterity all over the map," wrote Natasha Stovall in the Village Voice. Hill, the critic noted, does "double duty as both rapper and diva. Her book smart-street smart persona and righteous, self-confident presence make her The Score’s centrifugal force."

    Even early on in her days as a new rap celebrity, Hill was continuously plagued by rumors that she was either about to leave the Fugees and go solo, or speculation about why she had not yet done so. In interviews she stressed the long-time creative relationship she enjoyed with Jean and Michel, and how well they functioned as a team. But then Hill became pregnant in late 1996, and did her first solo song for the soundtrack of a 1997 film with Larenz Tate and Nia Long called Love Jones. Meanwhile, Jean recorded and released his own solo album, and Michel was known to be planning one as well. Many assumed Hill’s career was stalled indefinitely. Others counseled her against having a child at this crucial point in her life.

    Record-Setting Solo Debut
    But the pregnancy was a blessing in disguise, for it fueled a huge burst of creativity in Hill. She wrote over two dozen songs, and then recorded them at her home in South Orange and in Kingston, Jamaica, from where the father of her child, Rohan Marley, hailed. Again, she had to fight for the right to produce her own record, though she had shared a Grammy award for The Score. Long before The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill debuted, Wyclef Jean had told a reporter that he would be the producer of Hill’s solo album, which made Hill roll her eyes later as she remembered hearing of this boast. "You would think that after selling 15 million records that I would be able to produce and write my own joint, but it was a battle," Hill explained to Michael A. Gonzales in a 1998 interview in The Source.

    The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill debuted in August of 1998 to sales of over 400,000 copies its first week out, setting a record for a black female artist. Miseducation’s title mirrored the name of a civil-rights treatise, The Miseducation of the Negro, by Carter G. Woodson, but Hill told Time Out-New YorK’s Raquel Cepeda, "it’s really about the things that you learn outside of school, outside of what society deems appropriate and mandatory." The record won effusive praise for its honesty, emotional resonance, and panoply of musical styles that interlocked well. Mary J. Blige guested with Hill to sing a duet on "I Used to Love Him," while guitarist Carlos Santana played on "Joy of My World Is in Zion," Hill’s tribute to her son.

    "Easily flowing from singing to rapping, evoking the past while forging a future of her own, Hill has made an album of often-astonishing power, strength, and feeling," declared Entertainment Weekly’s David Browne. He termed the record "infused with African-American musical history," and noted that "every cut, even the apolitical ones, presents a new and unexpected twist, both musically and emotionally." Browne wrote of the dominant "boy’s club" vibe of most R&B and hip-hop music, even acclaimed works by women—"the music is as exquisitely manicured as high-cost nails but deeply impersonal," Contrasting such works with Miseducation, Browne found Hill’s work "infused with the highs and lows of a young woman faced with success and expectations. A cloud hangs over the album, but the effect is human, not programmed."

    The Ultimate Revenge
    Some of that cloud may have been the result of questions about the future of the Fugees and, in comparison, the less-than-stellar reception to both Jean’s and Michel’s solo efforts. Label executives stressed that the band was simply enjoying a hiatus and would eventually reconvene in the studio. Some speculated that public-relations finesse was covering up a more serious breach, that Jean’s "To All the Girls" was a dig at Hill, and that Miseducation’s "Lost Ones" was her response ("my emancipation don’t fit your equation," she sings), as was perhaps "Ex-Factor," or even "I Used to Love Him." But Hill downplayed such issues. "The album is not about me bein’ upset about a love lost," Hill told Toure. "It’s not even really about bein’ upset about bein’ stabbed in the back."

    Before the end of the year, Miseducation would sell two million copies and earn Hill eight Grammy nominations. She won five, beating Carole King’s 1971 record of four Grammys for her album Tapestry. Spin named her "Artist of the Year" and Time magazine put her on the cover as new face of black music. "Hill isn’t out to create bourgeois hip-hop lite," opined its music critic, Christopher John Farley. "She constantly strives to connect her message to the street." Toure declared that the tracks on Miseducation evince that Hill has "Joni Mitchell’s intense singer-songwriter integrity, Bob Marley’s revolutionary spirit and young Chaka Khan’s all-natural, Everywoman sensuality." That expressiveness and emotional sincerity came naturally to Hill. "I really don’t know any better," as she explained the songwriting process to Melissa Ewey of Ebony. "To write something that’s too pretentious, that wouldn’t feel natural to me. I think the only anxiety that I felt was … you know that once you release something, it’s a reflection of you, and people will beat it up. I knew I’d better do what I had to do to put my best foot forward."

    While pregnant with Zion, Hill had worked with Aretha Franklin, writing the track "A Rose Is a Rose" for her 1998 album, and picking up another two Grammy nominations for her production work. She also planned to tour in early 1999, despite the fact that she now had had a second child, daughter Selah, with Rohan Marley. She admitted to Toure that "raising children is a twenty-four-hour job, and making music is a twenty-four-hour job, so I have to be really careful how I do things." Nevertheless, becoming one of the most celebrated female talents of the decade did have its drawbacks. After the Grammy nominations were announced, Hill, her record company and her management team were sued by a quartet of songwriters who claimed they had written and produced some of the songs on Miseducation in collaboration with Hill. "If I stopped enjoying this business, I could quit," Hill told Rolling Stone’s Kevin Powell. "I never want the industry to drive me; I want to drive it. I want to be a part of a new class of artists who don’t have to fall apart to be dope. I’d rather not chronicle my demise."

    Selected discography

    With the Fugees
    Blunted on Reality, Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1993.
    The Score, Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1996.

    Solo
    The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1998.

    Sources
    Billboard, May 11, 1996, p. 37; December 12, 1998, p. 6.
    Ebony, November 1998, pp. 194-202.
    Entertainment Weekly, June 26, 1998; September 4, 1998; October 2, 1998.
    Essence, June 1998, pp. 73-76, 156-158.
    Harper’s Bazaar, April 1998, pp. 204-209.
    New York Daily News, August 30, 1998.
    People, August 31, 1998; December 28, 1998, pp. 56-57.
    Rolling Stone, September 5, 1998, p. 40; September 17, 1998, p. 35; February 18, 1999.
    The Source, September 1998, p. 223.
    Spin, January 1999, p. 65.
    Stereo Review, November 1998, pp. 109-110.
    Time, September 7, 1998, pp. 70-72.
    Time Out—New York, June 4, 1998.
    Us, September 1998.
    Village Voice, March 5, 1996, p. 53; April 9, 1996, p. 53; September 1, 1998, p. 57.
    AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:

    Lauryn Hill

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    • Genres: Rap

    Biography

    Call Lauryn Hill the mother of hip-hop invention; with her 1998 solo debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the Fugees' most vocal member not only established herself as creative force on her own, but also broke new ground by successfully integrating rap, soul, reggae, and R&B into her own sound.

    Raised in South Orange, NJ, Hill spent her youth listening her parents' multi-genre, multi-generational record collection. She began singing at an early age, and was soon snagging minor roles on television (As the World Turns) and in film (Sister Act II: Back in the Habit). Her on-again, off-again stint in the Fugees began at the age of 13, but was often interrupted by both the acting gigs and her enrollment at Columbia University. After developing a following in the tri-state area, the group's first release -- the much-hyped but uneven Blunted on Reality -- bombed, almost causing a breakup. But with the multi-platinum The Score, the Fugees (and especially the camera-friendly Hill) achieved international success, though some pundits took shots at their penchant for cover songs.

    That criticism made Miseducation even more of a surprise. Hill wrote, arranged, or produced just about every track on the album, which is steeped in her old-school background, both musically (the Motown-esque singalong of "Doo Wop (That Thing)") and lyrically (the nostalgic "Every Ghetto, Every City"). As Miseducation began a long reign on the charts through most of the fall and winter of 1998 -- initially thanks to heavy buzz and overwhelming radio support for "Doo Wop (That Thing)" -- Hill became a national media icon, as magazines ranging from Time to Esquire to Teen People vied to put her on the cover. By the end of the year, as the album topped virtually every major music critic's best-of list, she was being credited for helping fully assimilate hip-hop into mainstream music. (Such an analysis, however, is lightweight at best: Hip-hop had been a huge force on the sales and radio fronts for most of the decade, and rappers Jay-Z, DMX, and Outkast had dropped similarly lauded LPs prior to or just after Miseducation's release, adding to the genre's dominant sales for the year). The momentum finally culminated at the February 1999 Grammy awards, during which Hill took home five trophies from her 11 nominations, including Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album; the most ever for a woman. Shortly after, she launched a highly praised national tour with Atlanta rappers Outkast.

    Hill also faced a lawsuit from two musicians who claim they were denied full credit for their work on the album. In an interesting twist, Hill's album proved to be such a commercial and critical success that it shed doubt on the Fugees' future. Their in-fighting became common knowledge, and matters were complicated when many fans interpreted Miseducation's various anti-stardom rants as a public dissing of co-Fugee Wyclef Jean.

    She did continue shaping her solo career. The double-disc MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 appeared in spring 2002, showcasing a deeply personal performance from Hill. ~ Brian Raftery, Rovi
    Wikipedia on Answers.com:

    Lauryn Hill

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    For the model, see Lauren Michelle Hill.
    Lauryn Hill

    Lauryn Hill at Central Park, October 6, 2004
    Background information
    Birth name Lauryn Noelle Hill
    Also known as Ms. Hill
    Born (1975-05-26) May 26, 1975 (age 37)
    Origin South Orange, New Jersey, United States
    Genres R&B, hip hop, soul, reggae fusion
    Occupations Singer-songwriter, record producer, actress
    Instruments Vocals, guitar, piano
    Years active 1987–present
    Labels Columbia, Ruffhouse
    Associated acts Fugees
    Website www.lauryn-hill.com

    Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975)[1] is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actress.

    Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The recording earned Hill 5 Grammy Awards, including the coveted Album of the Year and Best New Artist.[2][3]

    Following the success of her debut album, Hill largely dropped out of public view, in part due to her displeasure with fame and the music industry. After a four-year hiatus, she released MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, a live recording of "deeply personal songs" performed mostly solo with an acoustic guitar.[4] In more recent years, she has recorded songs for soundtracks and mixtapes, as well as performing live at several music festivals. Hill has 6 children, five of whom are with Rohan Marley, one of reggae musician Bob Marley's sons.[5]

    Contents

    Biography

    Early life and career beginnings

    Lauryn Hill was born in South Orange, New Jersey of Haitian and African-American descent,[citation needed] the second of two children born to high school English teacher Valerie Hill and computer programmer Mal Hill. As a child, Hill listened to her parents' Motown 1960s soul records. Music was a central part of the Hill home. Mal Hill sang at weddings, Valerie played the piano, and Lauryn's older brother Malaney played the saxophone, guitar, drums, harmonica, and piano. In 1988, Hill appeared as an Amateur Night contestant on It's Showtime at the Apollo. She sang her own version of Smokey Robinson's song "Who's Lovin' You?", where she was booed tremendously, but persevered and ended up with audience applause.[6][7]

    Hill was childhood friends with actor Zach Braff and both graduated from Maplewood, New Jersey's Columbia High School in 1993, where Hill was an active student, cheerleader, and performer. Braff has spoken of Hill attending his Bar Mitzvah in 1988.[8] Hill enrolled at Columbia University in 1993 and attended for nearly a full year before dropping out to pursue her entertainment career.[9]

    1991–96: The Fugees and acting career

    Main article: The Fugees

    The Refugee Camp ("Fugees") formed after Prakazrel "Pras" Michel approached Hill in high school about joining a music group he was creating. Soon after, she met Michel's cousin and fellow Haïtian, Wyclef Jean. At some point, Hill was nicknamed "L Boogie", as she began to convert her poetic writing into rap verses. Hill's singing gained worldwide acclaim with the Fugees' remake of "Killing Me Softly with His Song", accompanied by a sample from Rotary Connection's "Memory Band". The Fugees' first album, Blunted on Reality, peaked at No. 49 on the U.S. Hot 100. The album sold over two million copies worldwide. Blunted on Reality was followed by The Score, a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning album that established two of the three Fugees as international rap stars. Singles from The Score include "Ready or Not", "Fu-Gee-La", "No Woman, No Cry", and "Killing Me Softly".

    Hill began her acting career at a young age, appearing on the soap opera As The World Turns as Kira Johnson. In 1993, she co-starred in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit as Rita Louise Watson, in which she performed the songs "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (a duet with Tanya Blount) and "Joyful, Joyful". It was in this role that she first came to national prominence, with Roger Ebert calling her "the girl with the big joyful voice". Her other acting work includes the play Club XII with MC Lyte, and the motion pictures King of the Hill, Hav Plenty, and Restaurant. After her rise to musical stardom, she reportedly turned down roles in Charlie's Angels, The Bourne Identity, The Mexican, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.[6] She appeared on the soundtrack to Conspiracy Theory in 1996 with "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", and on Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood in 2002 with the track "Selah".

    1997–99:The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and racial controversy

    In 1997, Hill began production on an album that would eventually become The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The title was inspired by The Mis-Education of the Negro book by Carter G. Woodson and The Education of Sonny Carson, a film and autobiographical novel.[10] The album featured contributions from D'Angelo, Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige and a then-unknown John Legend. Songs for the album were largely written in an attic studio in South Orange, New Jersey and recorded at Chung King Studios in New York City.[11][12] Wyclef Jean initially did not support Hill recording a solo album, but eventually offered his production help; Hill turned him down.[6] Several songs on the album concerned her frustrations with The Fugees;[11] "I Used to Love Him" dealt with the break-down of the relationship between Hill and Wyclef Jean.[11] "To Zion" spoke about her decision to have her first baby, even though many at the time encouraged her to abort the pregnancy so as to not interfere with her blossoming career.[13]

    The Miseducation contained several interludes of a teacher speaking to what is implied to be a classroom of children; in fact, the "teacher" was played by Ras Baraka (a poet, educator and politician) speaking to a group of kids in the living room of Hill's New Jersey home.[10] The singer requested that Baraka speak to the children about the concept of love, and he improvised the lecture.[10] Though The Miseducation was largely a collaborative work between Hill and a group of musicians known as New Ark (Vada Nobles, Rasheem Pugh, Tejumold and Johari Newton), there was "label pressure to do the Prince thing," wherein all tracks would be credited as "written and produced by" the artist with little outside help.[6][14] While recording the album, when Hill was asked about providing contracts or documentation to the musicians, she replied, "We all love each other. This ain't about documents. This is blessed."[6] Hill, her management, and her record label were sued in 1998 by New Ark, claiming to be the primary songwriters on two tracks, and major contributors on several others.[15] The suit was settled out of court in February 2001 for a reported $5 million.[2] In 1998, Hill released The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which was both critically and commercially successful. It sold over 423,000 copies in its first week and topped the Billboard 200 albums chart for four weeks and the Billboard R&B Album chart for six weeks; it would go on to sell more than 18 million copies over the next decade.[2] The first single off the album was "Lost Ones" (US #27), released in Spring 1998. The second was "Doo Wop (That Thing)", which reached No. 1 in the Billboard charts. Other singles released off the album were "Ex-Factor" (US #21), "Everything Is Everything" (US #35), and "To Zion". At the 1999 Grammy Awards, Hill broke records by becoming both the first woman ever to be nominated in ten categories in a single year, and the first woman to win five times in one night. Hill won the awards for Album of the Year (beating Madonna's critically acclaimed Ray of Light and Shania Twain's bestselling Come on Over), Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist. Between 1998 and 1999, Hill earned 25 million USD from record sales and touring.[6] Hill became a national media icon, as magazines ranging from Time to Esquire to Teen People vied to put her on their covers. In the late 1990s, Hill was noted by some as a humanitarian. In 1996 she received an Essence Award for work including the 1996 founding of the Refugee Project (an outreach organization that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk youth), her support of well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, and for staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. In 1999 Hill received three awards at the 30th Annual NAACP Image Awards. Also in 1999, Ebony named her one of "100+ Most Influential Black Americans". She was named with Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and others among the "10 For Tomorrow," in the EBONY 2000: Special Millennium Issue.

    In 1996, a caller on The Howard Stern Show mentioned that he heard Lauryn Hill state on MTV "I would rather have my family starve than have white people buy my albums".[16] MTV publicly disclaimed the quotation, and after a discussion on The Howard Stern Show, May 21 1996, Hill herself (with Wycleaf Jean) called in from Norway to refute the rumor, stating "How can I possibly be a racist? My music is universal music. And I believe in God. If I believe in God, then I have to love all of God's creations. There can be no segregation".[16][17] She also told Teen People magazine "There's absolutely nothing racist about anything in my heart".[16] In a later interview with MTV, Hill stated "Everybody has to be really careful on what they read and hear. Because of what some radio personality chose to say, he had a bunch of people believing something that they never actually seen or heard themselves, but just heard a rumor."[17] As this rumor would continue through the press, Hill would repeatedly assert in later interviews that this accusation was false, that she never made such statements, would never make such statements, and that she is in no way racist.[16][18]

    2000–03: self-imposed exile, MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 and Vatican controversy

    After the release of her debut album, she explored other methods of expressing herself, including creating an extensive amount of music, poetry, and clothing designs.[citation needed] She started writing a screenplay about the life of Bob Marley, in which she planned to act as his wife Rita.[6] She also began producing a romantic comedy about soul food with a working title of Sauce, and accepted a starring role in the film adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel Beloved;[6] she later dropped out of both projects due to pregnancy.[6] Hill became dissatisfied with the music industry; she felt she was being unfairly controlled by her record label, and disliked being unable "to go to the grocery store without makeup."[10] She fired her management team and began attending Bible study classes five days a week; she also stopped doing interviews, watching television and listening to music.[14] She started associating with a "spiritual adviser" named Brother Anthony.[19] Some familiar with Hill believe Anthony more resembled a cult leader than a spiritual advisor,[6][20] and thought his guidance probably inspired much of Hill's more controversial public behavior.[19][20][21]

    "There were a number of different reasons. But partly, the support system that I needed was not necessarily in place. There were things about myself, personal-growth things, that I had to go through in order to feel like it was worth it. In fact, as musicians and artists, it's important we have an environment – and I guess when I say environment, I really mean the [music] industry, that really nurtures these gifts. Oftentimes, the machine can overlook the need to take care of the people who produce the sounds that have a lot to do with the health and well-being of society, or at least some aspect of society. And it's important that people be given the time that they need to go through, to grow, so that the consciousness level of the general public is properly affected. Oftentimes, I think people are forced to make decisions prematurely. And then that sound radiates."

    – Hill talks about why she left music.[22]

    In 2000, she dropped out of the public eye. She described this period of her life to Essence: "People need to understand that the Lauryn Hill they were exposed to in the beginning was all that was allowed in that arena at that time… I had to step away when I realized that for the sake of the machine, I was being way too compromised. I felt uncomfortable about having to smile in someone's face when I really didn't like them or even know them well enough to like them."[23] She also spoke about her emotional crisis, saying, "For two or three years I was away from all social interaction. It was a very introspective time because I had to confront my fears and master every demonic thought about inferiority, about insecurity or the fear of being black, young and gifted in this western culture."[23] She went on to say that she had to fight to retain her identity, and was forced "to deal with folks who weren't happy about that."[23] On July 21, 2001, Hill unveiled her new material to a small crowd, for a taping of an MTV Unplugged special. An album of the concert, titled MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, focused on the lyrics and the message rather than the musical arrangements. "Fantasy is what people want, but reality is what they need", she said during the concert. "I've just retired from the fantasy part." The songs featured only her acoustic guitar and voice, the latter somewhat raspy from rehearsal on the day before the recording. Hill used the set as an opportunity to give information on why she had been absent from the public for a period of time and what she had found while away. Unlike the near-unanimous praise of The Miseducation, 2.0 sharply divided critics. AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that the recording "is the unfinished, unflinching presentation of ideas and of a person. It may not be a proper follow-up to her first album, but it is fascinating."[24] Rolling Stone called the album "a public breakdown".[6] Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani wrote, "Hill's guitarwork is multi-textured and fine-tuned but her vocals lack confidence and seem to toe the edge of her range throughout the album. And though the stripped-down nature of the show is fitting, many of the songs sound as if they are still in their infancy."[25] Despite the mixed reviews, 2.0 debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum four weeks after its release. Despite Hill's departure from the media and celebrity, she continued to have some success in the music world. Her song "Mystery of Iniquity" was nominated for a Grammy without promotion or radio airplay and used as an interpolation by hip-hop producer/song-writer Kanye West for his single "All Falls Down" (eventually recorded by Syleena Johnson).

    On December 13, 2003, Hill made headlines by denouncing "corruption, exploitation, and abuses" in reference to the molestation of boys by Catholic priests in the United States and the cover-up of offenses by Catholic Church officials.[26] The statements were made during a performance at a Christmas benefit concert at the Vatican. Reading from a prepared statement,[26] Hill told the crowd of 7,500:

    “ I am sorry if I am about to offend some of you. I did not accept my invitation to celebrate with you the birth of Christ. Instead I ask you why you are not in mourning for Him in this place? I want to ask you, what have you got to say about the lives you have broken? What about the families who were expecting God and instead were cheated by the Devil? Who feels sorry for them, the men, women and children damaged psychologically, emotionally and mentally by the sexual perversions and abuse carried out by the people they believed in? Holy God is a witness to the corruption of your leadership, of the exploitation and abuses which are the minimum that can be said for the clergy. There is no acceptable excuse to defend the church."[27] ”

    Hill called on the church leaders to "repent" and encouraged the crowd to "not seek blessings from man but from God."[28] She then performed the songs "Damnable Heresies" and "Social Drugs".[28] High-ranking church officials in attendance included Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Monsignor Rino Fisichella and Cardinal Edmund Szoka.[29] Pope John Paul II was not present.[29] The segment was cut from the television broadcast. Both the Vatican and Columbia Records refused to issue official statements regarding Hill's actions.[30] Monsignor Fisichella told reporters that Hill had acted "in poor taste and very bad mannered. It showed a complete lack of respect for her invitation and for the place where she had been invited to perform".[31] The Catholic League called Hill "pathologically miserable" and claimed her career is "in decline".[32] Hill responded to the controversy on December 16: "What I said was the truth. Is telling the truth bad manners? What I asked was the church to repent for what has happened."[33] The following day, several reporters suggested that Hill's comments at the Vatican may have been influenced by her "advisor" Brother Anthony.[34]

    2004–06: Fugees, album work, touring and hiatus

    The Fugees performed on September 18, 2004 at Dave Chappelle's Block Party in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. They headlined a bill that included a star-studded cast of hip-hop celebrities. The concert featured Hill's nearly a cappella rendition of "Killing Me Softly". The event was recorded by director Michel Gondry and was released on March 3, 2006 to mostly positive reviews.[35][36] In 2005, she told an interviewer that "The Fugees was a conspiracy to control, to manipulate and to encourage dependence. I took a lot of abuse that many people would not have taken in these circumstances."[37] The Fugees also appeared at BET's 2005 Music Awards on June 28, 2005, where they opened the show with a 12-minute set. One track, "Take It Easy", was leaked online and thereafter was released as an internet single on September 27, 2005. It peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard R&B Chart. The song was mostly panned by critics, as The Village Voice wrote, "Turns out that a Fugees reunion wasn't really what anyone was waiting for; we just wanted Lauryn to start rapping again."[38]

    "I'm trying to open up my range and really sing more. With The Fugees initially, and even with Miseducation, it was very hip-hop – always a singing over beats. I don't think people have really heard me sing out. So if I do record again, perhaps it will have an expanded context. Where people can hear a bit more."

    – Hill talks about her work with The Fugees.[22]

    The Fugees embarked on a European tour from November 30, 2005 through December 20, 2005. The group played in Austria, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, England, Ireland and Switzerland. On February 6, 2006, the Fugees did a special "Reunion Concert" in Hollywood, that was offered as a live webcast on the Verizon Wireless website. The Fugees were featured in numerous Verizon Wireless VCast advertisements in magazines and on TV around that same time. A new song titled "Foxy" was made available on VCast and a third new song was leaked, unofficially titled "Wannabe", which uses the same hook as the Michael Jackson song "I Wanna Be Where You Are". Old tensions between Hill and the other members of the group soon resurfaced, and the reunion fizzled before an album could be recorded. Jean and Michel both blamed Hill for the split. Hill reportedly demanded to be addressed by everyone, including her bandmates, as "Ms. Hill"; she also considered changing her moniker to "Empress".[39] Her chronic tardiness – sometimes stalling up to 45 minutes after the two had taken the stage – has been cited as another contributing factor to the breakup.[39] Michel told the press in August 2007, "Before I work with Lauryn Hill again, you will have a better chance of seeing Osama Bin Laden and George W. Bush in Starbucks having a latte, discussing foreign policies… At this point I really think it will take an act of God to change her, because she is that far out there."[40]

    Hill has been slowly working on a new album[6] and in November 2004 shot a music video. The album had a slated street date of November 2005, and neither it nor the music video have been released.[41] It was also reported that as of 2003, Columbia Records had spent more than $2.5 million funding Hill's new album, mostly spent on installing a recording studio in the singer's Miami apartment and flying different musicians around the country.[6] In 2004, Hill contributed a new song, "The Passion", to The Passion of the Christ: Songs. Around this time, Hill began selling a pay-per-view music video of the song "Social Drugs" through her website.[42] Those who purchase the $15 video would only be able to view it three times before it expired. In addition to the video, Hill began selling autographed posters and Polaroids through her website, with some items listed at upwards of $500.[42] In 2005, she told USA Today, "If I make music now, it will only be to provide information to my own children. If other people benefit from it, then so be it."[37] When asked how she now felt about the songs on 2.0, she stated "a lot of the songs were transitional. The music was about how I was feeling at the time, even though I was documenting my distress as well as my bursts of joy."[37]

    She has toured several times in recent years, though most of her concerts have received mixed reviews.[43][44][45] Hill is often late to concerts (sometimes by over two hours) and reconfigures her well-known hits in to "unrecognizable scat chants" while "sporting frizzy orange hair and exaggerated makeup".[39][46][47] On some occasions, fans have booed her and left early;[48] some fans have also demanded their money back after concerts.[49] On October 6, 2005, Hill emceed and performed two songs at the Take Back TV concert launching Al Gore's CurrentTV.[50][51][52] In June 2007, Sony records said though Hill has "consistently recorded over the past decade" and has what amounts to "a library of unreleased material in the vault", she had recently re-entered the studio "with the goal of making a new LP."[53] Later that same year, a new album entitled Ms. Hill, which featured cuts from The Miseducation, various soundtracks contributions and other "unreleased" songs, was released.[54] It features guest appearances from D'Angelo, Rah Digga and John Forté.[55] Also in June 2007, Hill released a new song, "Lose Myself" on the soundtrack to the film Surf's Up under her new professional name, Ms. Lauryn Hill. The song is also played over the credits.

    Reports in mid-2008 claimed that Columbia Records then believed Hill to be "on hiatus."[39] Rohan Marley disputed these claims, telling an interviewer that Hill has enough material for several albums: "She writes music in the bathroom, on toilet paper, on the wall. She writes it in the mirror if the mirror smokes up. She writes constantly. This woman does not sleep". One of the few public appearances Hill made in 2008 was at a Martha Stewart book-signing in New Jersey, perplexing some in the press.[56] On November 4, 2008, Hill was scheduled to perform at the Avo Session Basel music festival in Basel, Switzerland. Her concert was canceled "for personal reasons".[57] In April 2009, it was reported that Hill would engage in a 10 day tour of European summer festivals during mid-July of that year. She performed two shows for the tour and passed out on stage during the start of her second performance and left the stage. She refused to give refunds to angry consumers for the show. On June 10, Hill's management informed the promoters of the Stockholm Jazz Festival, which she was scheduled to headline, that she would not be performing due to unspecified "health reasons."[58] Shortly afterward, the rest of the tour was canceled as well.[58]

    2010–present: second studio album

    In January 2010, Hill returned to the live stage and performed in stops across New Zealand and Australia on the 'Raggamuffin Festival'- a music festival that celebrates reggae music. She performed songs from the Miseducation album and some Fugees hits. On April 19, Hill appeared at the Tanzania Education Trust Gala And Reception in New York City for a Charity Event. When making this public appearance, she was asked by paparazzi whether she is working on a new album, to which she replied "Yeah, possibly", suggesting that she may be working on new projects, and possibly a second album.[59] On June 8, it was announced that Hill would be the very special guest performer at Rock the Bells hip-hop Festival series. Five days later, Hill appeared at the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa, California, her first live American performance in several years. In a June interview with NPR reporter/producer Zoe Chace as part of NPR's 50 Great Voices Series, Hill confirmed that she was planning to begin recording again[60] and discussed her hiatus and five children.[61] Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers confirmed he worked with Hill on an upcoming album as well.[62] On September 8, 2010, Isley and Hill's duet, "Close To You", a remake of the classic song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was leaked online.[63][64]

    "There are a lot of different creative energies out there right now. I respect the different sounds that I'm hearing. It's been such a long time since I've gotten my voice and my ideas out [...] In terms of collaborations, that's not even something I've been thinking about per se. I'm happy that people are still making music. That we still have a platform with which to make music. It's gonna be interesting to see what the future holds."

    – Hill talks to MTV.[65]

    An unreleased song called "Repercussions" was leaked via the internet in late July.[66][67] On August 28, 2010 the song debuted at No. 94 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (which peaked at No. 83 the following week), making it her first Billboard chart appearance as a lead artist since 1999; last song on the charts being her cover version of Bob Marley's "Turn Your Lights Down Low" which reached No. 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 49 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[68][69] In April 2010, many of the songs that Hill had performed and recorded over the past six years were included on an unofficial compilation album titled Khulami Phase.[70] The album also features a range of other material found on the Ms. Hill compilation.[70] On August 28, Hill performed at Rock the Bells Hip Hop festival on Governor's Island in Brooklyn. Hill performed several songs from The Miseducation, including "To Zion", during which she brought her five children on stage. On November 5, 2010, Hill headlined the University of Miami's annual Homecoming concert. Hill performed several songs in front of a very large and responsive crowd. Her hour long set included songs from the Miseducation album such as "Lost Ones", "Ex-Factor", "To Zion" (during which she brought her son Joshua on stage and allowed him to sing into the microphone), a few Bob Marley songs, and several Fugees tracks. Hill was announced to headline the 6th Annual Jazz in the Gardens, in Miami Gardens, Florida in December 2010. She performed on the first day of the two day concert, March 19, 2011, along with Jazmine Sullivan, Charlie Wilson, Al Jarreau, and Doug E. Fresh with Slick Rick.[71]

    In spring of 2011, Lauryn Hill performed at the Coachella Valley Music Festival to a multitudinous crowd. Hill also played at the New Orleans JazzFest on Saturday, May 7 and at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on May 13. On February 29, 2012, Lauryn Hill performed a new song titled "Fearless Vampire Killer", during a sold out performance at the Warner Theater in Washington, DC.

    Personal life

    Hill dated Wyclef Jean through the majority of The Fugees' early tenure, a relationship that friends have called "complicated."[6] In the summer of 1996, Hill met Rohan Marley, the son of reggae legend Bob Marley. Despite the fact that Marley was already married, Hill and Marley started a family. They have five children together: Zion David (born August 3, 1997),[72] Selah Louise (born November 12, 1998),[72] Joshua Omaru (born January 26, 2002),[72] John Nesta (born mid-2003),[72] and Sarah (born January 2008).[72] She also has a son (born July 23, 2011) with another man.[5][73]

    From 1998, Hill reportedly lived in both the Caribbean and an upscale hotel in Miami.[6] However, in August 2008, it was reported that Hill was living with her mother and children in her hometown of South Orange, New Jersey,[39] although Hill's net worth is still reported to exceed $8.7 million from her record sales, tours and investments in Jamaica.[citation needed]

    Legacy and influences

    Lauryn Hill has been cited as an influence by many, especially those in the neo-soul movement of the 2000s. Musicians who have acknowledged Hill's importance or influence include Prince,[39] John Legend,[74] Alicia Keys,[75] Christina Aguilera,[76] D'Angelo,[10] Mary J. Blige,[2] and Jazmine Sullivan[2] among others. In 2005, Talib Kweli released a song about the singer, titled "Ms. Hill", on Right About Now.[77][78]

    British pop singer Adele revealed that Hill's debut album is her favorite record ever: "I remember it being huge everywhere. Even though I was pretty young and oblivious, I was very aware of how successful that record was. I was a big fan of Lauryn Hill when she was in the Fugees anyway and that was a record I grew up listening to." In addition, she spoke about the singer's songwriting skills and passion for music: "I analyzed that record for a month and was constantly wondering when I'd be that passionate about something to write a record about [...] I analyzed the notes and I was singing along to the lyrics that are some of the deepest lyrics ever."[79]

    Michelle Obama, wife of U.S. President Barack Obama, told the BBC that she frequently listens to Hill's music on her iPod,[80] while 2008 Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain's daughter Meghan stated that her father listens to Hill: "I borrowed his car once in D.C., and I was looking through [his] CDs, and I was like, 'Oh, Lauryn Hill.'"[81] Actors Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington are also reportedly fans of the singer.[39] D'Angelo, who appeared on "Nothing Even Matters," referred in an interview to at least one church reportedly having used the song in a service.

    Discography

    Main article: Lauryn Hill discography

    Filmography

    See also

    References

    1. ^ Holly George-Warren, Patricia Romanowski Bashe, Jon Pareles (2001). The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. New York: Fireside. p. 358. ISBN 0-7432-0120-5. OCLC 422000389. http://books.google.com/books?id=9lYYAAAAIAAJ&q=lauryn+hill+may+26&dq=lauryn+hill+may+26&hl=en&ei=l_3gTezMC8nzsgb1mPj0BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result. 
    2. ^ a b c d e Checkoway, Laura (March 2, 2009). "Inside "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill"". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. http://replay.web.archive.org/20090302014927/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/22713461/inside_the_miseducation_of_lauryn_hill. 
    3. ^ Christian Science Monitor, "Rap goes from urban streets to Main Street," by Cathy Scott, February 26, 1999
    4. ^ Raftery, Brian. "Lauryn Hill – Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p222973. Retrieved 2008-12-11. 
    5. ^ a b "Lauryn Hill Welcomes Sixth Child". BlackCelebkids.com. July 24, 2011. http://www.blackcelebkids.com/2011/07/24/exclusive-lauryn-hill-welcomes-son/. 
    6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Toure (October 30, 2003), "The Mystery of Lauryn Hill", Rolling Stone (934), archived from the original on May 5, 2009, http://replay.web.archive.org/20090505024008/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5940100/the_mystery_of_lauryn_hill/ 
    7. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoaPvU10wCA 13yr old Lauryn Hill sings Who's Lovin' You on Apollo
    8. ^ "BRAFF: 'LAURYN HILL WAS MY COKE AND PEPSI PARTNER'". PR-inside.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070304111743/http://www.pr-inside.com/rss/braff-lauryn-hill-was-my-coke-and-pepsi-partner-r15839.htm. Retrieved September 6, 2006. 
    9. ^ "Music: Hip-Hop Nation: Lauryn Hill". Time. February 8, 1999. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,990180,00.html. Retrieved April 4, 2010. 
    10. ^ a b c d e Checkoway, Laura. "Inside "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" (page 7)". Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. http://replay.web.archive.org/20090228152350/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/22713461/inside_the_miseducation_of_lauryn_hill/7. 
    11. ^ a b c Checkoway, Laura (August 28, 2008). "Inside "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" (page 3)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. http://replay.web.archive.org/20090228151540/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/22713461/inside_the_miseducation_of_lauryn_hill/3. 
    12. ^ 'Checkoway, Laura (August 28, 2008). "Inside "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" (page 5)". Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. http://replay.web.archive.org/20090228151545/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/22713461/inside_the_miseducation_of_lauryn_hill/5. 
    13. ^ Checkoway, Laura (August 28, 2008). "Inside "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" (page 4)". Rolling Stone. Archived from [/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/22713461/inside_the_miseducation_of_lauryn_hill/4 the original] on February 27, 2009. http://replay.web.archive.org/20090227014652/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/22713461/inside_the_miseducation_of_lauryn_hill/4. 
    14. ^ a b Rolling Stone article: "Inside "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill: page 8."
    15. ^ "The Legal Tangle of 'Miseducation'". Articles.latimes.com. December 19, 1998. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/dec/19/entertainment/ca-55439. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    16. ^ a b c d Furman, Leah and Elina. Heart of Soul: The Lauryn Hill Story P. 110-111. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
    17. ^ a b "Lauryn Hill calls from Norway to clear up false racist rumors". Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfuIMfHGJWs. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    18. ^ "Urban Legends Reference Pages: Lauryn Hill on Whites Buying Her Albums". Snopes.com. http://www.snopes.com/quotes/lauryn.asp. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    19. ^ a b Urb Magazine article: "Lauryn Hill :: The Mystification of Ms. Hill".
    20. ^ a b MSNBC article: "Was Hill influenced to attack Catholic Church?".
    21. ^ Contact Music article: "DID CULT MAN INFLUENCE LAURYN HILL'S VATICAN RANT?".
    22. ^ a b "Lauryn Hill Talks About Why She Left Music!". PerezHilton.com. http://perezhilton.com/2010-06-29-lauryn-hill-talks-about-why-she-left-music. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    23. ^ a b c Morgan, Joan. They Call Me Ms. Hill. Essence: Jan. 16, 2006.
    24. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r588369
    25. ^ "Slant Magazine Music Review: Lauryn Hill: Unplugged No. 2.0". Slantmagazine.com. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=89. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    26. ^ a b MTV News article: "Lauryn Hill Attacks Catholic Church At Vatican Concert"
    27. ^ "What Lauryn Hill told the Vatican". Snapnetwork.org. December 16, 2003. http://www.snapnetwork.org/news/vatican/lauryn_hill_vatican.htm. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    28. ^ a b Entertainment Weekly article: "Forgive Them Father"
    29. ^ a b CTV News article: "Lauryn Hill speaks out against abuse at Vatican."
    30. ^ New York Times article: "ARTS BRIEFING 12/16/2003".
    31. ^ The Age article: "Catholic leaders get an angry sermon".
    32. ^ Shaw, Kathy (December 16, 2003). "Poynter Online – Abuse Tracker". Poynter.org. http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=46&aid=57677. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    33. ^ IMDB news article: "Movie/TV News WENN Dec 16, 2003".
    34. ^ MSNBC article: Was Hill influenced to attack Catholic Church?".
    35. ^ Metacritic entry for Dave Chappelle's Block Party: film maintains an 84% positive rating ("Universal Acclaim").
    36. ^ RottenTomatoes.com entry for Dave Chappelle's Block Party: film maintains a 92% positive rating and is "Certified Fresh."
    37. ^ a b c USA Today article: "Lauryn Hill returns to the limelight."
    38. ^ The Fugees: Reunited and Not Very Good Tom Breihan, Villagevoice.com, September 26, 2005
    39. ^ a b c d e f g McGee, Tiffany (August 18, 2008). "Whatever Happened to... Lauryn Hill?". People. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20221692,00.html. 
    40. ^ AllHipHop.com Daily News – : Pras: "It Will Take An Act of God To Change Lauryn."
    41. ^ "The search for RELLevance: Lauryn Hill: Trace Magazine Interview 7/15/05". Rellavent.blogspot.com. July 26, 2005. http://rellavent.blogspot.com/2005/07/lauryn-hill-trace-magazine-interview.html. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    42. ^ a b Patel, Joseph (January 9, 2004). "The Misvaluation Of Lauryn Hill: $15 Music Video Posted Online – Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1484249/20040109/hill_lauryn.jhtml?headlines=true. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
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    44. ^ Hildebrand, Lee (June 29, 2007). "Late start, new approach disappoint Lauryn Hill fans at Oakland concert". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/29/DDGD8QN31O1.DTL. 
    45. ^ "Hill arrives two hours late for own concert – RTÉ Ten". Rte.ie. http://www.rte.ie/arts/2005/0714/hilll.html. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    46. ^ "Lauryn Hill Plays Bizarre Show In NYC; Plus Alicia Keys, Common, Kelly Clarkson, Lily Allen, Madonna, Al Sharpton & More, In For The Record – Music, Celebrity, Artist News | M". Mtv. August 7, 2007. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1566531/20070807/hill_lauryn.jhtml?rsspartner=unknown. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    47. ^ View Comments (August 5, 2008). "Coming Out of the Dark « Bossip.com | Gossip for the Hardcore | Entertainment News | Music | Fashion | Black Celebrity | Music | Videos | Love and Relationships". Bossip.com. http://www.bossip.com/22351/coming-out-of-the-dark/. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    48. ^ XXL article: "Label Source Says Lauryn Hill 'On Hiatus,' Rohan Marley Says 'She's Always Working' have demanded their money back after her shows".
    49. ^ Haynes, Monica (July 4, 2007). "Desperate for Dana, New Orleans draws candidates, Sly Stone out of hiding". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07185/799220-351.stm. 
    50. ^ "J.Period & Lauryn Hill Live in New York Central Park". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPqJocrLjzM. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    51. ^ "Lauryn Hill – My Love (Sacred Love) 2005 at TakeBackTV in NY". YouTube. July 25, 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTYgA1VBW2c. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    52. ^ Lauryn Hill hosts Current TV launch[dead link]
    53. ^ Reid, Shaheem (June 22, 2007). "Lauryn Hill Suits Up For Second LP After Breaking The Ice With Penguin Song – Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1563151/20070621/hill_lauryn.jhtml?rsspartner=rssFeedBurner. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    54. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1290007
    55. ^ "Ms. Hill: Lauryn Hill: Music". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0014FC29C. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    56. ^ [2][dead link]
    57. ^ "Homepage – AVO Session". Avo.ch. http://www.avo.ch/en/artists/arti08-akt.php?a=4. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    58. ^ a b By Daniel Kreps (June 10, 2009). "Lauryn Hill Cancels European Tour, Cites Health Reasons | Music News". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/06/10/lauryn-hill-cancels-european-tour-cites-health-reasons/. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    59. ^ "RapRadar". RapRadar. April 22, 2010. http://rapradar.com/2010/04/22/new-lauryn-hill-music-on-the-way/. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
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    61. ^ "Lauryn Hill Breaks Silence". National Ledger. June 29, 2010. http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272632837.shtml. Retrieved July 5, 2010. 
    62. ^ "Ronald Isley Is Out of Jail…Working with T.I., Lauryn Hill and More!". MissXpose. http://www.missxpose.com/2010/04/ronald-isley-is-out-of-jail-working-with-t-i-lauryn-hill-and-more/. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    63. ^ » by Danielle Canada September 8, 2010, 15:20 pm (September 8, 2010). "New Music: Ron Isley Feat. Lauryn Hill “Close To You” [Audio] « Hip-Hop Wired: Keeping You Informed With The Latest on Hip-Hop Culture, Rappers, Hip Hop News, Rap and Ente". Hiphopwired.com. http://hiphopwired.com/2010/09/08/ron-isley-feat-lauryn-hill-close-to-you-audio-99999/. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
    64. ^ "NEW MUSIC: Lauryn Hill and Ron Isley 'Close To You'". GlobalGrind. September 8, 2010. http://globalgrind.com/channel/music/content/1781644/new-music-lauryn-hill-and-ron-isley-close-to-you/. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
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    66. ^ 08/20/2010 by Corinne Heller (August 20, 2010). "Lauryn Hill's new song 'Repercussions' enters chart at No. 94 after singer's some 10-year hiatus – 08/20/2010 | Entertainment News from". OnTheRedCarpet.com. http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/2010/08/lauryn-hill-new-song-repercussions-enters-chart-at-94-after-some-10-year-hiatus.html. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
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