Lauryn Hill

Template:Short description Template:Similar names Template:Use American English Template:Infobox person

Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is celebrated as one of the most influential musical artists of her generation. Hill is credited with breaking barriers for female rappers, contributing to the mainstream success of both hip-hop and neo soul, and blending rap with melodic vocals. She has been honored as one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR, and one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone. In 2015, Billboard named her the greatest female rapper. Among her accolades are eight Grammy Awards—the most for any female rapper.

Hill began her career as a teen actress, appearing in As the World Turns (1991) and Steven Soderbergh's drama film King of the Hill (1993). Her performance as Rita in the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) earned widespread praise.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hill gained further prominence as the frontwoman of the Fugees, which she formed in 1990 with Wyclef Jean and Pras. Their second album, The Score (1996), topped the Billboard 200 and made Hill the first woman to win a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The album featured the hit single "Killing Me Softly", which became the best-selling single of 1996 in multiple regions, including the UK. Its popularity was so immense that it was pulled from stores to prioritize the release of the album's next single, "Ready or Not". That same year, she guest appeared on Nas' single "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)".

Her debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998), became the first album by a female rapper to debut atop the Billboard 200. Along with critical acclaim, its lead single, "Doo Wop (That Thing)", debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, making Hill the first artist to debut at No. 1 on both charts with their first entries.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>The Miseducation became the first recording by a female rapper to become diamond certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and spawned three hit songs: "Ex-Factor", "Nothing Even Matters", and "Lost Ones". At the 41st Grammy Awards, she became the first rapper to win Album of the Year. The album remains one of the best-selling albums worldwide and topped Apple Music's 100 Best Albums list.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1999, Hill became the first rapper to appear on the cover of Time. Later that year, her duet with the late Bob Marley, "Turn Your Lights Down Low", reached the top ten internationally. In 2002, Hill's Grammy-nominated live album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, debuted in the Billboard 200 top five and received platinum certification. In the years following, she collaborated with John Legend and Nas on songs like "So High (remix)" and "Nobody", while also remaining an active touring artist. Billboard ranks her as the second highest-grossing female rapper in live music history.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Hill has contributed as a producer and songwriter to projects by Whitney Houston, CeCe Winans, and her son YG Marley, as well as Mary J. Blige's "All That I Can Say" and Aretha Franklin's "A Rose Is Still a Rose", a Top 40 hit that became Franklin's final signature song. She also co-produced Santana's successful album Supernatural (1999), for which she won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Her influence has been recognized with honors including the ASCAP Golden Note Award, the NAACP President's Award,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and inductions into the Grammy Hall of Fame (twice), the National Recording Registry, and the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.

Life and career

1975–1990: Early life

Lauryn Noelle Hill was born on May 26, 1975, in East Orange, New Jersey.<ref name="nickson"/><ref name="academy"/> Her mother, Valerie Hill, was an English teacher and her father, Mal Hill, a computer and management consultant. She has one sibling, an older brother named Malaney Hill, a computer engineer, who was born in 1972 and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania .<ref name="time-Farley" /><ref name="people-mostbeaut"/><ref name="Foege"/> Her Baptist family moved to New York for a short period before settling in South Orange.<ref name="academy"/><ref name="rs-kot"/>

Hill has said of her musically oriented family: "there were so many records, so much music constantly being played. My mother played the piano, my father sang, and we were always surrounded by music."<ref name=academy>Template:Cite web</ref> Her father sang in local nightclubs and at weddings.<ref name="nw-allison"/><ref name="nyt-so"/> While growing up, Hill frequently listened to Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and Gladys Knight;<ref name="encyclopedia358" /> years later she recalled playing Marvin Gaye's What's Going On repeatedly until she fell asleep to it.<ref name="academy"/>

In middle school, Hill performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a basketball game. Due to its popularity, subsequent games featured a recording of her rendition.<ref name="time-Farley"/> In 1988, Hill appeared as an Amateur Night contestant on It's Showtime at the Apollo. She sang her version of the Smokey Robinson track "Who's Lovin' You". Stumbling out of the gate to hit her notes, she initially garnered a mixed reaction from the crowd, but persevered through the performance, which ended in applause.<ref name="rollingstone" />

Hill attended Columbia High School, where she was a member of the track team, cheerleading squad<ref name="time-Farley"/><ref name="people-mostbeaut"/> and was a classmate of actor Zach Braff.<ref name=Elle>Template:Cite news</ref> She also took violin lessons, went to dance class, and founded the school's gospel choir.<ref name="nyt-so">Template:Cite news</ref> Academically, she took advanced placement classes and received primarily 'A' grades.<ref name="people-mostbeaut"/><ref name="nyt-so"/> School officials recognized her as a leader among the student body.<ref name="nyt-so"/> Later recalling her education, Hill commented, "I had a love for—I don't know if it was necessarily for academics, more than it just was for achieving, period. If it was academics, if it was sports, if it was music, if it was dance, whatever it was, I was always driven to do a lot in whatever field or whatever area I was focusing on at the moment."<ref name="academy"/>

1991–1993: Career beginnings

While a freshman in high school,<ref name="Foege"/> through mutual friends, Prakazrel "Pras" Michel approached Hill about a music group he was creating.<ref name=encyclopedia358/><ref name=nmepictures>Template:Cite web</ref> Hill and Pras began under the name Translator Crew. They came up with this name because they wanted to rhyme in different languages.<ref name=encyclopedia358/> Another female vocalist was soon replaced by Michel's cousin, multi-instrumentalist Wyclef Jean.<ref name=encyclopedia358/> The group began performing in local showcases and high school talent shows.<ref name="Foege"/> Hill was initially only a singer, but then learned to rap too; instead of modeling herself on female rappers like Salt-N-Pepa and MC Lyte, she preferred male rappers like Ice Cube and developed her flow from listening to them.<ref name="nw-allison"/> Hill later said, "I remember doing my homework in the bathroom stalls of hip-hop clubs."<ref name="teen"/>

While growing up, Hill took acting lessons in Manhattan.<ref name="nyt-so"/> She began her acting career in 1991 appearing with Jean in Club XII, MC Lyte's Off-Broadway hip-hop rendering of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.<ref name="Foege"/> While the play was not a success, an agent noticed her. Later that year, Hill began appearing on the soap opera As the World Turns in a recurring role as troubled teenager Kira Johnson.<ref name="time-Farley" /><ref name="teen"/> She subsequently co-starred alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the 1993 release Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, playing Rita Louise Watson, an inner-city Catholic school teenager with a surly, rebellious attitude.<ref name="time-Farley" /><ref name="Foege"/> In it, she performed the songs "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (a duet with Tanya Blount) and "Joyful, Joyful".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Director Bill Duke credited Hill with improvising a rap in a scene: "None of that was scripted. That was all Lauryn. She was amazing."<ref name="time-Farley" /> Critic Roger Ebert called her "the girl with the big joyful voice", although he thought her talent was wasted,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while Rolling Stone said she "performed marvelously against type ... in the otherwise perfunctory [film]".<ref name="Foege"/> Hill also appeared in Steven Soderbergh's 1993 motion picture King of the Hill, in a minor but pivotal role as a 1930s gum-popping elevator operator. Soderbergh biographer Jason Wood described her as supplying one of the warmest scenes in the film.<ref name="wood-book">Template:Cite book</ref> Hill graduated from Columbia High School in 1993.

1994–1996: Success with the Fugees and motherhood

Pras, Hill and Jean renamed their group Fugees, a derivative of the word "refugee", which was a derogatory term for Haitian Americans.<ref name="Foege">Template:Cite news</ref> Hill began a romantic relationship with Jean.<ref name="nmepictures" /> The Fugees, who signed a contract with Columbia/Ruffhouse Records in 1993,<ref name="teen"/> became known for their genre blending, particularly of reggae, rock and soul,<ref name=encyclopedia358/> which was first experimented on their debut album, Blunted on Reality, released in 1994. It reached No. 62 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart<ref name=fugeeschart>Template:Cite magazine</ref> but overall sold poorly<ref name="time-Farley" /><ref name="teen"/> and was met by poor critical reviews due to their management's insistence they adopt gangsta rap attitudes.<ref name="Foege"/> Although the album made little impact, Hill's rapping on "Some Seek Stardom" was seen as a highlight.<ref name=artistdirect>Template:Cite web</ref> Within the group, she was frequently referred to by the nickname "L. Boogie".<ref name="people" /> Hill's image and artistry, as well as her full, rich, raspy alto voice, placed her at the forefront of the band, with some fans urging her to begin a solo career.<ref name="Foege"/><ref name=artistdirect/>

The Fugees' second album, The Score (1996), peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and stayed in the top ten of that chart for over half a year.<ref name="Foege"/> It sold about seven million copies in the United States<ref name="riaa-db">Template:Cite web</ref> and more than 20 million copies worldwide.<ref name="wwsales">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In the 1996 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll, The Score came second in the list of best albums and three of its tracks placed within the top 20 best singles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album,<ref name=fugeesawards>Template:Cite web</ref> and was later included on Rolling StoneTemplate:'s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.<ref name="rs500albums">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Score garnered praise for being a strong alternative to the gangsta idiom, and Hill stated, "We're trying to do something positive with the music because it seems like only the negative is rising to the top these days. It only takes a drop of purity to clean a cesspool."<ref name="nw-allison"/>

Singles from The Score included "Fu-Gee-La" and "Ready or Not", which highlighted Hill's singing and rapping abilities,<ref name="prog"/> and the Bob Marley cover "No Woman, No Cry". Her rendition of "Killing Me Softly" became the group's breakout hit.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Buttressed by what Rolling Stone publications later called Hill's "evocative" vocal line<ref name=encyclopedia358/> and her "amazing pipes",<ref name="rs500albums"/> the track became pervasive on pop, R&B, hip hop, and adult contemporary radio formats.<ref name=encyclopedia358>Template:Cite book The Fugees entry online Template:Webarchive</ref> It won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.<ref name="fugeesawards" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On the album, Hill combined African-American music and Caribbean music influences with socially conscious lyrics.<ref name="prog"/> Newsweek mentioned Hill's "irresistibly cute looks" and proclaimed her "the most powerful new voice in rap".<ref name="nw-allison">Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

When she was 21 years old, Hill was still living at home with her parents.<ref name="Foege"/> She had been enrolled at Columbia University during this period, and considered majoring in history as she became a sophomore,<ref name="Foege"/><ref name="nw-allison"/> but left after about a year of total studies once sales of The Score went into the millions.<ref name="time-Farley">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1996, she responded to a false rumor on The Howard Stern Show that she had made a racist comment on MTV, saying "How can I possibly be a racist? My music is universal. 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."<ref name="teen"/><ref name="heartofsoul" />

In 1996, Hill founded the Refugee Project, a non-profit outreach organization that sought to transform the attitudes and behavior of at-risk urban youth.<ref name="nyt-refproj">Template:Cite news</ref> Part of this was Camp Hill, which offered stays in the Catskill Mountains for such youngsters; another was production of an annual Halloween haunted house in East Orange.<ref name="nyt-refproj"/> Hill also raised money for Haitian refugees, supported clean water well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, and staged a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. A 1997 benefit event for the Refugee Project introduced a board of trustees for the organization that included Sean Combs, Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes, Spike Lee, and others as members.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1997, the Fugees split to work on solo projects,<ref name=fugeesbreak>Template:Cite news</ref> which Jean later blamed on his tumultuous relationship with Hill and the fact he married his wife Claudinette while still involved with Hill.<ref name="fugeesbreak" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Meanwhile, in the summer of 1996 Hill had met Rohan Marley, a son of Bob Marley and a former University of Miami football player.<ref name=rollingstone>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Hill subsequently began a relationship with him, while still also involved with Jean.<ref name="rollingstone" /> Hill became pregnant in late 1996, and on August 3, 1997, Marley and Hill's first child, Zion David, was born.<ref name="rs-kot">Template:Cite news</ref> The couple lived in Hill's childhood house in South Orange after she bought her parents a new house down the street.<ref name="teen">Template:Cite news</ref>

Hill had a cameo appearance in the 1997 film Hav Plenty. In 1998, Hill took up another small, but important role in the film Restaurant;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Entertainment Weekly praised her portrayal of the protagonist's pregnant former girlfriend as bringing vigor to the film.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

1997–1999: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Hill recorded her solo record The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill from late 1997 through June 1998 at Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica.<ref name="nickson">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=heartofsoul>Template:Cite book</ref> The title was inspired by the book The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933) by Carter G. Woodson and The Education of Sonny Carson, a film and autobiographical novel.<ref name="inside">Template:Cite news</ref> The album featured contributions from D'Angelo, Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige and the then-unknown John Legend.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Wyclef Jean initially did not support Hill recording a solo album, but eventually offered his production help; Hill turned him down.<ref name="rollingstone" />

Several songs on the album concerned her frustration with the Fugees; "I Used to Love Him" dealt with the breakdown of the relationship between Hill and Wyclef Jean.<ref name="inside" /> Other songs such as "To Zion" spoke about her decision to have her first baby (Zion David Marley, the first of five she was to have with Rohan Marley), even though some at the time encouraged her to have an abortion so to not interfere with her blossoming career.<ref name="teen"/><ref name="inside"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Indeed, Hill's pregnancy revived her from a period of writer's block.<ref name="heartofsoul" />

In terms of production, Hill collaborated with a group of musicians known as New Ark, consisting of Vada Nobles, Rasheem Pugh, Tejumold Newton, and Johari Newton.<ref name="inside"/> Hill later said that she wanted to "write songs that lyrically move me and have the integrity of reggae and the knock of hip-hop and the instrumentation of classic soul" and that the production on the album was intended to make the music sound raw and not computer-aided.<ref name="inside"/> Hill spoke of pressure from her label to emulate Prince, wherein all tracks would be credited as written and produced by the artist with little outside help.<ref name="inside"/> She also wanted to be appreciated as an auteur as much as Jean had within the Fugees.<ref name="rollingstone" /> She also saw a feminist cause: "But step out and try and control things and there are doubts. This is a very sexist industry. They'll never throw the 'genius' title to a sister."<ref name="prog"/> 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."<ref name="rollingstone" />

Released on August 25, 1998, the album received rave reviews from contemporary music critics,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and was the most acclaimed album of 1998.<ref name="Boucher">Template:Cite news</ref> Critics lauded the album's blending of the R&B, doo-wop, pop, hip-hop, and reggae genres and its honest representation of a woman's life and relationships.<ref name="teen"/><ref name="Boucher" /> David Browne, writing in Entertainment Weekly, called it "an album of often-astonishing power, strength, and feeling", and praised Hill for "easily flowing from singing to rapping, evoking the past while forging a future of her own".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Robert Christgau quipped, "PC record of the year—songs soft, singing ordinary, rapping skilled, rhymes up and down, skits de trop, production subtle and terrific".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2017, NPR rated the album as the second-best album of all time created by a woman.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

It sold nearly 423,000 copies in its first week (boosted by advance radio play of two non-label-sanctioned singles, "Lost Ones" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You")<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and topped the Billboard 200 for four weeks and the Billboard R&B Albums chart for six weeks. It went on to sell about 10 million copies in the United States,<ref name="riaa-db" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and 20 million copies worldwide.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During 1998 and 1999, Hill earned $25 million from record sales and touring.<ref name="rollingstone" /> Hill, along with Blige, Missy Elliott, Meshell Ndegeocello, Erykah Badu, and others, found a voice with the neo soul genre.<ref name="chang">Template:Cite book</ref>

The first single released from the album was "Doo Wop (That Thing)", which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.<ref name="hot100">Template:Cite magazine</ref> It exemplified Hill's appeal, combining feelings of self-empowerment with self-defense.<ref name="chang"/> Other charted singles from the album were "Ex-Factor", which has been sampled by Drake and Cardi B,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "Everything Is Everything" and "To Zion".<ref name="hot100" /> In the 1998 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll, Miseducation came second in the list of best albums and "Doo Wop (That Thing)" second in best singles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 1998, Marley and Hill's second child, Selah Louise, was born.<ref name="people-mostbeaut"/> Of being a young mother of two, Hill said, "It's not an easy situation at all. You have to really pray and be honest with yourself."<ref name="teen"/>

In the run-up to the 1999 Grammy Awards, Hill became the first woman to be nominated in ten categories in a single year. In addition to Miseducation works, the nominations included her rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" for the 1997 film Conspiracy Theory, which had appeared on Billboard charts,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Hill's writing and producing of "A Rose Is Still a Rose", which became a late-in-career hit for Aretha Franklin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She appeared on several magazine covers, including Time, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Teen People, and The New York Times Fashion Magazine.<ref name="prog">Template:Cite news</ref> During the ceremony, Hill broke another record by becoming the first woman to win five times in one night,<ref name="prog" /> taking home the awards for Album of the Year, Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist.<ref name="Grammys">Template:Cite web</ref> During an acceptance speech, she said, "This is crazy. This is hip-hop!"<ref name="prog"/> Hill had brought forth a new, mainstream acceptance of the genre.<ref name="nyt-so"/><ref name="prog"/>

In February 1999, Hill received four awards at the 30th Annual NAACP Image Awards.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In May 1999, she became the youngest woman ever named to Ebony magazine's 100+ Most Influential Black Americans list;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in November of that year, the same publication named her as one of "10 For Tomorrow" in the "Ebony 2000: Special Millennium Issue".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In May 1999, she made People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People list.<ref name="people-mostbeaut">Template:Cite news</ref> The publication, which has called her "model-gorgeous",<ref name="people"/> praised the Template:Convert Hill for her idiosyncratic sense of personal style.<ref name="people-mostbeaut"/> In June 1999, she received an Essence Award, but her acceptance speech, where she said there was no contradiction in religious love and servitude and "[being] who you are, as fly and as hot and as whatever",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> drew reaction from those in the public who thought she was not a good role model as a young, unwed mother of two.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was a repetition of criticism she had received after the birth of her first child, and she had said that she and Marley would soon be married.<ref name="teen"/> In early 2000, Hill was one of the producers to share the Grammy Award for Album of the Year awarded for Santana's 1999 multi-million-selling Supernatural, whereon she had written, produced, and rapped on the track "Do You Like the Way" (a rumination on the direction the world was headed, it also featured the singing of CeeLo Green and the signature guitar runs of Carlos Santana). She was also nominated for Best R&B Song for "All That I Can Say", which she had written and produced for Mary J. Blige. Also, her concocted duet with Bob Marley on "Turn Your Lights Down Low" for the 1999 remix tribute album Chant Down Babylon additionally appeared in the 1999 film The Best Man and later received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

In November 1998, New Ark filed a fifty-page lawsuit against Hill, her management, and record label, claiming that Hill "used their songs and production skills, but failed to properly credit them for the work" on Miseducation.<ref name="salon-newark">Template:Cite news</ref> The musicians claimed to be the primary songwriters on two tracks, and major contributors on several others, though Gordon Williams, a prominent recorder, engineer, and mixer on Miseducation, described the album as a "powerfully personal effort by Hill" and said, "It was definitely her vision."<ref name="Boucher"/> Hill responded that New Ark had been appropriately credited and now were seeking to take advantage of her success.<ref name="salon-newark"/> New Ark requested partial writing credits on most of the tracks on the album as well as monetary reimbursement.<ref name="rs-saga">Template:Cite news</ref> After many delays, depositions took place during the latter part of 2000.<ref name="salon-newark"/><ref name="rs-saga"/> In part, the case illustrated the difficult boundaries between songwriting and all other aspects that went into contemporary arranging, sampling, and recording.<ref name="salon-newark"/> The suit was eventually settled out of court in February 2001, with Hill paying New Ark a reported $5 million.<ref name="inside"/> A friend of Hill's later said of the suit, "That was the beginning of a chain effect that would turn everything a little crazy."<ref name="rollingstone" />

2000–2003: Self-imposed exile and MTV Unplugged No. 2.0

Hill began writing a screenplay about the life of Bob Marley, in the production of which she planned to play his wife Rita.<ref name="rollingstone" /> 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;<ref name="rollingstone" /> she later dropped out of both projects due to pregnancy.<ref name="rollingstone" /> She also reportedly turned down acting roles in the remake for A Star Is Born (the movie was later released in 2018, with the part going to Lady Gaga),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Dreamgirls (the role of Deena, later played by Beyoncé),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Charlie's Angels (the part that went to Lucy Liu), The Bourne Identity, The Mexican, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions.<ref name="rollingstone" />

In 2000, Hill dropped out of the public eye. The pressures of fame began to overwhelm her.<ref name="rollingstone" /><ref name="people"/> She disliked not being able to go out of her house to do simple errands without having to worry about her physical appearance.<ref name="rollingstone" /><ref name="inside" /> 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.<ref name="inside"/> She started associating with a "spiritual advisor" named Brother Anthony.<ref name="rollingstone" /> Some familiar with Hill believe Anthony more resembled a cult leader than a spiritual advisor,<ref name="rollingstone" /><ref name="msnbc">Template:Cite news</ref> and thought his guidance probably inspired much of Hill's more controversial public behavior.<ref name="msnbc" />

She later described this period of her life to Essence saying "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."<ref name=essence>Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref name="essence" /> 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."<ref name="essence" />

In July 2001, while pregnant with her third child, Hill unveiled her new material to a small crowd, for a taping of an MTV Unplugged special.<ref name="rollingstone" /><ref name=nmeunplugged/> A live album of the concert, titled MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, was released in May 2002 and featured only her singing and playing an acoustic guitar.<ref name=nmeunplugged>Template:Cite news</ref> Unlike the near-unanimous praise of 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rolling Stone called the album "a public breakdown",<ref name="rollingstone" /> and Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times said the album's title opened Hill up for jokes that she had become unhinged.<ref name="Hilburn"/> NME wrote that "Unplugged 2.0 is a sparse and often gruelling listen, but there is enough genius shading these rough sketches to suggest that all might not yet be lost." With the mixed reviews and no significant radio airplay, 2.0 debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Hilburn">Template:Cite news</ref> The album was later certified Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Her song "Mystery of Iniquity" from the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Rap Solo Performance,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was used as an interpolation by Kanye West for his single "All Falls Down" featuring Syleena Johnson, leading to Hill being credited as a songwriter on the song.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Around 2001, Marley and Hill's third child, Joshua Omaru, was born. He was followed a year later by their fourth, John Nesta.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> While Hill sometimes had spoken of Marley as her husband, they never married, and along the way she was informed that Marley had been previously married at a young age.<ref name="rollingstone" /> According to a 2003 Rolling Stone report, he had never secured a divorce.<ref name="rollingstone" /> Marley later disputed this and made public to a blog a 1996 divorce document from Haiti.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The two had been living in a high-end Miami hotel, but around 2003 she moved out into her own place in that city.<ref name="rollingstone" /> Hill later said that she and Marley "have had long periods of separation over the years".<ref name="usweekly"/> Hill slowly worked on a new album and it was reported that by 2003, Columbia Records had spent more than $2.5 million funding it, including installing a recording studio in the singer's Miami apartment and flying different musicians around the country.<ref name="rollingstone" />

By 2002, Hill had shut down her non-profit Refugee Project.<ref name="fox-2002">Template:Cite news</ref> She said, "I had a nonprofit organization and I had to shut all that down. You know, smiling with big checks, obligatory things, not having things come from a place of passion. That's slavery. Everything we do should be a result of our gratitude for what God has done for us. It should be passionate."<ref name="fox-2002"/>

In December 2003, Hill, during a performance in Vatican City, spoke of the "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.<ref name=mtvvatican>Template:Cite news</ref> High-ranking church officials were in attendance, but Pope John Paul II was not present.<ref name="mtvvatican" /> The Catholic League called Hill "pathologically miserable" and claimed her career was "in decline".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The following day, several reporters suggested that Hill's comments at the Vatican may have been influenced by her spiritual advisor, Brother Anthony.<ref name="msnbc"/>

2004–2009: Sporadic touring and recording

File:LaurynHill.jpg

Hill performing in 2005

In 2004, Hill contributed a new song, "The Passion", to The Passion of the Christ: Songs. A remix version with John Legend of his "So High" ended up receiving a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Around this time, Hill began selling a pay-per-view music video of the song "Social Drugs" through her website.<ref name="mtv.com">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="mtv.com"/>

For the first time since 1997, the Fugees performed in September 2004 at Dave Chappelle's Block Party in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. 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 universal acclaim.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Fugees also appeared at BET Awards 2005 during June 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 in late September. It peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard R&B Chart.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

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."<ref name=usatoday>Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref name="usatoday" />

The Fugees embarked on a European tour in late 2005.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Old tensions between Hill and the other members of the group soon resurfaced, and the reunion ended before an album could be recorded; Jean and Michel both blamed Hill for the split.<ref name="people" /> Hill reportedly demanded to be addressed by everyone, including her bandmates, as "Ms. Hill"; she also considered changing her moniker to "Empress".<ref name="people" /> Hill's tardiness was also cited as a contributing factor.<ref name="people" />

Hill began touring on her own, although to mixed reviews; often arriving late to concerts (sometimes by over two hours), performing unpopular reconfigurations of her songs and sporting an exaggerated appearance.<ref name="people" /><ref name=MTV2007>Template:Cite news</ref> On some occasions, fans booed her and left early.<ref name=hiatus>Template:Cite news</ref> In June 2007, Sony Records said Hill had been recording through the past decade, had accumulated considerable unreleased material and had re-entered the studio with the goal of making a new album.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Later that same year, an album titled Ms. Hill, which featured cuts from Miseducation, various soundtrack contributions and other "unreleased" songs, was released. It features guest appearances from D'Angelo, Rah Digga and John Forté.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Also in June 2007, Hill released a new song, "Lose Myself", on the soundtrack to the film Surf's Up.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In early 2008, Marley and Hill's fifth child, Sara, was born.<ref name="people"/> The couple were not living together, although Marley considered them "spiritually together" even while listing himself as single on social media.<ref name="people" /> Hill later said that she and Marley "have [had] a long and complex history about which many inaccuracies have been reported since the beginning" and that they both valued their privacy.<ref name="usweekly"/> By August 2008, Hill was living with her mother and children in her hometown of South Orange, New Jersey.<ref name=people>Template:Cite news</ref>

Reports in mid-2008 claimed that Columbia Records then believed Hill to be on hiatus.<ref name="people" /> 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".<ref name="hiatus" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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 provide refunds for angry consumers.<ref name=2009tour>Template:Cite news</ref> 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".<ref name="2009tour" /> Shortly afterward, the rest of the tour was canceled as well.<ref name="2009tour" />

2010–2022: Further activities and imprisonment

In January 2010, Hill returned to the live stage and performed in stops across New Zealand and Australia on the Raggamuffin Music Festival.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Many of the songs that Hill had performed and recorded over the past six years were included on an April 2010 unofficial compilation album titled Khulami Phase.<ref name="khulami">Template:Cite web</ref> The album also features a range of other material found on the Ms. Hill compilation.<ref name="khulami" /> Hill appeared at the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa, California, in June 2010, her first live American performance in several years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> An unreleased song called "Repercussions" was leaked via the Internet in late July 2010, debuting at No. 94 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (and peaked at No. 83 the following week), making it her first Billboard chart appearance as a lead artist since 1999.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Lauryn Hill 2011.png

Hill and her backing musicians performing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, 2011

Hill joined the Rock the Bells hip-hop festival series in the U.S. during August 2010, and as part of that year's theme of rendering classic albums, she performed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in its entirety for the first time.<ref name="nyt-bells">Template:Cite news</ref> She increased the tempo and urgency from the original recording, but at times had difficulty in communicating with her band.<ref name="nyt-bells"/> Hill continued touring, including a set at the 6th Annual Jazz in the Gardens, in Miami Gardens, Florida in December.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In Spring 2011, Hill performed at the Coachella Valley Music Festival,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> New Orleans Jazz Fest,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In July 2011, Hill gave birth to her sixth child, Micah, her first not with Rohan Marley; the father remains publicly unknown.<ref name="usweekly">Template:Cite news</ref>

In February 2012, Hill performed a new song titled "Fearless Vampire Killer", during a sold-out performance at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In late 2012, Hill toured with rapper Nas; her portion of the tour, titled Black Rage, is named after her song, released October 30.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Hill has described the song as being "about the derivative effects of racial inequity and abuse" and "a juxtaposition to the statement 'life is good,' which she believes can only be so when these long standing issues are addressed and resolved."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In June 2012, Hill was charged with three counts of tax fraud or failing to file taxes (Title 26 USC § 7202 Willful failure to collect or pay over tax) not tax evasion on $1.8 million of income earned between 2005 and 2007.<ref name="ap-jun12">Template:Cite news</ref> During this time she had toured as a musical artist, earned royalties from both her records and from films she had appeared in, and had owned and been in charge of multiple corporations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In a long post to her Tumblr, Hill said that she had gone "underground" and had rejected pop culture's "climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, racial prejudice, sexism, and ageism." She added, "When I was working consistently without being affected by the interferences mentioned above, I filed and paid my taxes. This only stopped when it was necessary to withdraw from society, in order to guarantee the safety and well-being of myself and my family."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ap-apr13">Template:Cite news</ref>

In June 2012, Hill appeared in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark and pleaded guilty to the charges. Her attorney said she would make restitution for the back taxes she owed.<ref name="ap-jun12"/> By April 2013, Hill had paid back only $50,000 of the $554,000 she owed immediately. U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo criticized Hill, saying "This is not someone who stands before the court penniless. This is a criminal matter. Actions speak louder than words, and there has been no effort here to pay these taxes."<ref name="ap-apr13"/> Hill faced possible eviction from her rented home in South Orange as well as a civil lawsuit from the town for running a business out of a home without a zoning permit.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On May 4, 2013, Hill released her first official single in over a decade, "Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix)".<ref name="neurotic" /> She later published a message on her Tumblr describing how she was "required to release [it] immediately, by virtue of the impending legal deadline".<ref name=neurotic>Template:Cite news</ref> The release received some criticism for lyrics that appeared to tie societal decay to certain LGBT social movements.<ref name=BET>Template:Cite news</ref> Hill responded that the song was not targeted at any particular group but was instead focused on anyone hiding behind neurotic behavior.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following a deal with Sony Music, which involves Hill creating a new record label within the company, Hill was said to be scheduled to release her first album in fifteen years during 2013.<ref name="neurotic" />

On May 6, 2013, Hill was sentenced by Judge Arleo to serve three months in prison for failing to file taxes/tax fraud and three months' house arrest afterwards as part of a year of supervised probation.<ref name="taxevasion">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="cnn-sent">Template:Cite news</ref> She had faced a possible sentence of as long as 36 months,<ref name="ap-apr13"/> and the sentence given took into account her lack of a prior criminal record and her six minor-aged children.<ref name="cnn-sent"/><ref name="cnbc-fair"/> By this point Hill had fully paid back $970,000 in back taxes and penalties she owed, which also took into account an additional $500,000 that Hill had in unreported income for 2008 and 2009.<ref name="cnbc-fair">Template:Cite news</ref> In the courtroom, Hill said that she had lived "very modestly" considering how much money she had made for others,<ref name="cnn-sent"/> and that "I am a child of former slaves who had a system imposed on them. I had an economic system imposed on me."<ref name="taxevasion"/> Hill reported to the minimum-security Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury on July 8, 2013, to begin serving her sentence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Hill was released from prison on October 4, 2013, a few days early for good behavior, and began her home confinement and probationary periods.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She put out a single called "Consumerism" that she had finished, via verbal and e-mailed instructions, while incarcerated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Judge Arleo allowed her to postpone part of her confinement in order to tour in late 2013 under strict conditions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

During 2014, Hill was heard as the narrator of Concerning Violence, an award-winning Swedish documentary on the African liberation struggles of the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She also continued to draw media attention for her erratic behavior, appearing late twice in the same day for sets at Voodoo Fest in November 2014.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In May 2015, Hill canceled her scheduled concert outside Tel Aviv in Israel following a social media campaign from activists promoting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. She said she had wanted to also perform a show in Ramallah in the West Bank but logistical problems had proved too great. Hill stated: "It is very important to me that my presence or message not be misconstrued, or a source of alienation to either my Israeli or my Palestinian fans."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Hill contributed her voice to the soundtrack for What Happened, Miss Simone?, a 2015 documentary about the life of Nina Simone, an American singer, pianist, and civil rights activist. Hill was originally supposed to record only two songs for the record, but ended up recording six. She also served as a producer on the compilation alongside Robert Glasper. Hill said of her connection to Simone: "Because I fed on this music ... I believed I always had a right to have a voice. Her example is clearly a form of sustenance to a generation needing to find theirs. What a gift."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> NPR critically praised Hill's performance on the soundtrack, stating: "This album mainly showcases Lauryn Hill's breadth and dexterity. Not formally marketed as Hill's comeback album, her six tracks here make this her most comprehensive set of studio recordings since The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1998."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In April 2016, Hill hosted and headlined what was billed as the inaugural Diaspora Calling! festival at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The festival's purpose was to showcase the efforts of musicians and artists from around the African diaspora like Brooklyn Haitian Rara band Brother High Full Tempo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The following month, Hill was approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes late for her show at the Chastain Park Amphitheatre in Atlanta,<ref name="AJC">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Guardian"/> though members of Hill's team claimed it was only an hour after their scheduled start time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Moments after the less-than-40-minute show ended due to the venue's strict 11:00 p.m. closing time, Hill said her driver had gotten lost and she could not help that.<ref name="AJC"/> Less than 48 hours later, after a large backlash from her fans on Twitter, she took to her Facebook page and stated she was late for the concert because of certain needs, including her need to "align her energy with the time".<ref name="Guardian">Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Lauryn Hill Kongsberg Jazzfestival 2019 (221423).jpg

Hill performing at the Kongsberg Jazzfestival 2019

Hill recorded a studio version of her song, "Guarding the Gates", for the movie Queen & Slim, which was released on November 27, 2019. This song appears on the album, Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2023–present: Fugees reunion tour controversy

On April 14, 2024, Lauryn Hill made her return to the stage at Coachella. Hill's son, YG Marley, was performing when Hill surprised the crowd by making an appearance. Hill performed several solo songs from her career, but was also reunited with former Fugees bandmate, Wyclef Jean, to perform numerous beloved hit songs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Fugees were scheduled to start a reunion tour in August 2024 but the U.S. dates were quietly canceled three days before the first show, with no reason given to customers receiving refunds,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but Hill cited "clickbait headlines" and low-ticket sales as an explanation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The cancellations received media scrutiny, to which Hill responded "I can assure you that no one is more disappointed about not being able to perform than I am."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Pras released a diss track titled "Bar Mitzfa" which criticized Hill that same month.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In October 2024, Pras sued Hill for breach of contract and fraud, accusing her of mismanaging the budgeting of their tour in "a veiled and devious attempt to make a big score for herself".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hill responded to each of the claims made in the lawsuit on Instagram, and said it "is full of false claims and unwarranted attacks. It notably omits that he was advanced overpayment for the last tour and has failed to repay substantial loans extended by myself as an act of good will."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2024, Hill appeared on Warriors, a concept album by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis based on the 1979 film of the same name.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other ventures

Fashion and endorsements

Well known for styling her hair in locs, braids, bantu knots and afros,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hill is often associated with the revival of the natural hair movement.<ref>Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web</ref> She has been credited as one of the people who have helped normalize locs, and introduced them to pop culture.<ref>Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web Template:Dead link * Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web</ref> Author Joan Morgan noted that "for a young person who was growing up in the '90s and liked that natural look but didn't want to identify as Rasta, there was really no example until Lauryn Hill."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Hill is also frequently listed among the people who have defined modern bantu knots<ref>Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web</ref> and afros.<ref>Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web</ref> Ebony noted that she "helped to usher in a new standard of beauty for Black women -one grounded in the richness and authenticity of their African heritage."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

PopSugar placed her on their list of the "18 Moments in Hair History That Changed the World", and wrote, "When searching for the originator in the recent natural hair revival, you must look to Lauryn Hill. She emerged as the feminine lead in The Fugees and broke Grammy records as a soloist, all while popularizing dreadlocks in the mainstream."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Stylist mentioned Hill gracing the cover of Time in locs, and being named one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1999, as one of the most definitive moments in the history of black hair.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In an interview with Vogue, R&B singer SZA, stated "The only girl that I could look to for natural hair inspiration growing up was Lauryn Hill."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to celebrity hairstylist Yusef Williams, who styled Rihanna's hair on the set of Ocean's 8, the singer "channeled her inner Lauryn Hill" while wearing locs for her role in the movie.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Halle Bailey named Hill as one of her beauty icons, while mentioning "I love Lauryn Hill's hair".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 1999, Hill partnered with Levi Strauss & Co. to create custom outfits for her Miseducation Tour. Journalist Thembisa Mshaka of Okayplayer wrote: "when Levi Strauss put its name next to Lauryn Hill, a new course was charted. The Fortune 500 brand partnerships with black musicians that are ubiquitous today were seeded by the success of Lauryn's solo debut".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A custom ensemble made for Hill by Levi's was put on display during the Levi Strauss: A History of American Style exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hill also partnered with Armani during the late 1990s; the brand designed multiple custom looks for Hill and helped sponsored her Miseducation of Lauryn Hill tour.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A design created by Armani for the tour was on put display for the 1999 "Rock Style" themed Met Gala.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Impact

In 2015, Vogue mentioned her as one of the female hip hop entertainers of 1990s, whose style they considered to be influential to 2010s fashion, with Emily Barasch of Vogue, writing "Lauryn Hill's sense of style endures today, as nineties nostalgia continues to pervade the runways."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was hailed as a "fashion and music icon" by CR Fashion Book<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was also included on the list of the most stylish rappers of all time by Complex.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She is often named as a leading contributor in the modern popularization of the hoop earring,<ref>Multiple sources:

Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web
Template:Cite news
Template:Cite web
Template:Cite web</ref> which first grew in popularity among black women in the 1970s, before reaching a wider audience after female hip hop artists like Hill wore them in the 1980s and 1990s.<ref>Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web</ref> Considered as an inspiration for Kanye West's fashion,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> singer Solange Knowles also cited Hill among her style influences in an interview for Fashionista.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

British fashion designer John Galliano chose Hill as his muse for the 2000 Spring/Summer Dior collection, he designed;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Hill-inspired collection featured models wearing dreadlocks and hoop earrings,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and introduced the Dior 'Saddle Bag',<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which was made famous by the character Carrie Bradshaw in the television series Sex and the City; and according to Who What Wear, it is one of the ten most popular designer handbags ever.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2017, the hip hop-based collection designed by Alexander Wang,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as Tory Burch's resort collection,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> were both inspired by Hill.

The Men's Spring/Summer 2021 Louis Vuitton collection designed by Virgil Abloh, drew influence from Hill, with Abloh mentioning Hill as his "forever muse".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hill later performed at Abloh's memorial service after he died from a rare form of cancer in December 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was also named among Daniel Roseberry's influences for the Spring/Summer 2022 Schiaparelli collection.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Designers Esteban Cortazar,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Humberto Leon of Kenzo,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and Demna Gvasalia of Balenciaga,<ref>Template:Cite web Template:Dead link</ref> have also noted her as an inspiration.

Philanthropy

In the late 1990s, Hill presided over the Refugee Project, a nonprofit organization that served youth in New Jersey.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The organization offered New Jersey youth scholarships, mentoring, after-school programs, a reading club and a summer camp program. The Refugee Project's board of directors included Mariah Carey, Spike Lee, actor Malcolm Jamal Warner, and rappers Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, and Nas.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1999, she collaborated with the Federal government of the United States for an anti-drug campaign.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite book</ref> On July 11, 2000, a hearing evaluating the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign was held at Congress.<ref name="auto" /> During the hearing, it was announced that Hill's ad from the campaign was the most popular amongst a group of polled youth, with nearly 95 percent stating that they were affected by the ad.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> That same year, Hill participated in UNCF's 'Evening of Stars' telethon fundraiser, which raised $13.5 million.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2003, Hill was scheduled to perform at a Christmas benefit concert at the Vatican, located in a 7,500-seat concert hall customarily used by the Pope for his weekly general audiences. During the concert, Hill spoke out against sexual abuse of children by priests, stating "God has been a witness to the corruption of his leadership, to the exploitation and abuses. It is the least one can say about the clergy." Hill added "I realize some of you may be offended by what I'm saying, but what do you say to the families who were betrayed by the people in whom they believed?". The Pope was not in attendance; however, concert attendees included Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the pope's vicar for Rome and the head of Italian bishops conference, his deputy, Monsignor Rino Fisichella, and Edmund Szoka. The comments sparked controversy at the time, and were edited out of the broadcast, which was set to air on Mediaset's flagship Canale 5 station.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In retrospect, many critics have applauded Hill for speaking out.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hill later performed during the 2005 Live 8 benefit concert, to help raise awareness on global poverty.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

She published the song "Black Rage" to SoundCloud in protest of the 2014 killing of Michael Brown.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> That same year, she performed at the Amnesty International 'Bringing Human Rights Home' benefit concert in New York, in support of Pussy Riot; where she gave a rendition of her protest song "Black Rage".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2015, she canceled a show in Israel after she was faced with a social media campaign by activists who urged her to boycott Israel over its occupation of Palestinian land.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She later clarified that she does not take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but "believes in dignity for all sides", according to professor Noura Erakat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Hill released an updated version of her 2002 track "I Find It Hard to Say (Rebel)" from her MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 album entitled "Rebel" in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 2002 song was originally written about the Killing of Amadou Diallo, and was updated due to the influx of Police brutality in the United States at the time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The updated song was released exclusively on Tidal, and was performed at the Tidal X 1015 charity concert hosted by Jay-Z.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Variety reported that Hill declined an offer by the National Football League to join pop rock band Maroon 5 during their Super Bowl LIII halftime show, in solidarity with American football player Colin Kaepernick, after he received backlash for taking the knee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to Billboard, Hill provided 10 scholarships for the 2019–2020 academic year to students at Alpha Institute in Kingston, Jamaica, through her MLH Fund.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Legacy

Template:See also

File:Ms. Lauryn Hill @ The Mayan 10 18 2019 (49311868692).jpg

Hill performing in 2019

Hill is widely considered to be one of the greatest rappers of all time and has often been called the greatest female rapper.<ref name=alltime>* Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web * Template:Cite news * Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web</ref> The New York Times once referred to Hill as "the most popular woman in hip-hop".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Rapper Kool Moe Dee gave Hill the highest score of any rapper on his rap 'Report Cards' list from the book, Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Furthermore, Beyoncé once stated that she is "one of the best hip-hop rappers ever".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Donna Summer named her as a favorite in a 1999 interview.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1998, Time declared her as the "Queen of Hip Hop";<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> while Academy of Achievement,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Boston Globe,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Billboard,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> among others,<ref>Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web</ref> have also crowned her with the same title. In 2015, Billboard ranked Hill as the seventh greatest rapper of all time on their "10 Best Rappers of All Time" list, with her being the only woman on the list.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Music critic Brandon Tensley argued that "few artists have marked culture as profoundly as Hill did with her solo debut".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2012, VH1 ranked Hill as one of the Greatest Woman in Music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2014, she was named the most influential woman in hip hop history by AllHipHop.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hill was also included on the NPR list of the '50 Great Voices';<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and on the Consequence of Sound list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2019, Hill ranked No. 1 on the Ranker poll of the greatest singer/rappers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Hill at number 136 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> American Journalist Touré stated that "She was—she is—the greatest female MC of all time".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the peak of her career, Hill had earned over $25 million for her work.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She is one of the best-selling female rappers of all time, with an estimated 50 million records sold worldwide, throughout the course of her career.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Musical impact

With her solo music and work with Fugees, Hill is often credited as the artist who popularized the technique of blending rap and melodic singing together into one single song, sometimes referred to as melodic rap; this has since become popular, with many modern artists like Beyoncé, Drake, Nicki Minaj and Kanye West emulating it.<ref>*Template:Cite web * Template:Cite web</ref> Writing for The Ringer, author Musa Okwonga wrote "Decades before the ubiquity of the MC who could also croon, she could channel the greatness of Nina Simone and Rakim in the same set."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Complex, Andy Gee commented that "the modern music landscape is dominated by artists like Drake and Nicki Minaj, who fall in the Lauryn Hill archetype as traditionalist-appeasing MCs who have records where they're singing their hearts out."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> XXL argued that "she set the bar high, not just for woman creators, but for anyone who wanted to rap or sing."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Former RIAA president Hilary Rosen, recognized Hill as a leading contributor to the blurring of lines that distinguished hip hop and R&B.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Minaj alluded to Hill's impact on melodic rap on the song "Can Anybody Hear Me", where she mentions that prior to fame, Def Jam Recordings wouldn't sign her because she wanted to integrate rapping and singing on her album, but the record label told her she "wasn't Lauryn Hill".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lizzo who started her career as a rapper, later incorporated singing into her debut record. She stated in an interview in 2018, "I was always afraid of being a singer, but then when I heard Lauryn Hill, I was like, maybe I can do both", further adding that her debut album drew influence from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, "rapping, singing, being political".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> According to Da Brat, Hill's "sound shifted the whole game".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1999, Billboard considered Hill's success to be a breakthrough for female rappers, which resulted in a brief increase of female rappers in the music industry at the time, that the publication dubbed 'The Lauryn Hill Effect'. Author Nelson George noted, "the presence of women is increasing"; while Missy Elliott also added that "Latifah opened the door for doing TV, and she might have opened it for Brandy. Now, it's open for everybody. This is just the beginning".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That same year, a public survey was conducted by MTV, which directly impacted its programming. In the survey, she was ranked the most respected solo artist, and placed among the acts that participants thought best defined their generation; with former Viacom executive Todd Cunningham referring to Hill as a "massive phenomenon".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Music journalist Danyel Smith credited Hill with reviving the hip hop genre, following the murders of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Influence on other artists

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Nicki Minaj has made mention of Hill's influence on her on multiple occasions; Including on 2020 U.S. number one single "Say So Remix",<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In which Minaj raps, "Spittin' like Weezy, Foxy, plus Lauryn".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Minaj has also referred to Hill as her idol and quoted the artist in her high school yearbook.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> John Legend attributes his early career success and his launch into the music industry to Hill, who gave him his first major opportunity as a pianist on the song "Everything Is Everything".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Rapsody<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and Bebe Rexha<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> have both cited Hill as their biggest musical inspiration, as well as UK grime rapper Stormzy naming her his biggest female musical influence.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Furthermore, musicians Erykah Badu and Jazmine Sullivan have both mentioned her as their musical hero.<ref>Template:Cite web Template:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition Kehlani has a tattoo of Hill on her arm.<ref>Template:Cite web Template:Dead link</ref> After performing with Hill, The Weeknd described the experience as the "most important experience of my life".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During her 2018 Grammy award acceptance speech, Spanish singer Rosalía thanked her for being influential to her.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Music sampling

Billboard stated that Hill "is to hip-hop as a gardener is to soil", and added that "the rapper/singer planted classic gems in her catalog — especially her pristine 1998 debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill — that have become samples for many rap game MVPs".<ref name=":0">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Her single "Doo Wop (That Thing)", was sampled by Drake (on the song "Draft Day"),<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Kanye West (on "Believe What I Say"),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and interpolated by Lizzo (on the song "Break up Twice" from her album Special). In 2018, Hill became one of the most sampled artists of the year, when her single "Ex-Factor" was sampled on Cardi B's "Be Careful" and Drake's "Nice for What", while A$AP Rocky and Frank Ocean released "Purity" which sampled "I Gotta Find Peace of Mind".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> J. Cole's songs "Cole Summer" and "Can I Holla at Ya" from his EP Truly Yours, both contain samples of songs from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.<ref name="pitchfork.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

Hill's vocals from her work with the Fugees has been sampled or interpolated by countless artists, including DJ Khaled and Nas, Busta Rhymes,<ref name=":0" /> the Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Meek Mill,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jay-Z,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Mariah Carey (on the single "Save the Day", from her compilation album The Rarities).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Furthermore, multiple artists have sampled Hill's songs from her live album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 including Frank Ocean (on the Jazmine Sullivan-featured "Rushes" from his 2016 album Endless),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Method Man ("Say"),<ref name="pitchfork.com" /> and most notably Kanye West ("All Falls Down" featuring Syleena Johnson).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Film and stage

As an actress, Hill's most memorable role was portraying Rita Watson in the 1993 film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Hill's performance in the film inspired Janelle Monáe to pursue an acting career.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Multiple publications have listed her performance in the film as one of the best acting performances by a rapper.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton was heavily influenced by Hill,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with creator Lin-Manuel Miranda naming Hill as one of his favorite rappers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Miranda also referenced the track "Lost Ones" during the song "We Know",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Hill's verse from the Fugees single "Ready or Not", on the song "Helpless" from the musical.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Lateness in concert

Hill has earned a reputation for being late to her own concerts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She irritated Wyclef Jean during a short 2005 tour by failing to appear on stage with the rest of the Fugees until 45–50 minutes into the performance. At the 2007 Nice Jazz Festival, Hill was 90 minutes late for her set, and she sang too softly to be heard.<ref name=people/> She was 2.5 hours late for a Brooklyn show in August 2007: the free Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series.<ref name=MTV2007/> In December 2010, she took the stage in Boston two-and-a-half hours late.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She was two hours late in Atlanta in May 2016, performing for only 40 minutes because the venue had a strict 11 pm curfew; she explained she had been "aligning my energy with the time".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In November 2023, she was widely criticized for being late to a show in Los Angeles. She responded by saying her fans should consider themselves "lucky" that she appears on stage "every night".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The comments were made a week after she said her doctors ordered her to vocal rest after she postponed a series of shows due to vocal injuries.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> According to Paul Meara of BET, Hill later shared an extended version of her comments that could be perceived as directed more toward the music industry than Hill's fans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Achievements

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Hill has won numerous accolades throughout her career, including eight Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year), the most won by a female rapper. She has also received six MTV Video Music Awards (including Video of the Year), four NAACP Image Awards (including the President's Award), four Guinness World Records, and three American Music Awards. In 2021, she was among the inaugural nominees for the Black Music and Entertainment Walk of Fame,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and was inducted in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Hill won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album as a member of The Fugees, for their album The Score, becoming the first woman to win the award.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Score also peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her first solo studio album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, also peaked at number one, making Hill the first solo female hip hop act to reach number one on that chart.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The album sold more than 422,000 copies in its first week, which had broken the record previously held by Madonna, for highest first-week sales by a female artist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and its lead single "Doo Wop (That Thing)" debuted at number one in the U.S., making Hill the first act to have debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 with their first entries on each chart.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The album also topped the Billboard Year-End Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it the first album by a female artist to accomplish this feat.

At the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, Hill received ten Grammy Award nominations and won five that night, including Album of the Year, with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill being the first Hip hop album to win the award. She also set the record for most nominations for a female artist in one night, broke the record at the time previously set by Carole King for the most wins by a female artist in one night,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and became the first female rapper to win the Best New Artist award.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Furthermore, she also became the first black solo act to win MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards.

In 1999, following the success of her first solo album, Hill landed on the cover of Time magazine, being the only black musician to land on the cover during that decade.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, she became a pioneer in the neo soul movement, when the album was one of the first in the genre to achieve mainstream success,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and became the best-selling neo soul album of all time.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The album has also been inducted into the Library of Congress.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> NPR ranked it 2nd on its list of "The 150 Greatest Albums Made by Women".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Rolling Stone listed it as the 10th-Greatest Album of All Time, on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, in 2020.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2021, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making Hill the first female hip hop artist to ever receive a Diamond certification in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That same year, Rolling Stone placed her single "Doo Wop (That Thing)" and the Fugees version of "Killing Me Softly" on their revised list of the 500 Greatest Songs.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture included "Doo Wop (That Thing)" on their Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap box set.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2024, The Recording Academy selected it to be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was also featured as the number one album of Apple Music's 2024 list of the 100 best albums.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Along with having a successful music career as a member of The Fugees and as a solo artist, Hill also achieved success as a songwriter and producer for other artists. Hill has written songs for Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, CeCe Winans and produced songs for Whitney Houston and Santana,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> among others. In 2015, she received the Golden Note Award from American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Hill has also won ASCAP songwriting awards for her credits on Drake's "Nice for What", Aretha Franklin's "A Rose Is Still a Rose", Cardi B's "Be Careful", Mary J. Blige's "All That I Can Say", and Kanye West's "All Falls Down".

Discography

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The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)

Filmography

List of film and television roles
Year	Film	Role
1991	As the World Turns	Kira Johnson (television, recurring)
1992	Here and Now	Benita (television, single appearance)
1993	King of the Hill	Elevator Operator
1993	Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit	Rita Louise Watson
1996	ABC Afterschool Specials	Malika (television, single appearance)
1997	Restaurant	Leslie
1997	Hav Plenty	Debra (cameo)
2014	Concerning Violence	Narrator

Tours

Smokin' Grooves Tour (with Fugees, Cypress Hill, Ziggy Marley, A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes and Spearhead) (1996)
Refugee Camp Tour (with Fugees) (1997)
The Miseducation Tour (1999)
Smokin' Grooves Tour (with The Roots and Outkast) (2002)
Reunion Tour (with Fugees) (2005)
Moving Target: Extended Intimate Playdate Series Tour (2011)
Life Is Good / Black Rage Tour (with Nas) (2012)
Homecoming Tour (2013–2014)
Small Axe Tour (2015)
MLH Caravan: A Diaspora Calling! Tour (2016–2017)
PowerNomics Tour (with Nas) (2017)
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 20th Anniversary World Tour (2018–2019)
Ms. Lauryn Hill Live in Concert (2020)
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 25th Anniversary Tour (with Fugees) (2023)

References

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External links

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