Lauryn Hill (born May 25, 1975 in South Orange, New Jersey) is a Hip-hop/Soul/World/Folk artist, and record producer, initially establishing her reputation as the most visible and vocal member of The Fugees, then continued on to a solo career releasing "The Mis-Education of Lauryn Hill".
Biography
Early career and The Fugees
Lauryn Hill attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ, where she began singing and acting at a very young age. Hill's acting roles included the TV show As the World Turns (as "Kira Johnson" in 1991), and the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, the latter of which showcased her vocal abilities. Though the Fugees had originally formed in 1988, Hill's membership was disrupted by her acting and her education at Columbia University. The Fugees' first album, Blunted on Reality, was much-hyped but fell far short of expectations. This was followed by The Score, a multi-platinum selling album that established all three Fugees (Hill, Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean) as international successes.
Hill's other acting work includes the film King of the Hill (as "Arletta the Elevator Operator"), the play "Club 127," and the motion pictures Hav Plenty (1997) and Restaurant (1998). She appeared as a singer in the soundtracks for Conspiracy Theory in 1997 (on the track "Can't take My Eyes Off You") and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood in 2002 (on the track "Selah" ).
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
In 1998, Hill released The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, a critically and commerically acclaimed album that has often been described as one of the finest albums ever made. Among the singles on the album was "Doo Wop (That Thing)." In 1999's Grammy Awards, Hill was nominated eleven times and won Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, setting a new record for a female performer. The album's title was inspired by Carter G. Woodson's book, The Miseducation of the Negro.
Soon after, Hill and her recording company were sued by Vada Nobles, Rasheem Pugh, Johari Newton and Tejumold Newton, known as "New Ark Entertainment," who claimed to have been denied full credit and compensation for their assistance on the album. They received an undisclosed amount of money and were given credit for drum programming and a small amount of lyrical, instrumental and production work.
Humanitarism, activism, and MTV:Unplugged 2.0 album
Hill is noted as a humanitarian, and in 1996 she received an Essence Award for work which has included the 1996 founding of the Refugee Project, an outreach organization that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk youth, and for supporting well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, as well as for staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. In 1999 Hill received three awards at the 30th Annual NAACP Image Awards held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California. She was named with Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and others among the "10 For Tomorrow," in the EBONY 2000: Special Millennium Issue. In 1999 Ebony magazine named her one of "100+ Most Influential Black Americans."
In 2002, Lauryn Hill unveiled her feverishly-anticipated new material on an MTV Unplugged special. Fans had waited three long years for Hill's follow-up to the critical and commercial smash hit, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Those fans who were chosen to be audience members for the MTV filming had high expectations of the former Fugees frontwoman. What they got was a stripped-down performance by an almost unrecognizable Hill, who had recently cut off her hair and wore plain clothing. The Unplugged 2.0 album showed a different side of Hill, as she focused more on the lyrics and the message she was spreading rather than the musical arrangements. Hill used the set as an oppertunity to tell why she had been absent from the world for a period of time. The album was released to mixed reviews. While some critics praised Hill's bold new direction, others called the album's songs "unlistenable".
Image:T045dh01.jpg On December 13, 2003, Hill shocked officials at the Vatican by denouncing "corruption, exploitation, and abuses," in reference to the child molestation of boys by Catholic officials in the United States of America and the cover-up of offenses by Catholic Church officials. Among those in attendance were Edmund Cardinal Szoka, American-born President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City, and President of the Governatorate of Vatican City. Two days later Pope John Paul II told a group of Bishops from Sudan that, "Scandalous behavior must at all times be investigated, confronted and corrected" in the Catholic Church.
Return of the Fugees
The three Fugees were reunited on September 18, 2004 at Dave Chappelle's Block Party in Brooklyn, New York. They headlined a bill that included a star-studded cast of hip hop celebrities, including Kanye West, Common, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and others.
The Fugees were last seen together at BET's 2005 Music Awards on June 29, 2005.
The Fugees now have a new single out called "TAKE IT EASY!" which first leaked on the internet but is now officially available in the iTunes Music Store among other places. Their album has been slated for release some time in December 2005, but it is still open to change.
Personal
-
Hill has four children by, retired (American) football player
Rohan Marley, son of the late
reggae music icon,
Bob Marley: Zion David Marley, born
1997, Selah Louise Marley, born
1998, and second son Joshua, born
2002. A fourth child, John, was born in
2003.
Ms. Hill's next album
Ms. Hill (as she now prefers to be called) is reportedly working on her own LP, and completing it little by little. In January 2005, she had collaborated with producer extraordinaire Kanye West to produce at least two songs. John Legend has also commented about doing a song with her for her upcoming LP. She was supposedly wrapping a project titled "Khulami Phase" over a year ago (as of 10/9/2005) but that seems to have dissipated into nothing. Also, recent performances hint toward her return into a solo music career (she toured in Europe, as well as opened the MOBO Awards, and has been a great deal more active than she has been in recent years).
Vocal Profile
- Voice type: Full Mezzo-Soprano
- Highest note: F6 ("Zion" click to download)
- Lowest note: C3
- Vocal range: 3.3 octaves
Discography
Albums
External links
