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Lauryn Noel Hill (born May 25, 1975) is an American singer, rapper, musician, record producer and film actress. She initially established her reputation as the vocal member and lone female of The Fugees. On August 25, 1998 she launched her solo career by releasing the critically acclaimed album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, bringing the then-emerging neo-soul genre to a wider commercial platform. After a four year hiatus, she released the controversial MTV Unplugged No. 2.0; a live album of completely original material (except for So Much Things to Say and The Conquering Lion). She has won eight Grammy Awards and is the mother of four children with Rohan Marley, the fourth son of reggae legend Bob Marley.
Early Life
Lauryn Hill was born in South Orange, New Jersey. Hill was the second of two children born to high school English teacher Valerie Hill and computer programer Mal Hill. Her family's home was crammed with Motown 45's and Sixties Soul, which Lauryn incessantly played as a child. Music was a central part of the Hill home. Mal Hill sang at weddings, Valerie played the piano and Lauryn's older brother Melaney, played the saxophone, guitar and drums [1].
Hill attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. Hill was an active student, cheerleader, and performer. She began her acting career very early. In 1988, 13-year old Hill appeared as an Amateur Night contestant on It's Showtime at the Apollo. Hill sang her own version of William "Smokey" Robinson's song "Who's Lovin' You?". A nervous Hill sung far away from the mic and was heckled at first; but persisted and finished her song to a standing applause. She did not win though.
Hill appeared on the soap opera, As The World Turns as Kira Johnson. In December 1993, she starred in "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" as Rita Louise Watson. In the film, she performed the songs "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (a duet with Tanya Blount) and "Joyful, Joyful" . It was in this role, as Rita, that she first came to national prominence, with Roger Ebert calling her "the girl with the big joyful voice". Although Sister Act I and II were originally conceived as vehicles for comedian Whoopi Goldberg, the second installment won Lauryn equal notice.
Her other acting work includes the play Club XII with MC Lyte, and the motion pictures King of the Hill (as Arletta the Elevator Operator), Hav Plenty (1997), and Restaurant (1998). She appeared on the soundtracks to Conspiracy Theory in 1996 (on the track "Can't Take My Eyes Off You") and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood in 2002 (on the track "Selah").
[edit] Personal Life
Since 1996, Hill has been in a relationship with Rohan Marley, son of the late reggae music icon Bob Marley. Though she refers to Marley as her husband, it has not been confirmed publicly that they are legally married. According to a October 2003 Rolling Stone article by Touré, Marley never divorced his first wife Geraldine Khawly [2] [3], whom he married in 1993 while a sophomore at the University of Miami; and with whom he has daughter Eden Marley and son Nicolas Marley[4] [5]. However, in the summer of 2005, Trace magazine interviewed Lauryn Hill and Rohan Marley; Marley said none of this was true and that many lies had been written about them.[6]
Together they have four children: son Zion David Hill-Marley (3 August 1997); daughter Selah Louise Marley (12 November 1998); son Joshua Marley (January 2002)[7] [8] and son John Marley (summer 2003)[9]. As of October 2007, the couple is expecting their fifth child. [10]
She has written a song about her eldest son, titled "To Zion", and can be found on her first solo effort, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The song "Selah", is featured on the soundtrack Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood [11], and is the name of her lone daughter. According to the lyrics, the song is about her relationship to God.
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. In 1999 Ebony magazine 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.
Lauryn Hill's musical influences include Bob Marley, The Doors, Nina Simone, Carlos Santana, and Jose Feliciano among others.
[edit] Musical Career
[edit] Beginnings With 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 Pras' cousin and fellow Haïtian immigrant, Wyclef Jean. At some point, Hill was given the nickname "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 A Tribe Called Quest's "Bonita Applebum".
[edit] Blunted On Reality (1994)
The Fugees' first album, Blunted on Reality, which featured the songs "Boof Baf", "Nappy Heads" and "Vocab". "Nappy Heads" peaked at #49 on the U.S Hot 100. The album sold over 2 million copies worldwide.
[edit] The Score (1996)
Blunted on Reality was followed by The Score, a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning album that established all three Fugees as international rap stars. Singles from The Score include "Ready or Not", "Fu-Gee-La", and "No Woman, No Cry". The album's best-known song, however, is a cover of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly with His Song".
[edit] The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)
In 1998, Hill released The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, a commercially successful album that was also one of the most critically acclaimed releases of the 1990s. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill sold over 423,000 copies in its first week and topped the Billboard R&B Album chart for 6 weeks. The first single off the album was "Lost Ones" followed by "Doo Wop (That Thing)", which debuted at number one in the United States in the summer of 1998, along with singles "Ex-factor" and "Everything Is Everything". In 1999's Grammy Awards, Hill was nominated ten times and won Album of the Year (beating Madonna's critically acclaimed album Ray of Light), Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, setting new records for women in the industry.
Soon after the album became a global success, 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. Initially, Hill fought back and denied what they claimed was production input. But the matter was settled, and they received an undisclosed amount of money and were given credit for drum programming and a small amount of production work.
[edit] MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 (2002)
On July 21, 2001 Lauryn Hill unveiled her highly-anticipated new material to a small crowd for a taping of an MTV Unplugged special. The 2002 released MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 album exhibited a new Hill, as she focused more on the lyrics and the message she was spreading rather than the musical arrangements. "Fantasy is what people want, but reality is what they really need", she said during the concert. "I’ve just retired from the fantasy part."
Most of the songs featured only an acoustic guitar and her voice, 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 found while away. Critical reception was mixed, but the album received platinum status.
Despite Hill's intentional departure from the media and celebrity, she continued to create commercially and critically successful music. Her song "Mystery of Iniquity" was nominated for a Grammy without promotion or radio airplay and used as an interpolation by hip-hop mega-producer Kanye West for his single "All Falls Down" (eventually recorded by Syleena Johnson). John Legend, who played piano on Everything is Everything, collaborated with Hill on the Grammy-nominated remix of "So High". Talib Kweli dedicated a song entitled "Ms. Hill" to her, rapping reverently that "you give us hope, you give us faith, you're the one". Artists and former collaborators such as Common still include Hill in their album thank yous and dedications.
In the months and years after the release of her debut album, Hill became increasingly disaffected with the music industry. In the February 2006 issue of Essence magazine, Hill describes this time in her life:
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. It took a considerable amount of courage, faith and risk to gain the confidence to be myself. I had to deal with folks who weren’t happy about that. I was a young woman with an evolved mind who was not afraid of her beauty or her sexuality. For some people that’s uncomfortable. They didn’t understand how female and strong work together. Or young and wise. Or Black and divine.
During this time, Hill abandoned celebrity and stopped doing interviews. She stopped watching television and listening to music and explored other methods of expressing herself, including creating and writing an exstensive amount of music, poetry, screenplays, clothing designs, etc.
Hill said:
—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. There was much more strength, spirit and passion, desire, curiosity, ambition and opinion that was not allowed in a small space designed for consumer mass appeal and dictated by very limited standards. 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.[12]
and went on to say:
—I had to fight for an identity that doesn’t fit in one of their boxes. I’m a whole woman. And when I can’t be whole, I have a problem. By the end I was like, I’ve got to get out of here.[13]
[edit] Short Lived Return of The Fugees (2004-2007)
In one of the most momentous reunions in hip-hop history,[citation needed] The Fugees performed on September 18, 2004 at Dave Chappelle's Block Party in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. They headlined a bill that included a star-studded cast of hip hop celebrities. The concert received many positive reviews,[citation needed] most of which praised Hill's nearly a cappella rendition of "Killing Me Softly". The block party was recorded and directed by Michel Gondry and released on March 3, 2006, to movie theaters.
The Fugees also appeared at BET's 2005 Music Awards on June 28, 2005, where they opened the show with a 12-minute set.
On October 6, 2005, Lauryn Hill emceed and performed two songs [14] at the Take Back TV concert launching Al Gore's CurrentTV.
Lauryn Hill @ CurrentTV Launch in NY
Lauryn Hill @ CurrentTV Launch in NY
A new album was in the works. One track, "Take It Easy", was leaked online and therefore was released as a single on the Internet on September 27, 2005. It peaked at #40 on the Billboard R&B Chart. The song was not without its critics, however; The Village Voice said "Turns out that a Fugees reunion wasn't really what anyone was waiting for; we just wanted Lauryn to start rapping again." [15]
The Fugees embarked on a European tour from November 30, 2005, through December 20, 2005. The group played Austria, 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 have been featured in numerous Verizon Wireless VCast advertisements in magazines and TV commercials. A new song titled "Foxy" was made available on VCast. Also recently, a third new song has been leaked, unofficially titled "Wannabe", which uses the same hook as the Michael Jackson song "I Wanna Be Where You Are".
During an interview with SOHH.com Pras confirmed that a Fugees reunion had stopped moving. He indicated this was due to Hill having "some things she needs to deal with".
[edit] Current Projects
Hill has been on tour for the summer of this year which featured shows in 14 countries including the UK, the US, France, Israel, Brazil, Norway, Serbia, Turkey, Italy and the Czech Republic.
Hill has supposedly completed work on her second studio album. However, online-chat claimed that Columbia, her record label, is refusing to release it. A petition is currently being circulated online by fans, hoping to persuade Columbia to release the album, which Columbia deems not as "marketable" and fears would not be the same as the commercially successful "The Miseducation". On August 13, 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that Hill has been leasing space in a 1920s Los Angeles warehouse that has been turned into live-work lofts.[16] It has also been reported Hill has a home in a hotel suite in Florida along with a studio. Hill recently came out of seclusion to record a verse for a song called "Music" on Joss Stone's third album Introducing Joss Stone.[17] Joss was so insistent in her desire to work with Hill that she called Hill's mother every day until she could get Hill to work with her. Stone states about Hill: "And Lauryn, I've wanted to work with her since the first time I heard her voice. It's a dream come true for me — a goal I can mark off my list. I love her so much, and she's just so talented. She's just a poet.
[edit] Controversies
[edit] Vatican Controversy
On December 13, 2003, Hill shocked officials at a Christmas benefit concert at the Vatican by denouncing "corruption, exploitation, and abuses", in reference to the molestation of boys by Catholic priests in the United States of America and the cover-up of offenses by Catholic Church officials. Hill told the crowd of 7,000:
—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.[18]
Hill called on the church leaders to "repent" and encouraged the crowd to "not seek blessings from man but from God."
There was silence for several minutes from the audience as many could not speak English. There were cries of "Enough" and "Shame" from those who understood while others whistled and clapped before she picked up her guitar and performed two songs, entitled "Damnable Heresies" and "Social Drugs", both about social obligations. After her performance her comments were translated for Cardinal Camillo Ruini, head of the Italian Bishops Conference, who was sitting in the front row, and he walked out in protest. Among those in attendance were Edmund Cardinal Szoka, American-born President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City, and President of the Governorate of Vatican City. The segment was cut from the television broadcast by the Church, and a full transcript of Hill's statement has yet to be released.
The global response Hill received was varied. Monsignor Rino Fisichella, one of the organizers of the traditional concert, said: "It was 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", while the Catholic League responded by calling Hill "pathologically miserable".[19]
While returning to New York, Hill's only response to the press about the controversy was: "What I said was the truth. Is telling the truth bad manners? What I asked was the church to repent for what has happened."[20]
[edit] Allegations of Racial Statements
Another controversy involves supposed racist statements. It was alleged that Hill at one time made a statement similar to "I would rather have my children starve than have white people buy my albums." MTV has publicly disclaimed the quotation, and after a discussion of the quotation on The Howard Stern Show, Hill herself called in to the show to refute it. Hill has repeatedly asserted in interviews that the rumor is false, that she never made such statements, would never make such statements and that she is in no way racist .