If you aren’t already familiar with with music of Lauryn, I highly suggest you take a moment before reading this and go listen to literally any single song off of “The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill” which is her one and only album of which we also won 8 Grammys for. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential singers of her generation. Lauryn is credited for breaking barriers for female artists, popularizing melodic rapping and for bringing hip hop and neo soul to popular music. But there’s more to the Fugees rapper than meets the eye. Let’s dive in.
While Lauryn was still in high school she was asked to join “The Fugees” of Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean. Hill rose to prominence for her unique African-American and Caribbean music influences on her rapping. If she wasn’t already established as a rapper she even wrote and produced “A Rose Is Still A Rose” by Aretha Franklin, A Grammy Winning song that is still iconic today. A mix of this confidence and the splitting of the Fugees set a perfect stage for Lauryn to create her solo album.
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) remains Hill’s sole studio album. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and has sold approximately ten million copies there, being certified Diamond and even winning “Album Of The Year” and “Best New Artist”.
But the fame wasn’t all it cracked up to be for Lauryn. Soon afterward Hill dropped out of the public eye, dissatisfied with the music industry and suffering from the pressure of fame. Since then she has made a few sporadic festival appearances but still to this day has preferred to stay almost completely out of the limelight.
“I had to step away when I realized that for the sake of the machine, I was being way too compromised.”
With only ONE Album ever released, Hill is widely considered to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Publications all around the world have declared her as the “Queen of Hip Hop”. And honestly I couldn’t agree more,
I just wish I could get one more album.
.ph