Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor from East Orange, New Jersey. She is best known for her role as the most visible member of the Fugees and for her solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Her work spans alternative hip hop, hip hop, contemporary R&B and neo soul, with further influence from reggae and folk.

Early life and acting career

Hill is born in East Orange in 1975 and grows up in a musically active family. Her parents listen to Motown and 1960s soul records, her father sings at weddings, her mother plays piano, and her older brother plays saxophone, guitar and drums. She attends Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, where she is active as a student, cheerleader and performer. She begins performing music in 1987 and appears on It’s Showtime at the Apollo in 1988, singing William “Smokey” Robinson’s “Who’s Lovin’ You?” She also appears on the soap opera As the World Turns as Kira Johnson.

Her film work includes Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, in which she plays Rita Louise Watson and sings “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” with Tanya Blount and “Joyful, Joyful”. That role brings her national attention. Other acting credits include the stage play Club XII with MC Lyte and the films King of the Hill, Hav Plenty and Restaurant.

Music career

Hill first gains prominence with the Fugees before moving into a solo career. Her solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill becomes her best-known recording. After a four-year break, she releases the live album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, which consists mainly of original material, with “So Much Things to Say” and “The Conquering Lion” as exceptions. She later releases the mixtape The Re-Education of Lauryn Hill in 2007.

Her recorded work draws on neo-soul and alternative rap, and she later writes in a more spiritually and socially conscious direction. She appears on the soundtrack to Conspiracy Theory with “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and on Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood with “Selah”.

Fugees and related projects

Hill’s group memberships include the Fugees, Da Ladies, The Tranzlator Crew and Guantanamo Camp. She is identified with the Fugees in particular as its most prominent vocal presence. Her solo work and group activity place her within hip hop and R&B, while the broader style of her recordings includes alternative hip hop and neo soul.

Recognition and humanitarian work

Hill is recognised for humanitarian activity as well as music. In 1996 she receives an Essence Award for work that includes founding the Refugee Project, an outreach organisation that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk young people. Her other activity includes supporting well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda and staging a rap concert in Harlem to encourage voter registration.

At the Grammy Awards in 1999, she receives eleven nominations and wins Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song and Best R&B Album. These wins set a record for a female performer at the time.

Personal life

Hill has four children with Rohan Marley, son of Bob Marley. Their children are Zion David Marley, Selah Louise Marley, Joshua and John. Hill and Marley marry after the birth of their fourth child.