Lauryn
Hill
Lauryn
Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American hip hop singer,
initially establishing her reputation as the most visible and vocal
member of The Fugees. She was born in South Orange, New Jersey and
began singing and acting at a very young age. Her acting roles included
the TV show As the World Turns (as "Kira Johnson" in 1991),
and the film Sister Act II: 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 television series "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 of You," and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
in 2001 on the "Selah" track.
In 1998, Hill released The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, a critical
smash hit that ended up on numerous best-of lists for the year,
decade and all time. 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.
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 1996, a call to the Howard Stern radio show stated that the caller
heard Hill say "I would rather die than have a white person
buy one of my albums" during an MTV interview. This is considered
unlikely, however, as no recording could be found of the supposed
incident.
Though a Fugees reunion was discussed by all of the members of the
group, it has not yet happened, reportedly due to conflicts between
the three Fugees, including a much-rumored feud between Hill and
Wyclef Jean. Hill released an MTV Unplugged album laced with verbal
interludes in 2002 to mixed reviews.
On December 13, 2003, Hill shocked officials at the Vatican by denouncing
them for "corruption, exploitation, and abuses," apparently
in reference to allegations of 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.
Hill has four children by her husband, retired (American) football
player Rohan Marley, son of the late reggae artist, Bob Marley:
Zion David Marley, born 1997, Selah Louise Marley, born 1998, and
second son Joshua, born 2002. A fourth child was born in 2003.
Hill's nickname is "L-boogie."
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 who's who in hip hop, including Kanye West,
Common, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and others.
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