Lauryn Hill Biography
Lauryn Hill is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper, known for being a member of Fugees, and for her solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which won many awards and broke several sales records. She began singing with her music-oriented family during her childhood.
In high school, Hill was approached by Pras Michel for a band he started, which his friend, Wyclef Jean, soon joined. They renamed themselves the Fugees and released the albums Blunted on Reality (1994), and the Grammy Award-winning The Score (1996), which sold six million copies in the U.S.
Hill rose to prominence with her African-American and Caribbean music influences, her rapping and singing, and her rendition of the hit “Killing Me Softly”. Her tumultuous romantic relationship with Wyclef Jean led to the split of the band in 1997, after which she began to focus on solo projects.
Lauryn Hill Age
Lauryn Hill was born on May 26, 1975, in East Orange, New Jersey, U.S.A. She is 44 years old as of 2019. She celebrates her birthday on May 26, every year. While growing up, she frequently listened to Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and Gladys Knight; Years later she recalled playing Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On repeatedly until she fell asleep to it.
Lauryn Hill Parents|Family|Sibling
Lauryn Hill was born in East Orange, New Jersey to Valerie Hill (mother) who was an English teacher and her father Mal Hill a computer and management consultant. She has one older brother named Malaney who was born in 1972. My mother played the piano, my father sang, and we were always surrounded by music.” Her father sang in local nightclubs and at weddings.
Lauryn Hill Children
Lauryn Hill and her husband Rohan Marley were blessed with six children namely: Zion David Marley, Selah Louise Marley, John Nesta Marley, Micah Hill, Joshua Omaru Marley, and Sarah Marley.
Lauryn Hill Quick facts
Height: 5′ 3½” (1.61m)
Weight: 53 kg (117 lbs)
Shoe Size: 8 (US)
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Breast Size: 32 inches (81 cm)
Waist Size: 24 inches (61 cm)
Hips Size: 34 inches (86 cm)
Bra Size/Cup Size: 32B
Feet/Shoe Size: 8 (US)
Dress Size: 4 (US)
Race/Ethnicity: African-American
Lauryn Hill Salary
The amount of salary that Lauryn Hill earns has not yet been revealed. However, the information will be updated as soon as it is available.
Lauryn Hill Fugees
Pras, Hill, and Jean renamed their group the Fugees, a derivative of the word “refugee”, which was a derogatory term for Haitian Americans. Hill began a romantic relationship with Jean. The Fugees, who signed a contract with Columbia/Ruffhouse Records in 1993, became known for their genre-blending, particularly of reggae, rock, and soul, which was first experimented on their debut album, Blunted on Reality, released in 1994.
It reached number 62 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart but overall sold poorly and was met by poor critical reviews due to their management’s attempt insistence they adopt gangsta rap attitudes. Although the album made little impact, Hill’s rapping on “Some Seek Stardom” was seen as a highlight. Within the group, she was frequently referred to by the nickname “L. Boogie”.
Hill’s image and artistry, as well as her full, rich, raspy alto voice, placed her at the forefront of the band, with some fans urging her to begin a solo career. The Fugees’ second album, The Score (1996), peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and stayed in the top ten of that chart for over half a year. It sold about six million copies in the United States and more than 17 million copies worldwide.
In the 1996 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll, The Score came second in the list of best albums and three of its tracks placed within the top twenty best singles. It won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and was later included on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Almost all of the writing and producing for it was done by Jean.
The Score garnered praise for being a strong alternative to the gangsta idiom, and Hill stated, “We’re trying to do something positive with the music because it seems like only the negative is rising to the top these days. It only takes a drop of purity to clean a cesspool.” Singles from The Score included “Fu-Gee-La” and “Ready or Not”, which highlighted Hill’s singing and rapping abilities, and “No Woman, No Cry”.
Her rendition of “Killing Me Softly” became her breakout hit. Buttressed by what Rolling Stone publications later called Hill’s “evocative” vocal line and her “amazing pipes”, the track became pervasive on pop, R&B, hip hop, and adult contemporary radio formats. It won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
On the album, Hill combined African-American music and Caribbean music influences with socially conscious lyrics. Newsweek mentioned Hill’s “irresistibly cute looks” and proclaimed her “the most powerful new voice in rap.” At 21 years old, the now-famous Hill was still living at home with her parents.
She had been enrolled at Columbia University during this period and considered majoring in history as she became a sophomore, but left after about a year of total studies once sales of The Score went into the millions. In 1996, Hill responded to a false rumor on The Howard Stern Show that she had made a racist comment on MTV, saying “How can I possibly be a racist? My music is universal.
And I believe in God. If I believe in God, then I have to love all of God’s creations. There can be no segregation.” In 1996, Hill founded the Refugee Project, a non-profit outreach organization that sought to transform the attitudes and behavior of at-risk urban youth. Part of this was Camp Hill, which offered stays in the Catskill Mountains for such youngsters; another was the production of an annual Halloween haunted house in East Orange.
Hill also raised money for Haitian refugees, supported clean water well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, and staged a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. A 1997 benefit event for the Refugee Project introduced a Board of Trustees for the organization that included Sean Combs, Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes, Spike Lee, and other members.
In 1997, the Fugees split to work on solo projects, which Jean later blamed on his tumultuous relationship with Hill and the fact he married his wife Claudinette while still involved with Hill. Meanwhile, in the summer of 1996 Hill had met Rohan Marley, a son of Bob Marley and a former University of Miami football player.
Hill subsequently began a relationship with him, while still also involved with Jean. Hill became pregnant in late 1996, and on August 3, 1997, Marley and Hill’s first child, Zion David, was born. The couple lived in Hill’s childhood house in South Orange after she bought her parents a new house down the street.
Hill had a cameo appearance in the 1997 film Hav Plenty. In 1998, Hill took up another small, but important role in the film Restaurant; Entertainment Weekly praised her portrayal of the protagonist’s pregnant former girlfriend as bringing vigor to the film.
Lauryn Hill Prison
Hill was sentenced by Judge Arleo on May 6, 2013, to serve three months in prison for failing to file taxes/tax fraud and three months’ house arrest afterward as part of a year of supervised probation. She had faced a possible sentence of as long as 36 months, and the sentence given took into account her lack of a prior criminal record and her six minor-aged children.
By this point, Hill had fully paid back $970,000 in back taxes and penalties she owed, which also took into account an additional $500,000 that Hill had in unreported income for 2008 and 2009. In the courtroom, Hill said that she had lived “very modestly” considering how much money she had made for others, and that “I am a child of former slaves who had a system imposed on them.
I had an economic system imposed on me.” Hill reported to the minimum-security Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury on July 8, 2013, to begin serving her sentence. Hill was released from prison on October 4, 2013, a few days early for good behavior, and began her home confinement and probationary periods.
She put out a single called “Consumerism” that she had finished, via verbal and e-mailed instructions, while incarcerated. Judge Arleo allowed her to postpone part of her confinement in order to tour in late 2013 under tight guidelines.
Lauryn Hill The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Hill recorded her solo record The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill from late 1997 through June 1998 at Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica. The title was inspired by the book The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933) by Carter G. Woodson and The Education of Sonny Carson, a film and autobiographical novel. The album featured contributions from D’Angelo, Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige, and the then-unknown John Legend.
Wyclef Jean initially did not support Hill recording a solo album, but eventually offered his production help; Hill turned him down. Several songs on the album concerned her frustration with the Fugees; “I Used to Love Him” dealt with the breakdown of the relationship between Hill and Wyclef Jean.
Other songs such as “To Zion” spoke about her decision to have her first baby, even though many at the time encouraged her to have an abortion so as to not interfere with her blossoming career. Indeed, Hill’s pregnancy revived her from a period of writer’s block. In terms of production, Hill collaborated with a group of musicians known as New Ark, consisting of Vada Nobles, Rasheem Pugh, Tejumold Newton, and Johari Newton.
Hill later said that she wanted to “write songs that lyrically move me and have the integrity of reggae and the knock of hip-hop and the instrumentation of classic soul” and that the production on the album was intended to make the music sound raw and not computer-aided. Hill spoke of pressure from her label to emulate Prince, wherein all tracks would be credited as written and produced by the artist with little outside help.
She also wanted to be appreciated as an auteur as much as Jean had within the Fugees. (She also saw a feminist cause: “But step out and try and control things and there are doubts. This is a very sexist industry. They’ll never throw the ‘genius’ title to a sister.”) While recording the album, when Hill was asked about providing contracts or documentation to the musicians, she replied, “We all love each other.
This ain’t about documents. This is blessed.” In November 1998, New Ark filed a fifty-page lawsuit against Hill, her management, and record label, claiming that Hill “used their songs and production skills, but failed to properly credit them for the work” on Miseducation.
The musicians claimed to be the primary songwriters on two tracks, and major contributors on several others, though Gordon Williams, a prominent recorder, engineer, and mixer on Miseducation, described the album as a “powerfully personal effort by Hill” and said, “It was definitely her vision.”
Hill responded that New Ark had been appropriately credited and now were seeking to take advantage of her success. New Ark requested partial writing credits on most of the tracks on the album as well as monetary reimbursement. After many delays, depositions took place during the latter part of 2000.
In part, the case illustrated the difficult boundaries between songwriting and all other aspects that went into contemporary arranging, sampling, and recording. The suit would eventually be settled out of court in February 2001, with Hill paying New Ark a reported $5 million. A friend of Hill’s later said of the suit, “That was the beginning of a chain effect that would turn everything a little crazy.”
Lauryn Hill Legacy and sampling
Lauryn Hill’s work continues to inspire rappers and can still be heard sampled in Hip Hop today. In 2018, Hill was sampled on Cardi B’s “Be Careful”, Drake’s “Nice for What”, and A$AP Rocky’s “Purity”. Kanye West has mentioned Lauryn Hill in a couple of his songs. In Kanye West’s song “Champion”, released in 2007, he says “Lauryn Hill said her heart was in Zion, I wish her heart still was in rhymin”.
Zion is Hill’s son firstborn, who she sings about in “To Zion” Kanye also talks about Hill in his song released in 2016, “No More Parties in LA”. He states “I was uninspired since Lauryn Hill retired” This is referring to Hill not releasing any new music since 2013.
Other samples of Lauryn Hill’s work come from artists such as J Cole, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and Kanye West. J Cole samples Hill’s “Nothing Even Matters” and “To Zion” in his song “Cole Summer”. A Boogie samples a few Hill songs including “Ex-Factor” in his song of the same name as well as in a remix of Drake’s “Nice for What”. Kanye famously samples Hill in “All Falls Down” where he samples “Mystery of Iniquity”.
Lauryn Hill What Happened, Miss Simone?
Hill contributed her voice to the soundtrack for What Happened, Miss Simone?, a 2015 documentary about the life of Nina Simone, an American singer, pianist, and civil rights activist. Hill was originally supposed to record only two songs for the record but ended up recording six. She also served as a producer on the compilation alongside Robert Glasper.
Hill said of her connection to Simone: “Because I fed on this music … I believed I always had a right to have a voice. Her example is clearly a form of sustenance to a generation needing to find theirs. What a gift.” NPR critically praised Hill’s performance on the soundtrack, stating: “This album mainly showcases Lauryn Hill’s breadth and dexterity. Not formally marketed as Hill’s comeback album, her six tracks here make this her most comprehensive set of studio recordings since The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1998.
Lauryn Hill Concerts
- Thu, Feb 20, 9:00 PM Port Chester, NY
The Capitol Theatre - Sat, Feb 22, 8:00 PM New York, NY
United Palace - Tue, Mar 3, 8:00 PM Richmond, VA
Carpenter Theatre - Fri, Mar 6, 12:30 AM Washington, DC
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts - Tue, Mar 10, 9:00 PM Cincinnati, OH
Taft Theatre - Thu, Mar 12, 9:00 PM Northfield, OH
MGM Northfield Park - Sat, Mar 14, 9:00 PM Upper Darby, PA
The Tower Theater - Mon, Jul 6, 9:00 AM London, United Kingdom
Old Royal Naval College - Fri, Jul 10, 7:30 PM London, United Kingdom
The Royal Naval College Chapel
Lauryn Hill Tours
- Smokin’ Grooves Tour (with Fugees) (1996-1997)
- The Miseducation Tour (1999)
- Smokin’ Grooves Tour (with The Roots and Outkast) (2002)
- Reunion Tour (with Fugees) (2005)
- Moving Target: Extended Intimate Playdate Series Tour (2011)
- Life Is Good / Black Rage Tour (with Nas) (2012)
- Homecoming Tour (2013-2014)
- Small Axe Tour (2015)
- MLH Caravan: A Diaspora Calling! Tour (2016-2017)
- Powernomics Tour (with Nas) (2017)
- The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 20th Anniversary World Tour (2018-2019)
- Ms. Lauryn Hill Live In Concert (2020)
Lauryn Hill Albums
Lauryn Hill Songs
- Doo-Wop The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill · 1998
- Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill · 1998 - I Need You Baby Guarding The Gates
- Guarding The Gates (From “Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack”) · 2019
- I Gotta Find Peace of Mind MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 · 2002
- Tell Him The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill · 1998
- I Find It Hard to Say MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 · 2002
- When It Hurts So Bad The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill · 1998
- Final Hour The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill · 1998
- I Used To Love Him The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill · 1998
- Mr. Intentional MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 · 2002
- Lost Ones The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill · 1998
- Mystery of Iniquity MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 · 2002
- Forgive Them Father The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill · 1998
- Every Ghetto, Every City The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill · 1998
- I Get Out MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 · 2002
- Intro The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill · 1998
- Oh Jerusalem MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 · 2002
- Superstar The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill · 1998
- Adam Lives in Theory MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 · 2002
- The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill · 1998
Lauryn Hill Movies
- Sister Act 2 1993
- Hav Plenty 1997
- Lauryn hill king of the hill 1993
- Concerning Violence 2014
- Restaurant 1998
- Santana: Supernatural Live 2000
- Man in Wood 2014
- When We Were Kings 1996
- MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 2002
- Hip Hop Uncensored: Vol. 2: The Real Hip-Hop 2000
- One Love :The Bob Marley All-Star Tribute 1999
- Soul Divas 2007
Lauryn Hill Nas
Frequently Asked Questions About Lauryn Hill
Who is Hill?
Lauryn Hill is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper.
How old is Lauryn?
She is 44 years old as of 2019.
How tall is Hill?
She stands at a height of 5feet 3inches.
Is Lauryn married?
She is not yet married but she has a father of her kids.
How much is Hill worth?
She is an American singer/songwriter, rapper, producer and actress who has a net worth of $8 million dollars
How much does Lauryn make?
She makes an admirable income of $40 million dollars.
Where does Hill live?
She lives in South Orange, New Jersey together with her family.
Is Lauryn Hill dead or alive?
She is alive and in good health.
What does The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill mean?
How many Grammys did Lauryn Hill win in one night?
Lauryn Hill Social Media
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8t6f1InB6J/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
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