Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Hill is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time,[2] as well as one of the most influential musicians of her generation. She is often credited for breaking barriers for female rappers, popularizing melodic rap, and pioneering neo soul for mainstream audiences. In addition to being named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR, Hill was listed as one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone. In 2015, she was ranked as the greatest female rapper by Billboard. Her other accolades include eight Grammy Awards—the most for any female rapper.
For other people with similar names, see Lauren Hill.
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill
- Ms. Lauryn Hill
- L. Boogie
May 26, 1975
East Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
- Rapper
- singer-songwriter
- record producer
- actress
- Vocals
- guitar
1988–present
Rohan Marley (1996–2009)
Hill began her career as a teen actress. She landed a role in the soap opera As the World Turns (1991), and starred in the off-Broadway play Club XII alongside MC Lyte. Her performance as Rita in the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) was widely praised.[3] Hill gained further prominence as the frontwoman of the hip hop trio Fugees, which she formed in 1990 with fellow musicians Wyclef Jean and Pras. Their second album, The Score (1996) peaked atop the Billboard 200, and led her to become the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The album included the hit singles "Killing Me Softly" and "Ready or Not". As a soloist, she first guest performed on Nas' 1996 single, "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)". In the following year, the Fugees disbanded and Hill wrote, produced, and directed the music video for Aretha Franklin's single "A Rose Is Still a Rose"; and contributed to production on My Love Is Your Love by Whitney Houston.
Her debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) was met with widespread critical acclaim. The album made Hill the first female rapper to both debut atop the Billboard 200 and receive a diamond certification by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); and remains one of the best-selling albums of all time worldwide. Its lead single, "Doo Wop (That Thing)" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and was listed as a Song of the Century by the RIAA. Its follow up singles, "Ex-Factor" and "Everything Is Everything" peaked within the top 40 on the chart. At the 41st Grammy Awards, she set the record for the most nominations in one night for a female, and became the first rapper to win Album of the Year.
In 1999, Hill became the first rapper to grace the cover of Time magazine, received a President's Award from the NAACP for her humanitarian work,[4] and released the Bob Marley duet "Turn Your Lights Down Low". Furthermore, she produced and wrote Mary J. Blige's single "All That I Can Say". Her work as a producer on Santana's album Supernatural (1999), earned her a consecutive Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Her live album of newly recorded material, MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 (2002) reached the top five on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA. Ultimately, Hill dropped out of the public eye, only periodically releasing songs such as "Black Rage (Sketch)" and "Nobody". In 2023, Hill co-wrote the single "Praise Jah in the Moonlight" for her son YG Marley.
In recent years, Hill has been sampled by numerous artists and has been inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, the Grammy Hall of Fame, and the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
Early life[edit]
Lauryn Noelle Hill was born on May 26, 1975,[5] in East Orange, New Jersey.[6] Her mother, Valerie Hill, 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.[7][8][9] Her Baptist[10] family moved to New York for a short period before settling in South Orange.[6]
Hill has said of her musically oriented family: "there were so many records, so much music constantly being played. My mother played the piano, my father sang, and we were always surrounded by music."[6] Her father sang in local nightclubs and at weddings.[11][12] While growing up, Hill frequently listened to Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and Gladys Knight;[13] years later she recalled playing Marvin Gaye's What's Going On repeatedly until she fell asleep to it.[6]
In middle school, Hill performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a basketball game. Due to its popularity, subsequent games featured a recording of her rendition.[7] In 1988, Hill appeared as an Amateur Night contestant on It's Showtime at the Apollo. She sang her version of the Smokey Robinson track "Who's Lovin' You", garnering an initially harsh reaction from the crowd. She persevered through the performance.[14]
Hill attended Columbia High School, where she was a member of the track team, cheerleading squad[7][8] and was a classmate of actor Zach Braff.[15] She also took violin lessons, went to dance class, and founded the school's gospel choir.[12] Academically, she took advanced placement classes[12] and received primarily 'A' grades.[8] School officials recognized her as a leader among the student body.[12] Later recalling her education, Hill commented, "I had a love for—I don't know if it was necessarily for academics, more than it just was for achieving, period. If it was academics, if it was sports, if it was music, if it was dance, whatever it was, I was always driven to do a lot in whatever field or whatever area I was focusing on at the moment."[6]
Career[edit]
1991–1993: Career beginnings[edit]
While a freshman in high school,[9] through mutual friends, Prakazrel "Pras" Michel approached Hill about a music group he was creating.[13][16] Hill and Pras began under the name Translator Crew. They came up with this name because they wanted to rhyme in different languages.[13] Another female vocalist was soon replaced by Michel's cousin, multi-instrumentalist Wyclef Jean.[13] The group began performing in local showcases and high school talent shows.[9] Hill was initially only a singer, but then learned to rap too; instead of modeling herself on female rappers like Salt-N-Pepa and MC Lyte, she preferred male rappers like Ice Cube and developed her flow from listening to them.[11] Hill later said, "I remember doing my homework in the bathroom stalls of hip-hop clubs."[17]
While growing up, Hill took acting lessons in Manhattan.[12] She began her acting career in 1991 appearing with Jean in Club XII, MC Lyte's Off-Broadway hip-hop rendering of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.[9] While the play was not a success, an agent noticed her. Later that year, Hill began appearing on the soap opera As the World Turns in a recurring role as troubled teenager Kira Johnson.[7][17][18] She subsequently co-starred alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the 1993 release Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, playing Rita Louise Watson, an inner-city Catholic school teenager with a surly, rebellious attitude.[7][9] In it, she performed the songs "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (a duet with Tanya Blount) and "Joyful, Joyful".[19]
Director Bill Duke credited Hill with improvising a rap in a scene: "None of that was scripted. That was all Lauryn. She was amazing."[7] Critic Roger Ebert called her "the girl with the big joyful voice", although he thought her talent was wasted,[20] while Rolling Stone said she "performed marvelously against type ... in the otherwise perfunctory [film]".[9] Hill also appeared in Steven Soderbergh's 1993 motion picture King of the Hill, in a minor but pivotal role as a 1930s gum-popping elevator operator. Soderbergh biographer Jason Wood described her as supplying one of the warmest scenes in the film.[21] Hill graduated from Columbia High School in 1993.
Activism[edit]
Philanthropy[edit]
In the late 1990s, Hill presided over the Refugee Project, a nonprofit organization that served youth in New Jersey.[135] The organization offered New Jersey youth scholarships, mentoring, after-school programs, a reading club and a summer camp program. The Refugee Project's board of directors included Mariah Carey, Spike Lee, actor Malcolm Jamal Warner, and rappers Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, and Nas.[136]
In 1999, she collaborated with the Federal government of the United States for an anti-drug campaign.[137] On July 11, 2000, a hearing evaluating the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign was held at Congress.[137] During the hearing, it was announced that Hill's ad from the campaign was the most popular amongst a group of polled youth, with nearly 95 percent stating that they were affected by the ad.[138] That same year, Hill participated in UNCF's 'Evening of Stars' telethon fundraiser, which raised $13.5 million.[139]
In 2003, Hill was scheduled to perform at a Christmas benefit concert at the Vatican, located in a 7,500-seat concert hall customarily used by the Pope for his weekly general audiences. During the concert, Hill spoke out against sexual abuse of children by priests, stating "God has been a witness to the corruption of his leadership, to the exploitation and abuses. It is the least one can say about the clergy." Hill added "I realize some of you may be offended by what I'm saying, but what do you say to the families who were betrayed by the people in whom they believed?". The Pope was not in attendance; however, concert attendees included Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the pope's vicar for Rome and the head of Italian bishops conference, his deputy, Monsignor Rino Fisichella, and Edmund Szoka. The comments sparked controversy at the time, and were edited out of the broadcast, which was set to air on Mediaset's flagship Canale 5 station.[140][141] In retrospect, many critics have applauded Hill for speaking out.[142][143]
Hill later performed during the 2005 Live 8 benefit concert, to help raise awareness on global poverty.[144]
She published the song "Black Rage" to SoundCloud in protest of the 2014 killing of Michael Brown.[145] That same year, she performed at the Amnesty International 'Bringing Human Rights Home' benefit concert in New York, in support of Pussy Riot; where she gave a rendition of her protest song "Black Rage".[146][147]
In 2015, she canceled a show in Israel after she was faced with a social media campaign by activists who urged her to boycott Israel over its occupation of Palestinian land.[148] She later clarified that she does not take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but "believes in dignity for all sides", according to professor Noura Erakat.[149]
Hill released an updated version of her 2002 track "I Find It Hard to Say (Rebel)" from her MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 album entitled "Rebel" in 2016.[150] The 2002 song was originally written about the Killing of Amadou Diallo, and was updated due to the influx of Police brutality in the United States at the time.[151] The updated song was released exclusively on Tidal, and was performed at the Tidal X 1015 charity concert hosted by Jay-Z.[152]
Variety reported that Hill declined an offer by the National Football League to join pop rock band Maroon 5 during their Super Bowl LIII halftime show, in solidarity with American football player Colin Kaepernick, after he received backlash for taking the knee.[153]
According to Billboard, Hill provided 10 scholarships for the 2019–2020 academic year to students at Alpha Institute in Kingston, Jamaica, through her MLH Fund.[154]
Fashion and endorsements[edit]
Endorsements[edit]
In 1999, Hill partnered with Levi Strauss & Co. to create custom outfits for her Miseducation Tour.[250] The partnership ushered in a new generation of black musicians partnerships with major brands, with journalist Thembisa Mshaka of Okayplayer proclaiming "when Levi Strauss put its name next to Lauryn Hill, a new course was charted. The Fortune 500 brand partnerships with black musicians that are ubiquitous today were seeded by the success of Lauryn's solo debut".[251] A custom ensemble made for Hill by Levi's was put on display during the Levi Strauss: A History of American Style exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum.[252] Hill also partnered with Armani during the late 1990s, the brand designed multiple custom looks for Hill and helped sponsored her Miseducation of Lauryn Hill world Tour.[253] A design created by Armani for the tour was on put display for the 1999 "Rock Style" themed Met Gala.[254][255]
Influence on hair and beauty[edit]
Well known for styling her hair in locs, braids, bantu knots and afros,[256] Hill is often associated with the revival of the natural hair movement.[257] She has been credited as one of the people who have helped normalize locs, and introduced them to pop culture.[258] Author Joan Morgan noted that "for a young person who was growing up in the '90s and liked that natural look but didn't want to identify as Rasta, there was really no example until Lauryn Hill."[259] Hill is also frequently listed among the people who have defined modern bantu knots[260] and afros.[261] Ebony noted that she "helped to usher in a new standard of beauty for Black women -one grounded in the richness and authenticity of their African heritage."[262]
PopSugar placed her on their list of the "18 Moments in Hair History That Changed the World", and wrote, "When searching for the originator in the recent natural hair revival, you must look to Lauryn Hill. She emerged as the feminine lead in The Fugees and broke Grammy records as a soloist, all while popularizing dreadlocks in the mainstream."[263] Stylist mentioned Hill gracing the cover of Time in locs, and being named one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1999, as one of the most definitive moments in the history of black hair.[264]
In an interview with Vogue, R&B singer SZA, stated "The only girl that I could look to for natural hair inspiration growing up was Lauryn Hill."[265] According to celebrity hairstylist Yusef Williams, who styled Rihanna's hair on the set of Ocean's 8, the singer "channeled her inner Lauryn Hill" while wearing locs for her role in the movie.[266] Halle Bailey named Hill as one of her beauty icons, while mentioning "I love Lauryn Hill's hair".[267]
Impact on fashion[edit]
In 2015, Vogue mentioned her as one of the female hip hop entertainers of 1990s, whose style they considered to be influential to 2010s fashion, with Emily Barasch of Vogue, writing "Lauryn Hill's sense of style endures today, as nineties nostalgia continues to pervade the runways."[268] She was hailed as a "fashion and music icon" by CR Fashion Book[269] and was also included on the list of the most stylish rappers of all time by Complex.[270]
She is often named as a leading contributor in the modern popularization of the hoop earring,[271] which first grew in popularity among black women in the 1970s, before reaching a wider audience after female hip hop artists like Hill wore them in the 1980s and 1990s.[272] Considered as an inspiration for Kanye West's fashion,[273] singer Solange Knowles also cited Hill among her style influences in an interview for Fashionista.[274]
Influence on fashion designers[edit]
British fashion designer John Galliano chose Hill as his muse for the 2000 Spring/Summer Dior collection, he designed;[275][276] The Hill-inspired collection featured models wearing dreadlocks and hoop earrings,[277] and introduced the Dior 'Saddle Bag',[278][279] which was made famous by the character Carrie Bradshaw in the television series Sex and the City; and according to Who What Wear, it is one of the ten most popular designer handbags ever.[280][281] In 2017, the hip hop-based collection designed by Alexander Wang,[282][283] as well as Tory Burch's resort collection,[284] were both inspired by Hill.
The Men's Spring/Summer 2021 Louis Vuitton collection designed by Virgil Abloh, drew influence from Hill, with Abloh mentioning Hill as his "forever muse".[285][286] Hill later performed at Abloh's memorial service after he died from a rare form of cancer in December 2021.[287] She was also named among Daniel Roseberry's influences for the Spring/Summer 2022 Schiaparelli collection.[288] Designers Esteban Cortazar,[289] Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss,[290] and Humberto Leon of Kenzo,[291] and Demna Gvasalia of Balenciaga,[292] have also noted her as an inspiration.
