Lauryn Hill

It’s been over twenty years since Lauryn Hill wrote and produced her ground-breaking debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The record successfully assimilated hip-hop and neo-soul into the mainstream in a way few artists had previously achieved. The first ever hip-hop album to receive multiple Grammy Award nominations, it was deemed by the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically and aesthetically significant”, and many critics still regard it to be one of the greatest albums of all time. Entering the Billboard 200 chart at No 1, the record produced three consecutive hit singles with, ‘Doo Wop (That Thing)’, ‘Ex-Factor’ and ‘Everything is Everything’.

Before launching her solo career, Lauren Hill sang lead vocals in The Fugees, whose inimitable blend of African-American and Caribbean sounds redefined everything hip-hop was and could be. Hill’s lyrical flow on tracks like ‘Some Seek Stardom’ was a highlight of their first album. However, it was the following release, The Score that reached No 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and remained in the Top 10 for over half a year, selling six million copies in total. The Fugees subsequently won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, earning a place in Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the greatest albums of all time. The album’s lead singles ‘Fu-Gee-La’ and ‘Ready or Not’ dominated the airwaves throughout the mid-90s, making The Fugees one of the world’s most famous groups, a popularity which has since strongly endured.

In addition to her stage skills, vocal range and astute lyrical observations, it is Lauren Hill’s penchant for remoulding classic popular music repertoire into hip-hop form that has marked her out as an artist: some of her most memorable vocal performances are her interpretations of ‘Killing me Softly’, ‘No Woman No Cry’ and ‘Can’t Take My Eyes off You’. Recently, Hill has made a successful return to the stage, with her ’20 Years of Miseducation’ tour culminating in a captivating set at Glastonbury Festival.