The Inspiration of Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill performing at the Kongsberg Jazz Festival in 2019. Credit Photo: Tore Sætre / Wikimedia

Passionate, spiritual, unpredictable and complicated in the best way: Lauryn Hill is a master in the music industry and has provided the world with the gift of her work. Hill and her high school band, The Fugees, shot to the very top, and at just 22 years old she released her first and only solo album - an album which is since considered to be one of the best albums ever made, the legendary record ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’.

Lauryn Hill achieved success as a young black woman growing up in a time where issues of racism were not as widely spoken about as they are nowadays. In a rare interview with Rolling Stone, Hill spoke of and reminisced about her career: “I wrote an album about systemic racism and how it represses and stunts growth and harms, (all of my albums have probably addressed systemic racism to some degree) before this was something this generation openly talked about. I was called crazy.”

‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ is a groundbreaking, incredible piece of art written and performed by Lauryn Hill when she was just 21 years old and pregnant with her first child. Songs like ‘Doo Wop (That Thing)’ gives an intelligent commentary on the way men and women treat each other in an exploitative way. It’s a warning to treat each other with more respect and integrity, with lyrics like ‘Don’t be a hard rock when you really are a gem.’ The album is snappy, straight-forward and an overall spiritual experience.

Lauryn Hill, across her career, has received eight Grammys and has been widely acclaimed as one of the greatest rappers and songwriters alive. However, after the massive global success of ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’, she stepped away from the spotlight. Speaking about herself in the Rolling Stone interview, Hill says: “I still do this - defy convention when the convention is questionable.” This is definitely the truest summary of Lauryn Hill.

Lauryn Hill gives a stellar performance at the Global Citizen Live concert in New York City in 2021. Credit Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage

Providing hope, self-esteem, confidence and a very valuable message to generations of both men and women about respect and making sacrifices to become a better human being - Lauryn Hill is an inspiring force of nature to be reckoned with.