Last seen: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0
(2002)She seemed destined for a long and successful career in music but after releasing her live album eight years ago, she pretty much disappeared from the public eye. What happened to Lauryn Hill?
She started her career as an actress, appearing on the soap opera, "As The World Turns" and in films like, "Sister Act 2" and Steven Soderbergh's "King of the Hill" before focusing on music.
In high school, she met Prakazrel "Pras" Michel and his cousin, Wyclef Jean and together they formed a musical group called The Fugees which was short for "The Refugee Camp". They released two albums but it was their second one, "The Score
" (1996) that brought the band world wide acclaim. The Fugees won two Grammy Awards for the album, which included Best R&B Vocal By A Duo Or Group for their hit remake of the Roberta Flack classic, "Killing Me Softly With His Song
".In 1998, Lauryn Hill completed her first solo record, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
" which was partly prompted by her frustrations within the Fugees. She took what she had done with her band and pushed it forward, creating a near perfect album that combined rap, reggae and hip hop beats with touches of classic soul throughout.The album was a monster hit topping the Billboard album and R&B album charts and would go on to sell eighteen million copies. She received ten Grammy Award nominations and would go to win five of them, including Best New Artist and Album Of The Year. This was the most nominations and wins by a female artist ever in one year.
In 2001, she resurfaced and performed new material for a small audience for MTV. The concert was essentially a guitar, her voice and songs that focused on her thoughts on religion, society and love. An album of that concert was released the following year and although it was not critically praised, it did manage to sell over a million copies.
The Fugees attempted to come back together in 2004, which included an appearance at the 2005 BET Award show, a European tour, a Hollywood reunion concert in 2006 and a few leaked songs before old tensions flared back up, causing the group to disband, apparently for good in 2007.
There have been rumours that Lauryn Hill has been working on her follow-up album since 2004 and has made sporadic concert appearances over the years but not much has really come together.
Here are a few of my favorite songs off of her first album:
Lost Ones - Lauryn Hill
Everything Is Everything - Lauryn Hill
Nothing Even Matters - Lauryn Hill & D'Angelo
This is the beautiful music video for her song, "Ex-Factor
":This song, "Repercussions" has popped up on the internet but no one seems to know whether it is actually a new song or some older material but it is a good tune. It makes me hopeful that she will release a new CD sometime real soon.
Repercussions - Lauryn Hill
" she is using dance and electronica. She enlisted the help of producers and DJ's like David Guetta, Benny Benassi and Will.i.am. to collaborate on this record which features songs that will stimulate your mind and your body.
" already topping the US dance charts. She will be on tour called All Hearts with Robyn this summer, so be sure to check them out.
". They have returned to their roots of dark and moody music for the dance floor that is still sexy and fun.
", the first of a planned trilogy of albums she plans to release this year.
" and had a couple of top ten hits here in the US. Although she was still making music after that, she didn't reappear here until over ten years later with an U.S. edition of her album, "
" in 2008.
" which features more of the high energy, dance-pop music that we love from her.
":
" is only The Like's second studio album but they have been around since 2001, having released several independent EPs in the meantime. This all-female alternative rock band has teamed up with producer Mark Ronson, which together they have given this new record a retro rock-pop vibe.
" (1975). Luther arranged all of the background vocals and even co-wrote a song on the album with Mr. Bowie, "Fascination". He would later go on tour with Bowie as a background vocalist. Luther also wrote a song, "Everybody Rejoice" for the Broadway play, "
" in 1975.
", "
" and "
", all number one hits on the U.S. dance charts.
" was released later that year and the title track went to number one on the R&B charts. He also did his version of the Dionne Warwick classic, "A House Is Not A Home". He was a big fan of Ms Warwick's and he would go on to produce songs for her albums as well as do a hit duet with her, "
?" in 1983. He did many classic duets with other artists like Cheryl Lynn, Janet Jackson, Gregory Hines, Beyonce and Frank Sinatra. He would also produce albums for his other idols like Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross.
", reaching as high as number two on the charts.
" in 2003, Mr. Vandross suffered a stroke. He had diabetes and hypertension, his father died of complications of diabetes when Luther was eight, as well as his extreme weight loss and gain over the years may have contributed to this. He did manage to recover to see the success of this record. It was his first album to reach number one on the U.S. pop charts and was also his biggest seller, at three million copies sold. The title track won him his fourth Grammy award for Best R&B Vocal Performance as well winning Song of the Year in 2004. He made an appearance on the program via videotape to accept the award.
