[Day 53] Ms. Lauryn Hill

General Info
Members: Lauryn herself plays guitar and sings. Her backing band will likely consist of the usual bassist, drummer, guitarist, along with a brass section and perhaps a DJ.
Biography: Lauryn Hill grew up in New Jersey. She did the morning announcements in high school with Zach Braff. While in high school, she met Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean, and The Fugees were founded. Initially, Hill only sang. As the group matured, she learned to rap, mostly by listening to the more aggressive male MCs of her day, including fellow 2014 Bonnaroo artist Ice Cube.

The Fugees put out their first album, Blunted on Reality in 1994. It was met with middling sales and a wishy-washy critical reception; it seemed to most at the time that The Fugees weren't being true to themselves on the record, and to an extent that is true. It wasn't until two years later that The Fugees would become the biggest hip-hop group on earth.

When The Score came out in February of 1996, it was a smash. It was ubiquitous. Wyclef and Lauryn became superstars overnight. Pras became famous. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 and produced 4 singles that hit the Billboard Hot 100, most notably Hill's cover of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly", which hit #2. In the first 18 months after its release, it sold over 6,000,000 copies. Hill was 21 and living at home.

In 1997, The Fugees split up to work on solo projects, which came about chiefly because of the tumultuous relationship between Hill and and Jean, who were on-and-off romantically. During this time - while still involved with Wyclef - Lauryn met Bob Marley's son Rohan. Not long after, they had their first child together, Zion David. This all but sealed the fate of the Fugees, but set Lauryn on her way toward her crowning achievement as an artist.

In 1998, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was released. It was an immediate and all-consuming success, both critically and commercially. It hit #1 on the charts, spawned three Top 40 hits - one of which, "Doo Wop (That Thing)" hit #1 - and eventually sold over 8,000,000 copies. She was nominated 10 times at the 1999 Grammy Awards. She won five, something no other woman had ever done. Only Beyonce (2010) and Adele (2012) have won more in a single night. This is even more impressive when you consider that she was not nominated for Song of the Year or Record of the Year, both of which unfortunately went to Celine Dion for "My Heart Will Go On". She also, I believe, is the only person to be nominated in three genre categories - she won Best R&B Album, R&B Female Vocal, Best R&B Song, all for "Doo Wop (That Thing)", lost Best Pop Vocal ("Can't Take My Eyes Off You") to Celine, and her non-single "Lost Ones" lost Best Rap Solo Performance to Will Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It."

She has not released a studio album in the 16 years since. She has become somewhat of an enigma, touring sporadically, recording here and there, even releasing a song every once in a great while, but no new album has materialized. She spent several months of last year in prison for tax evasion.

Genre: Hip-Hop, R&B, Soul

Related Artists: The Fugees

Similar Artists: None

Physical Reaction/Live Show
By most accounts, her voice is still in excellent condition, but she has a reputation for feeling...distant, shall we say, on stage at times. On the other hand, she has also been known to get very intimate with the audience, sharing stories about her life and so forth. The stage production will undoubtedly be top notch; she is too much a perfectionist for anything but the best. It's unlikely we'll see any special guests, despite her notable collaborations with Nas, Santana, D'angelo, and various Marleys. It will, however, be a moving performance, one that will leave you with goosebumps and awe throughout the proceedings.

Personal Notes
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the single greatest album by a female solo artist. I don't think anything comes close, and the fact that her catalog is relatively small means that we will get to hear almost all of it. If you don't dig Lionel Richie or Cut Copy, this is the place to be before Jack White.