Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the “Queen of Hip-Hop,” Hill is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as one of the most influential musicians of her generation. She is 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.

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. Hill gained further prominence as the frontwoman of the hip hop trio Fugees, which she formed 1990 with fellow New Jersey 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.”

Her solo debut studio album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) was met with widespread critical acclaim and commercial success. The album made Hill the first female rapper to debut atop the Billboard 200, received 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, 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” and performed on Santana’s album Supernatural that same year. Her new-material live album, MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 (2002) reached the top five on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum by the RIAA. Ultimately, Hill dropped out of the public eye, only periodically releasing singles. In 2014, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill became the first recording by a female rapper to be selected for the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.

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