Lauryn Hill has had a complicated relationship with fame.
But even at the height of her fame, Hill didn’t feel like she had made it.
I’m still like one day something might happen, and I’ll have to get another career.
Here’s what happened to one of the greatest artists with the smallest output in history, Lauryn Hill.
“She woulda been bigger than J.
Lo,” a former collaborator said toRolling Stoneof Hill of her potential.
Motherhood has always been meaningful to Hill, despite it being something others discouraged her against.
“I think Lauryn grew to despise who Lauryn Hill was.
The singer began leading a mostly secluded life.
Hill says she didn’t write music or watch television during that time, either.
During this time the early 2000s Hill also became very close to a spiritual advisor, Brother Anthony.
In 2002, the singer excited her fans by dropping a live album, “MTV Unplugged No.
2.0,” which she’d performed for a small crowd the year prior.
The album debuted to mixed reviews, with many panning its unfinished sound butpraisingHill for flashes of brilliance.
Reviews aside, Hill worried listeners with some of her spoken messages heard on the album.
“I had created this public persona, this public illusion, and it held me hostage.
I couldn’t be a real person, because you’re too afraid of what your public will say.
At that point, I had to do some dying.”
“MTV Unplugged No.
Those closest to her have a different opinion, though.
“I don’t think she’s crazy.
People tend to say that when they don’t understand what someone’s going through.
She reunited with the Fugees
Lauryn Hill didn’t stay out of the public eye forever.
“Things probably didn’t end properly.
So this project has much to do with closure.
Once you are able to address the negative, you’re able to reclaim the good.”
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.
The Fugees broke up again and didn’t record an album as they had intended.
Both of Hill’s bandmates, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michael, blamed Hill for the second rift.
I’ve always been a teacher.
When I was a child, I was teaching adults, because I was always learning.
I’m Ms. Hill because I know I’m a wise woman.
That is the respect I deserve.”
“The Fugees was a conspiracy to control, to manipulate and to encourage dependence.
She also made her stance on making new music quite clear.
“If I make music now, it will only be to provide information to my own children.
If other people benefit from it, then so be it.”
The performances, however, weren’t received well by many and for good reason.
Audiences were not pleased and left the show early after booing the star.
However, at some point after 2008, Hill and Rohan ended their romantic relationship for good.
“I feel sad that I loved her so much and I faltered in expressing it to her somehow.
I was heartbroken for a long time,” he said to Open Magazine (viaSingersroom).
“I have five children.
And I think it’s just time.
I’m starting to get excited again,” Hill said toNPR.
Hill also performed at Coachella in 2011, delivering an unforgettable performance on the main stage.
“She’s an incredible performer.
There were sound problems, but it didn’t matter.
Her band was amazing,” one listener said to theLos Angeles Timesof Hill’s performance.
Another said, “I was so scared she was going to be preachy.
But she wasn’t at all.”
She went to prison for three months
Things went very south for Lauryn Hill in 2012.
I had an economic system imposed on me.”
Despite the tough circumstances, Hill adopted a positive mentality while serving time.
Her example is clearly a form of sustenance to a generation needing to find theirs.
What a gift,” Hill said in a statement published byRolling Stone.
Soon after the tour started, however, Hill postponed the remainder of her shows.
“As many of you may know, I’ve been battling serious vocal strain for the past month.
