Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being a pioneer in the Neo soul genre, Hill is widely credited for breaking barriers for female rappers, popularizing melodic rapping and for bringing hip hop to popular music. She is known for being a member of Fugees, and for her solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which won many awards and broke several sales records. Hill has influenced many artists of various genres.
Raised mostly in South Orange, New Jersey, Hill began singing with her music-oriented family during her childhood. She appeared in the 1993 film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit alongside Whoopi Goldberg. In high school, Hill was approached by Pras Michel for a band he started, which his cousin Wyclef Jean soon joined. They renamed themselves the Fugees and released the albums Blunted on Reality (1994), and the Grammy Award–winning The Score (1996), which sold six million copies in the U.S. Hill rose to prominence for her African-American and Caribbean music influences on her rapping and singing as well as her performance on the Fugees version of "Killing Me Softly". Soon after Hill began to focus on solo projects, writing and producing "A Rose Is Still a Rose" by Aretha Franklin, then featuring on the Grammy Award-nominated songs "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" by Nas and Guantanamera by Wyclef Jean. Soon after her tumultuous romantic relationship with Jean led to the split of the band in 1997, after which she began work on her solo album.
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being a pioneer in the Neo soul genre, Hill is widely credited for breaking barriers for female rappers, popularizing melodic rapping and for bringing hip hop to popular music. She is known for being a member of Fugees, and for her solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which won many awards and broke several sales records. Hill has influenced many artists of various genres.
Raised mostly in South Orange, New Jersey, Hill began singing with her music-oriented family during her childhood. She appeared in the 1993 film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit alongside Whoopi Goldberg. In high school, Hill was approached by Pras Michel for a band he started, which his cousin Wyclef Jean soon joined. They renamed themselves the Fugees and released the albums Blunted on Reality (1994), and the Grammy Award–winning The Score (1996), which sold six million copies in the U.S. Hill rose to prominence for her African-American and Caribbean music influences on her rapping and singing as well as her performance on the Fugees version of "Killing Me Softly". Soon after Hill began to focus on solo projects, writing and producing "A Rose Is Still a Rose" by Aretha Franklin, then featuring on the Grammy Award-nominated songs "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" by Nas and Guantanamera by Wyclef Jean. Soon after her tumultuous romantic relationship with Jean led to the split of the band in 1997, after which she began work on her solo album.