Lauryn Hill
by Whatdo on Jul.27, 2010, under Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill is an American R&B/hip hop singer-songwriter and rapper.
Born 25th May 1975 in South Orange, New Jersey, Hill learned to play guitar and piano at a young age and entered several talent contests in the local area. In 1994, she joined the hip hop group The Fugees along with the singer/rappers Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel.
After releasing their first album Blunted on Reality in 1994, which produced underground hits like Nappy Heads (Mona Lisa) and Vocab, the group shot to fame with their second studio album The Score. Released in February 1996, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold over eighteen million copies worldwide – making it one of the best-selling hip hop albums of all time. It produced the number one hit single Killing Me Softly, as well as the singles Ready of Not and Fu-Gee-La and earned the group two Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group (Killing Me Softly). Yet despite this success, the group decided to split up the following year to work on solo projects – making this their last studio album to date.
However, it was just the start of the story for Lauryn Hill. The singer released her debut solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in August 1998 to phenomenal critical and commercial success. It shot straight to number one on the Billboard 200, selling 422,624 copies in its first week of release and eighteen million records worldwide. It earned her a record ten Grammy Award nominations, winning five (including the coveted Album of the Year), and has since frequently appeared on several critic lists and public polls of the best albums of the decade. It produced three singles in total: Doo Wop (That Thing) (a US number one hit), Ex-Factor and Everything Is Everything.
Hill has since released one live album – 2002’s MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 – and appeared as a featured artist on songs with artists like Bob Marley, Mary J. Blige and John Legend. She has recently announced plans to record a second solo studio album over the next few years.
