I was listening to the radio the other day (if you know anything about me at all, you know that is indeed a rarity) and Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor” came blaring through the speakers. Suddenly, I was reminded of a sweeter time in music. I can’t believe it’s been 9 years since “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” took the world by storm. Anyway now I’m left thinking…”WTF Happened To Lauryn Hill?”
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With the current musical landscape flooded with pre-packaged hip-hop/pop collaborations, it’s hard to grasp how revolutionary Lauryn Hill’s music was. Let’s not forget she was originally part of The Refugees, one of the most critically-acclaimed hip-hop groups (Think the Black-Eyed Peas except they didn’t sell out and were far less annoying). She left that comfort zone and went on to produce, in my opinion, one of the greatest albums of all time.

She never set out to be radio-friendly or tried to mold herself to fit the fad of the moment. Instead of catering to radio, she made radio cater to her. Her songs had a message, but they weren’t preachy. She could sing circles around many of her counterparts but she never did more than what was needed for the song. She could out-rap any female who ever thought about touching a microphone, and not once did she talk about making her “coochie pop” or try to act “hard” like a man. Simply put… Lauryn was unapologetically Lauryn. Take her or leave her.

She went on to win 5 Grammy’s, sell 18 million records worldwide, and the proceeded to vanish quietly off the face of the earth. Some say she shunned the spotlight and wanted to raise her family. Others say she became a pothead and eventually went “cookoo”. Whatever the case may be, I miss her music. There was her half-hearted attempt at an Unplugged album and talks of a Fugees reunion but nothing seems to indicate a return to music anytime soon.
Although she has had a powerful influence on the music, it didn’t take long for things to go right back to the way they were before she came… 3 minute, 30 second rap-sung collaborations about “promiscuous girls” and their “humps”. Comeback Lauryn…We need you!