Though her seminal solo album may have broken records for a female artist upon its release in 1998, Ms. Lauryn Hill soon proved to be one of the most talented and successful rappers of all time – full stop.
Born in New Jersey in 1975, Hill was brought up on her parents' eclectic mix of records, often playing Marvin Gaye's What's Going On until she fell asleep, but at high school became enamoured with hip-hop, studying the flow of rappers like Ice Cube and his peers. It was here she met Wyclef Jean and Prakazrel "Pras" Michel, together forming the group The Translators, which would later become Fugees. Though the possibility of an acting career threatened to overshadow the pursuit of music, the Fugees began to pick up traction throughout the 90s, releasing their debut Blunted on Reality in 1992 and the far more successful The Score in 1996. Winning Best Rap Album at the 1997 Grammy Awards, The Score featured the tracks 'Ready Or Not', 'Fu-Gee-La' and the breakout hit 'Killing Me Softly With His Song', which was a huge hit among fans across many genres.
At the height of their success, tension began to grow among the band due in no small part to the rocky relationship between Hill and Jean, and in 1997 the Fugees was put on ice while each artist focussed on their solo careers. In 1998, Hill kicked off hers with a bang, to say the least. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was released in the summer of 1998, pushing hip-hop into the mainstream limelight with a definitive thud with beloved tracks such as 'Ex-Factor', 'Doo Wop (Do That Thing)' and 'Can't Take My Eyes Off of You (I Love You Baby)'. Considered a neo-soul classic, Hill's sole solo album encompassed R&B, old skool hip-hop and reggae, and earned her five Grammys and became one of the best-selling albums of all time. As well as featuring on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, The Miseducation can also be found in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. Both Jean and Pras would go on to enjoy success as rappers and producers too, with both of them partnering up for the popular remix of Bee Gees classic on 'We Trying to Stay Alive'.
In the years that followed, Hill became something of an enigma as she focussed on her family life, only making occasional live performances or recordings, but recent years have seen a renaissance. In 2023 Hill reunited with Jean and Pras for a 25th anniversary tour of The Miseducation, and at Coachella 2024 she and Jean surprised fans by joining her son YG Marley's performance.
In June 2024 MLH, Pras and Wyclef Jean announced Manchester and London dates as part of the Ms. Lauryn Hill & The Fugees European tour in October 2024.
