Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill
Hill performing in 2019
Born	Lauryn Noelle Hill (1975-05-26) May 26, 1975 (age 49) East Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Other names	Ms. Lauryn Hill L. Boogie
Occupations	Rapper singer songwriter record producer actress
Years active	1988–present
Works	Discography
Partner	Rohan Marley (1996–2009)
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Origin	South Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop soul reggae[1] R&B[2]
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Labels	Columbia Island Ruffhouse
Member of	Fugees
Musical artist
Children	6, including Selah and YG
Website	mslaurynhill.com

Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is often credited for breaking barriers for female rappers, popularizing melodic rap, and pioneering neo soul for mainstream audiences. In addition to being named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR, Hill was listed as one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone. In 2015, she was named the greatest female rapper by Billboard. Her other accolades include eight Grammy Awards—the most for any female rapper.

Hill began her career as a teen actress. She landed supporting roles in the soap opera As the World Turns (1991), as well as the acclaimed Steven Soderbergh drama film King of the Hill (1993). Her performance as Rita in the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) was widely praised.^[3] Hill gained further prominence as the frontwoman of the hip hop trio Fugees, which she formed in 1990 with fellow musicians Wyclef Jean and Pras. Their second album, The Score (1996), peaked atop the Billboard 200, and led her to become the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. The album included the hit singles "Killing Me Softly", "Fu-Gee-La", and "Ready or Not". As a soloist, she made her debut guest appearance on Nas's 1996 single "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)". After the Fugees' disbandment, Hill wrote, produced, contributed vocals and directed the music video for Aretha Franklin's last major chart hit "A Rose Is Still a Rose", and also co-produced Whitney Houston's album My Love Is Your Love (1998).

Her debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998), was met with widespread critical acclaim. Its release made Hill the first female rapper to both debut atop the Billboard 200 and receive a diamond certification by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); it remains one of the best-selling albums of all time worldwide, and was ranked number one on Apple Music's 100 Best Albums list.^[4] Its lead single, "Doo Wop (That Thing)" debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, and was listed as a Song of the Century by the RIAA. It also included "Ex-Factor", "Nothing Even Matters" featuring D'Angelo, and "Lost Ones". At the 41st Grammy Awards, she broke numerous records and became the first rapper to win Album of the Year. In 1999, Hill became the first rapper to be featured on the cover of Time magazine. Furthermore, she released the Bob Marley duet "Turn Your Lights Down Low", and composed Mary J. Blige's single "All That I Can Say". Her work as a co-producer on Santana's album Supernatural (1999), earned her a second-consecutive Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

In 2002, she released the live album of newly recorded material MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, which was certified platinum by the RIAA. Ultimately, Hill dropped out of the public eye, only periodically releasing songs such as "So High (remix)" with John Legend, the Black Lives Matter protest song "Black Rage (Sketch)", and "Nobody" with Nas. In 2023, Hill co-wrote the single "Praise Jah in the Moonlight" for her son YG Marley. Her music has been frequently sampled and covered by other artists, while Hill herself has been inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, the Grammy Hall of Fame, and the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame. She received the President's Award from the NAACP for her humanitarian work.^[5]