Let’s face it – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the 1998 debut solo album that changed the landscape of hip hop and made the only female member of the Fugees a revered gem is by far a symbolic piece of work that is currently enjoying space at the Library of Congress.
So it is totally understandable that the New Jersey born actress and singer was in no hurry to produce anything that would counteract her uncanny accomplishment. This obviously hasn’t been an easy truth for fans to digest as the years have gone by without any indication that that there is more to come from the talented songwriter who has endured her share of personal upheavals – most notably a stint in jail for tax evasion.
But Lauryn Hill is a fighter, and her slow but sure journey back to the stage and studio began five years ago with musical appearances across the country and abroad that drew a slew of criticisms due to the fact that her shows never started on time but mostly because she sounded nothing like her former self.
But she weathered that storm like a pro and now the word on the street is that Hill is definitely ready to follow up her iconic album with another more concisely aware confection that according to her producer Phil Nicolo who is also the founder of Ruffhouse – the label that ushered in the Fugees – “is political, but also deeply personal”.
Nicolo spoke to Fader, as part of the pubs 100th issue anniversary celebration about the behind-the-scenes collaboration where he expressed Hill’s desire to release nothing short of what her fans expect of her. “It’s not that she feels like, ‘You can wait for me!” “She wants to be right. She wants to be perfect…I can say this: I know creating makes her very happy”.
So there we have it! There is still no confirmation regarding exactly when we can expect the next album to drop – but the mere fact that it is certifiably on the way – is basically enough to keep us happily contained.