'''Lauryn Hill''' (born May 25, 1975 in South Orange, New Jersey), is an eight-time Grammy award winning musician, and record producer, initially establishing her reputation as the most visible and vocal member of The Fugees, then continuing on to a solo career, releasing ''
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' and the controversial ''
MTV Unplugged No. 2.0''.
Biography
Early career and The Fugees
Lauryn Hill attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. She was an active, vocal student, a cheerleader, and a performer at several talent shows and school functions. As a child, she performed "Who's Loving You" at Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater, in which she confidently finished her song, before an initially itchy audience, to a standing ovation. Hill began an acting career very early, and her roles included the TV show ''As the World Turns'' (as "Kira Johnson" in 1991), and the film ''Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.'' Hill performed a wedding song on an episode of the former, but it was ''Sister Act 2'' that showcased her vocal abilities.
The Refugee Camp (Fugees), or Tranzlator Crew, as they were once called, formed after Prakazrel "Pras" Michel approached Hill in high school about joining a music group he was creating. Soon after, she met Pras' cousin and fellow Haïtian immigrant, Wyclef Jean. At some point, Lauryn Hill was given the alias "''L Boogie''", as she began to convert her poetic writing into impressive rap verses. Though the Fugees had formed in 1988, Hill's membership was somewhat disrupted by her acting and her education at Columbia University.
The Fugees' first album, ''Blunted on Reality'', which featured the songs ''Nappy Heads'' and ''Vocab'', was much-hyped but fell short of expectations. This was followed by ''The Score'', a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning album that established all three Fugees as international rapstars. Singles from ''The Score'' include ''Ready or Not'', ''Fu-Gee-La'', and ''No Woman, No Cry''. The album's most well-known song, however, is a cover of Roberta Flack's ''Killing Me Softly'', which put the group in hip-hop and pop history. A versatile, urban flavor was also added to covers of Bob Marley and the Delfonics, to create songs that most consider to be hip-hop classics.
Hill's gifted voice was demonstrated in her renditions of ''Joyful, Joyful'' and ''His Eye is on the Sparrow'' (a duet with Tanya Blout) in Sister Act 2. But Her singing gained world-wide acclaim with the Fugees' remake of ''Killing Me Softly'', accompanied by a sample from A Tribe Called Quest's "Bonita Applebum". Since her emergence, Lauryn Hill has made her presence known as one of the few artists
