Image source: Grammy Awards
Image source: Grammy Awards
Lauryn Hill was born in New Jersey with a passion for music at a young age. It was in high school when she met Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean, who invited her to join their group Fugees in 1990. A while later, she began attending Columbia University but decided to leave when Fugees signed a record contract. They released their first album in 1994, titled Blunted by Reality. This release did not garner much attention for Fugees and so for their next album they varied their content by adding elements of reggae and old school R&B. This next album was titled The Score. Released in 1996, it immediately shot to the top of charts and introduced Lauryn Hill to the world. In 1998, Hill wrote and released her solo debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The reception of this album was insane, and with it Hill broke many records such as first woman to win five trophies in one night at the Grammy Awards.
Lauryn Hill mostly paved her own way in the music industry with unique styles that greatly influenced the future of Hip-Hop. Despite this, she herself was influenced by the reggae singer Bob Marley. After his death, Hill worked with his son to produce "Turn Your Lights Down Low," featuring an unfinished piece of his with Hill's singing. A big goal of this piece was to introduce the older music of Bob Marley to the younger generation (Lauryn Hill's audience).
Many artists have been inspired by Hill's music. Some of these include Nicki Minaj, SZA and Beyonce who took inspiration after The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Despite being in a different genre, artists like Adele and Amy Winehouse have even claimed inspiration from Lauryn Hill.
One of Hill's biggest impacts was how she inspired the next generation of women song writers. Hip-Hop was a male dominated field before her, and she paved the way for future women to explore and write in this category. Even outside of Hip-Hop, women were encouraged to pursue all music because of seeing a strong successful woman in the spotlight. Her music also redefined Hip-Hop, introducing the concept of mixing other genres into her pieces, notably reggae. When she hit it big, she consequently spread the genre of Hip-Hop across all of America and greatly contributed to how wide-spread it was able to become. Many black women say that her album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, helped them love themselves. This album also helped talk about issues of racism, faith, and inequality. It is clear that Lauryn Hill's impact on the world was massive and she reached so many people in all sorts of different ways.