009: "I Don't Need To Turn Myself Into A Parody, I Don't Do The Shit You Do For Popularity..."
Never one to bite her tongue, Miss Lauryn Hill stresses the importance of delivering your message without compromise
Lauryn Hill embodies the spirit of an artist throughout every inch and fibre of her being. Of all the lists of superlatives one could use to describe her stratospheric talents, the one that I would like to go for today is… Cryptic. Lauryn Hill has a poetic ability to say so much with so little and make her words open to interpretation. The result? An endless amount of delicacy in her work. She values her craft more than most, if not any other musician in living memory. I really do “wish her heart still was in rhyming”.
The general story concerning Lauryn Hill is fairly well known and documented. When looking at it from a high level summary, she took the 90s by storm as a standout member of The Fugees, before translating her beaming star power into solo success with “The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill”. She had the perfect platform to propel herself into a supernova-like level of fame that is reserved only but for a few generational talents, to which she most certainly met the criteria for. But she decided that this ain’t it.
The finer details of her reasoning have been up for debate ever since. She’s not exactly remained silent about it, but hasn’t been explicit in describing her choices either (not that she has to, of course). But as fans, people wanted confirmation of what’s going on. Cameo appearances, collaborations and signing off on sample clearances wettened appetites even more, but the main course never arrived. It goes back to the word… Cryptic. Over the years, she has given us the gist of it, and left little parts open for us to break down - perhaps by design? Keep up with Ms. Lauryn Hill if you can.
Despite this, Lauryn Hill’s catalogue is one that stands shoulder to shoulder with any musician you can name. In fact, pound for pound, you’d probably struggle to find an artist who can joust with her impact, quality and legacy. Numbers don’t lie and she certainly has that on her side too.
The fact is, she has one official solo album to her name which she released over 23 years ago, but it remains in the aristocracy of hip-hop and R&B. It is high culture and fine art that has transcended the genre and is still universally acclaimed to this day. Yet, Lauryn still remains unfazed by it all.
This year, Lauryn Hill made one of those rare cameos that we mentioned earlier by jumping on Nas’ track “Nobody” from his fantastic album “King’s Disease II”. A song that was worth it’s weight in gold from the title and track-listing alone, which definitely delivered. In true Lauryn Hill fashion, she gave us a lot to break down and interpret. Have a look for yourselves and marvel at the brilliance:
“All my time has been focused on my freedom now,
Why would I join 'em when I know that I can beat 'em now?
They put their words on me and they can eat 'em now,
That's probably why they keep on telling me I'm needed now,
They tried to box me out while taking what they want from me,
I spent too many years living too uncomfortably,
Making room for people who didn't like the labour,
Or wanted the spoils - greed selfish behaviour,
Now let me give it to you balanced and with clarity,
I don't need to turn myself into a parody,
I don't - I don't do the shit you do for popularity,
They clearly didn't understand when I said "I Get Out" apparently,
My awareness like Keanu in The Matrix,
I'm saving souls and y'all complaining ‘bout my lateness,
Now it's illegal for someone to walk in greatness,
They want the same sh - but they don't take risks,
Now the world will get to see its own reflection,
And the anointed can pursue their own direction,
And if you're wrong and you're too proud to hear correction,
Walk into the hole you dug yourself - fuck a projection,
See me in my freedom taking all my land back,
They sent a lot against me thinking I'd just stand back,
I got my legs beneath me - I got my hands back,
A lot of people sabotaged - they couldn't stand that,
I turned the other cheek - I took blow after blow,
There's so much crisis in the world 'cause you reap what you sow,
When you keep what you know is meant for someone else,
The ditch you dig for them you might just end up in yourself,
I'm in the secret place - I keep a sacred space,
They keep showing their hands but keep hiding their face,
If I'm a messenger - you block me then you block the message,
So aggressive - the world you made is what you're left with,
Pride and ego over love and truth is fucking reckless,
Y'all ****** got a death wish, the stupid leaves me breathless…”
In complete juxtaposition to their iconic “If I Ruled The World” collaboration from Nas’ sophomore album “It Was Written”, the pair go from visualising a life of royalty to one of tranquil bliss and obscurity. What’s most interesting though is to see them express the same thoughts, conclusions and feelings in their own way despite taking the opposite paths (i.e. staying active in the music industry and otherwise).
Perhaps Nas needed all this time to see where she was coming from. Perhaps Ms. Lauryn Hill was way ahead in her thinking back in the late 90s/early 2000s. Perhaps there’s more to it that meets the eye with regards to professional, behind the scenes disputes. But as you cool off from the verse, you begin to realise that, whatever it is, this is everything Lauryn Hill has stood for and been about - both back then and to this day - confided in these exquisite rhymes and flows once again. Lauryn Hill’s logic stems from being an incredibly strong woman who knows her value and worth. Industry shenanigans and other processes can never get in the way of the major contributor to her show, her life, her artistic expression. She is the sole gatekeeper to her creativity and music. That is her identity.
The current climate of music is one that pushes artists and creators to constantly push work out without second thought. Quantity is the aim over quality in the hope that one of these darts hit a good combo on the board (we can’t expect everybody to be like ‘07 Lil Wayne). Clearly, this is to keep up with content being created worldwide across multiple other platforms - we’re all aware of how social media rewards engagement and activity regardless of integrity . In fact, we’ve not seen anything yet, because that’s only just about to get started.
Being successful in entertainment was difficult enough without this new bidding war between established media and technology for every second of our attention. Is it possible to survive nowadays without putting out some form of material, be it related to your craft or not, just for the sake of running up algorithm scores? I would like to think so, but that requires a shift from consumers and producers/artists in unison. The continued popularity of the likes of Lauryn Hill’s suggests that at some point the playing field will level out. Then again, this was her main problem back then which still exists to this very day. The only difference is in the way it manifests itself on many more platforms.
Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.
WhosAria
A Word On The Song/Artist
Lauryn Hill is getting a lot of shouts for verse of the year with this. It’s worthy of this level the praise, and yet another point of evidence to this remarkable woman’s talents. I wanted to touch on a song more recently released and the minute I heard her feature, I knew it was worth a discussion. I love her work and am in awe at how she just seamlessly transitions from a life away from the limelight back into the booth whenever needed and comes with the goods. This verse is everything you want from her. It’s bold, it’s intellectually stimulating and gives listeners an incentive to piece parts of her life together.
It is a shame that such a talent is no longer regularly active, but it’s testament to how strong her album and work with The Fugees really was and still is. When you’re that damn good, ring rust is non-existent and you can call the shots with your creative direction. The labels hated that, but the purists love Lauryn endlessly for it. Her standing in hip-hop, R&B and music overall can never be questioned.