14 DAY TRIAL // Lauryn Hill is one of the most controversial and shrouded in mystery public figures there are. Having written music history in the ‘90s, one day, she just vanished from the scene, leaving nothing her fans could use to trace back to her, offering no explanation and certainly no excuse. These 10 years that she’s been away, Hill has given only a handful of interviews, has put only a few public appearances and has basically been living in hiding.
Which is precisely why this interview with NPR Music should come as wonderful news for her fans. After a decade of passing around rumors, asking questions and shooting arrows in the dark as to the reasons Hill left the music industry, the singer herself sets the record straight. It’s been a very troubled 10 years for her fans, but not for Lauryn, who remains just as passionate about music as she was back in her Fugees days. Moreover, she promises, she’s also working to make her music comeback, now that the youngest of her five children is 2 years old, which means more time to pursue a career.
“There were a number of different reasons,” Hill says of her disappearance from music. “But partly, the support system that I needed was not necessarily in place. There were things about myself, personal-growth things, that I had to go through in order to feel like it was worth it. In fact, as musicians and artists, it’s important we have an environment – and I guess when I say environment, I really mean the [music] industry, that really nurtures these gifts. Oftentimes, the machine can overlook the need to take care of the people who produce the sounds that have a lot to do with the health and well-being of society, or at least some aspect of society. And it’s important that people be given the time that they need to go through, to grow, so that the consciousness level of the general public is properly affected. Oftentimes, I think people are forced to make decisions prematurely. And then that sound radiates,” the singer adds.
Taking time off from the industry has had its benefits, though, one of them being that it has allowed Hill to find herself as a person and grow as an artist. It has also left her with plenty of time to start a family – with 5 children nonetheless –, so this should put all those rumors about her having a breakdown and being forced to retire to salvage whatever was left of her career to rest. Not that Hill ever placed too much importance on what the world thought of her, though she does admit that she’s just as excited about returning to making music again as her fans must be.
“I’m trying to open up my range and really sing more. With The Fugees initially, and even with Miseducation, it was very hip-hop – always a singing over beats. I don’t think people have really heard me sing out. So if I do record again, perhaps it will have an expanded context. Where people can hear a bit more. […] I don't know if you know this, but I have five children. The youngest is 2 now, so she’s old enough that I can leave her for a period of time and know she’s going to be OK. I’m starting to get excited again. Believe it or not, I think what people are attracted to about me, if anything, is my passion. People got exposed to my passion through music and song first,” Hill explains.