I remember the summer of my sophomore of High School. I went to the movies with my bestfriend and a few of our mentors to see the movie Sister Act. What intrigued me about the movie wasnt just whoppi’s wit, but a young actress whose voice moved me. Her name was Lauryn Hill. In my senior year her group and Her, named the fugees, would release The Score. It was a hiphop album I could get with. It wasnt filled with the thug life motif that was characteristic of the rap albums of the later half of the 90′s, rather it was a mix of MCing, a combination of soul, urban and caribbean utterances. It was fun, it was hypotizing, it was my kind of album.
In the summer of my sophomore year of College, Lauryn would release her solo debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. I remember going to the Baltimore Harbor record store and reserving my copy. I was the envy of my summer job office when I walked back in after lunch with my copy of the CD. I listened to it for the rest of the day instead of answering phones like I was being paid to. That college Junior year, posters of Lauryn peppered my wall. That next summer, a group of friends of mine would go and see her perform in Virginia. It was a concert I would never forget.
What I loved about Lauryn then, is what I still love about Lauryn now. Her voice heals me. It inspires me. It makes me fall in love with music and lyrics. Her words touch me. They are true, vulnerable, and challenging at the same time. Although she has been missing in action, I like others await for her return. When I read the latest NPR article about her impact and return along with rare, new audio interviews with her, I got excited again. Not merely for the resurrection of an artist, but a satisfied hope that hearing her again will make me love listening to music again. That it will make me preorder CD’s again. More importantly it will make me remember where I was 10-15 years from now when a certain album, a certain star touched my life through music.
Audio: Lauryn Hill on Being a Rapper and A singer
Audio: Lauryn Hill on Creative Experience
Audio: Lauryn Hill on Bob Marley
Audio Documentary from All things Considered: The Many Voices of Lauryn Hill