Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Noel Hill (born May 25, 1975 in South Orange, New Jersey) is a hip-hop / soul / world / folk artist, and record producer, initially establishing her reputation as the most visible and vocal member of the Fugees , then continued on to a solo career releasing The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill . After a four year hiatus, she released the controversial MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 ; a live recording of completely original material (except for "So Much Things to Say" and "The Conquering Lion"). She soon denounced her fame and began writing more spiritually and socially conscious songs Hill is noted as a humanitarian, and in 1996 she received an Essence Award for work which has included the 1996 founding of the Refugee Project, an outreach organization that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk youth, and for supporting well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, as well as for staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. In 1999's Grammy Awards, Hill was nominated eleven times and won Album of the Year (besting Madonna s critically acclaimed album Ray of Light), Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, setting a new record for a female performer. Hill has four children with retired (American) football player Rohan Marley, son of the late reggae music icon, Bob Marley : Zion David Marley, born 1997, Selah Louise Marley, born 1998, and second son Joshua, born 2002 A fourth child, John, was born in 2003 and the couple married soon after. Early life Lauryn Hill was born in South Orange, New Jersey. Hill was the second of two children born to high school English teacher Valerie Hill and computer programmer Mal Hill. As a child, Hill incessantly listened to her parents' Motown and 1960s soul records. Music was a central part of the Hill home. Mal Hill sang at weddings, Valerie played the piano and Lauryn's older brother Melaney played the saxophone guitar and drums. Hill graduated from Columbia High

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