Lauryn's On A Hill

I didn't intend on writing about this whole Lauryn Hill malarkey. I had a brief discussion about it with a fellow music snob, and I'm pretty sure I made a few stupid and ignorant comments. Not because I hate Hill - I love her. I always have. But I got so annoyed with the fact that she hasn't been feeding me regularly - musically. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was an amazing album, and the realness depicted on MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 was humble. I can still play those songs and be in awe for many reasons, but for so very long I've wanted more material from her, so that I can have a weighty collection of her work.

My notion is that she chose a life with her kids and partner, chasing her idea of happiness rather than a life governed by "the industry" or steered by others' standards. That's great, but she left a whole load of listeners with silence, and a selfish part of me was like "nah man, come back and give me an album or two." Anyway, I found this interview that's bloody 13 years old:

This made me rethink a few things, meditate over my own creative integrity and journey. Her words really resonate with me. What she says about balancing her spirit and her intellectual mind (suppressing the brain)...RAH. I'm gonna get really personal now and admit that sometimes I get overwhelmed and wonder what on earth I'm doing. I make music because there's this need to expel energy with this medium, but my brain likes to absorb environmental influences, and ultimately get all confused and panicky. In this hectic world of excessive information "just being quiet" really is the way forward.

Enough about my woes, back to Lauryn -----> her current legal situation isn't rosy and I doubt she's ecstatic about it. However, what's come from it, her new song, is something special, fresh, genuine, raw etc. The production, lyrics, structure and vocal delivery embellish her artistic niche. She's niche. All niche!

Until the next post - xx