According to Stereogum, after years of rumors and speculation, singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill has made a statement on her reasoning behind only ever having released one album. 

Hill broke out of the music scene with massive initial success as a part of the hip-hop group Fugees with the band’s debut album, The Score, in 1996. Two years later, Hill released her own solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which became an instant success, topping the charts and selling 3 million copies within the first few months of its release. The album was also the first by a woman to debut at #1 with their first Hot 100 and Billboard 200 entries, and became the first rap album to win Album Of The Year at the Grammys. However, despite its immense commercial and critical success, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill has remained Hill’s only solo studio album, besides a live album she released in 2002, MTV Unplugged No.20. 

The absence of any further full-length bodies of work from such a successful artist resulted in a myriad of speculations and rumors over the years from fans and the public trying to make sense of the situation. This speculation recently elicited a response by Hill on the subject, after an Instagram post by FRAIM claimed the reasoning behind her departure. 

“Through interviews, lawsuits, collaborators, and people close to her career, a clearer picture slowly emerged: overwhelming industry pressure, battles over creative control, emotional exhaustion from fame, spiritual transformation, and a growing desire to protect her freedom and personal life,” the post said. 

Hill responded in direct disagreement, citing instead the drain that the industry took on her for being “inspired and desir[ing] to be principled,” as well as the struggle in finding space to continue to create with integrity. The artist also mentioned the degradation of art that can come as a result of monetary success and a grab for money, calling for the situation to be met with more nuance. 

“Artists go through phases, creativity requires expression, exploration and experimentation,” she said. “…I was like a Harriet Tubman figure in some respects running to speak difficult truths to power before certain forces tried to close those doors. If it was so easy to do, where is that expression now on the world stage? Systems fear what they can’t control. Creativity is more potent when it’s free. If I did nothing else, I introduced standards and possibilities to a generation that didn’t know they could operate on that level before then.”

Photo Credit: Brandy Hornback