Lauryn Noelle Hill was born on May 26, 1975 in East Orange, New Jersey. Her family eventually relocated to South Orange after moving around the area for a bit. She was raised Baptist and grew up in a racially integrated area, where she made friends with black and Jewish children, including future actor Zach Braff who was from the same neighborhood.
Hill’s family was very music-oriented. She has stated that there was almost always music being played in her home when she was younger. Her mother played piano, and her father was a singer. In her youth, Hill developed an appreciation for artists like Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Curtis Mayfield, and Marvin Gaye, whom she would frequently listen to.
That Girl Can Sing
When Hill was in middle school, she sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” before a basketball game. Due to its popularity, the school began to play her recorded rendition of the song before each game. At age 13, Hill appeared on Amateur Night of It’s Showtime at the Apollo, performing her own style of Smokey Robinson’s “Who’s Lovin’ You?”
At Columbia High School in Maplewood, Hill was a member of the track team and cheerleading squad, and even founded the school’s gospel choir. During her freshman year, Hill joined a musical group with Wyclef Jean and future Grammy-winning rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel. At first, Hill only sang, but using rappers like Ice Cube as her inspiration, she developed her own similar flow. Hill also took acting lessons in Manhattan while growing up, appearing on television and film several times; including productions like As the World Turns and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.
In the early 1990s, Hill, Michel, and Jean changed their group name to the Fugees, deriving from the term refugees. Throughout the mid-1990s, the Fugees found great success from the multiple albums they released. The group split in 1997 to focus on their solo careers, and in 1998, Hill released her debut solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which received rave reviews from fans and critics.
Throughout the rest of the 1990s and 2000s, Hill exhibited her talented musical abilities, recording her own original tracks. Today, Hill’s career is still booming, and her countless fans continue to adore her wonderful abilities and catchy songs.
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