Soul Fixin'

Lost Ones
August 28 marks the ten year anniversary of the release of Lauryn Hill's masterpiece debut solo album. It's hard to fathom that ten years have passed since the release of The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, a rare fusion of soul, hip hop, and reggae that chronicled Lauryn's life and the lessons learned. In the aftermath of its' release Lauryn Hill has become a musical icon. In 2002, Lauryn took us on a spiritual journey via the oft-forgotten acoustic set MTV Unplugged No. 2.0: Lauryn Hill. In the years that have followed, Lauryn's life has been marked by strange behavior and bizarre public appearances. She has left us wondering the hell is going on with Lauryn Hill? Has she lost her mind? While many have given up on the hopes of hearing another Lauryn Hill studio album, I'm still hopeful. In an upcoming issue of People magazine, those associated with Lauryn, including the father of her five children, Rohan Marley, speak out about the reclusive musical genius.

Lauryn and her five children are living with Lauryn's mother in New Jersey. Rohan Marley, Bob Marley's son, insists there is nothing wrong with Lauryn and says "she is loving the suburban life and being with her children, seeing them grow and instilling our teachings of righteousness to them. She does what regular people do, she cooks, shops, goes to restaurants, regular things....she became more in tune with the earth." Marley, who doesn't reside with Hill, claims the two are "spiritually together." Marley and Hill are parents to five children, sons Zion, 11; Joshua, 6; and John, 5; and daughters Selah, 9; and a still unnamed seven-month-old. According to Rohan Marley "we want a name that means Glory of the Ark; for now we call her baby Marley.” Former Fugees members Pras still doesn't understand why Lauryn insisted people address her as Miss. Hill', “when she said, ‘it’s Ms. Hill,’ I said Excuse me? She also told me she was gonna have people call her “Empress.” Wyclef alluded to the fact that something is wrong with Lauryn, "when you're so successful, if you don't have one person around you that can talk some sense into you, it's over." Music engineer Gordon Williams described Lauryn as highly intelligent and funny but believes Lauryn's success took a toll on her, "she didn’t have a minute in the day when there wasn’t something going on. She wanted to be a regular person. She tried to accommodate everybody all the time.” An unnamed source says that an association she began in the late 1990’s with a spiritual advisor “made everything go crazy. She said his preaching made her feel like everything she did in her career was bad.”

Lauryn Hill is still under contract with Columbia Records, Marley says "she is always composing songs. She writes music in the bathroom, on toilet paper, on walls. She writes it in the mirror if the mirror smokes up. She writes constantly. This woman does not sleep.” The article ends with Pras saying “Lauryn’s real love and joy besides her kids, is her music. It’s the best healing process for her. If she can come out of whatever she’s in and say ‘I’m back’, she’d be better than the rest of them right now. That girl has something that can move mountains.”