Lauryn Hill Gives Rare Interview

Lauryn spoke with National Public Radio very recently. And here’s our highlights:

Lauryn on being both a singer and a rapper

“There used to be a singing voice and there used to be a rapping voice but now the singing voice has to become more like my speaking voice in order for the two to be able to coexist.”

On her creative experience

“When I create music, I think the feeling you get, I get first….when I first have a creative insight, not just the voice but the creativity, the production, the idea, the concept, the music involved, there is a high, there is an emotional experience for sure”. (:01-:26)

“I think I made music, especially back in the day, as consistently as I did because it made me feel so good. Some might even argue that it may be a creative addiction, but the healthy kind”. (:43-:54)

On Bob Marley

“I appreciate words, I appreciate language, I appreciate words, I appreciate putting words together in an artful way that’s something gives me quite a good feeling to be able to do that.”

“Bob Marley to me was one of the most clever lyrists, how he put things together , just like the way he put together songs”. (:24-:32

Why she stopped putting out music

“There were a number of different reasons,” she says. “But partly, the support system that I needed was not necessarily in place. There were things about myself, personal-growth things, that I had to go through in order to feel like it was worth it. Oftentimes, I think people are forced to make decisions prematurely. And then that sound radiates.”

“I’m trying to open up my range and really sing more,” she says. “With The Fugees initially, and even with Miseducation, it was very hip-hop — always a singing over beats. I don’t think people have really heard me sing out. So if I do record again, perhaps it will have an expanded context. Where people can hear a bit more.”

“I don’t know if you know this, but I have five children,” she says. “The youngest is 2 now, so she’s old enough that I can leave her for a period of time and know she’s going to be okay. That’s one reason [Hill is starting to perform again]. And I think it’s just time. I’m starting to get excited again. Believe it or not, I think what people are attracted to about me, if anything, is my passion. People got exposed to my passion through music and song first. I think people might realize, you know, ‘We love the way she sounds, we love the music, but I think we just love how fearless she is. How boundless she is, when it comes to what she wants to do.’ And I think that can be infectious.”

(VIA: Theybf.com)