Lauryn Hill finally lifted her moratorium on interviews by granting one to NPR. Why? Who the hell knows? Maybe the Force compelled her to do so. Regardless, I’m happy to hear that she’s well and great. The interview with Zoe Chace went down after a performance at the Santa Rosa Harmony Festival. She spoke mostly about her hiatus and musicmaking.
Her reason for ditching the recording game is interesting:
“There were a number of different reasons. 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. In fact, as musicians and artists, it’s important we have an environment — and I guess when I say environment, I really mean the [music] industry, that really nurtures these gifts. Oftentimes, the machine can overlook the need to take care of the people who produce the sounds that have a lot to do with the health and well-being of society, or at least some aspect of society. And it’s important that people be given the time that they need to go through, to grow, so that the consciousness level of the general public is properly affected. Oftentimes, I think people are forced to make decisions prematurely. And then that sound radiates.”
I’m slightly appalled at some of the comments on the NPR article. Here we have an immensely gifted mother of 5 trying to find her way back into the game inspite of some personal struggles and all people want to know is if she’s on coke. One commenter even threw a fit because Lauryn called for a change in the music industry. Another called her a mediocre rapper. Yeah, I get it, this is the Internet where positive comments are punishable by law, but I’m still appalled. The nerve of these fuckers. Hopefully Ms. Hill will get back into action and remind us of why we fell in love with her in the first place. A brother can dream, right?
- The Many Voices Of Lauryn Hill [NPR]
Lauryn Hill Performs “Doo Wop (That Thing) at Harmony Festival
