Hill now calls herself "a hip-hop folk singer," for the most part abandoning the neo-soul stylings of "Miseducation." She does evoke the melodic fervor of reggae avatar Bob Marley, the father-in-law she never knew but whose sense of social justice informs "So Much Things to Say," the spiritual "Just Like Water," "The Conquering Lion" and "I Find It Hard to Say (Rebel)."Īnd Hill bursts into fierce poetry-slam rhymes on the anthem of personal emancipation, "Freedom Time," and the agitated, vindictive "Mystery of Iniquity." With references to being "blackmailed by the henchmen" and "legal extortion blown out of proportion," "Iniquity" seems to address Hill's protracted legal battles with musicians and producers who claimed collaborative credits on "Miseducation" (the litigation was settled two years ago for an undisclosed sum). "I Gotta Find Peace of Mind," a cathartic nine-minute-long plea for spiritual calm, ends with Hill breaking down in tears. At times Hill's compellingly emotional performance overcomes both the material and the fatigue evident in her raspy voice. As explanation, she offers: "I used to be a performer and I really don't consider myself a performer anymore." But she is, of course.
Hill forgets lyrics, flubs chord changes, misses notes. The songs simply go on too long, with many clocking in between six and nine minutes, sounding like rough sketches or unfinished demos. "Fantasy is what people want but reality is what people need, and I just retired from the fantasy part."įrom the craft part, as well. "I know a lot of the content in the songs is very heavy," she tells the crowd. a victim," Hill complains a lot, and at times hectors. "This is the first time you're meeting me," Hill warned, adding that "every single one of these songs is about me first."Īs Hill rambles on - one "interlude" lasts more than 12 minutes - one can't help but think of those classic diva breakdown scenes in the films "Nashville," "Coal Miner's Daughter" and "The Rose." Calling herself "a politician. Hill showed up solo, with just an acoustic guitar, a handful of stripped-down songs-in-progress and a redefined persona. Listening to Hill's sprawling response - two CDs, 13 new songs and nine spoken "interludes" that take up a quarter of the 105-minute running time - you may wonder: What was she thinking? And that's the answer: This is what Hill was thinking, an unedited avalanche of thoughts and emotions, "life lessons" learned along her turbulent journey, shared with a small crowd gathered in a television studio last July.
MS LAURYN HILL UNPLUGGED PROFESSIONAL
She virtually disappeared after her triumphant 1999 tour and underwent a series of personal and professional transformations.
The perils of sudden acclaim and success apparently got inside Hill's head and did a number. That album sold 12 million copies worldwide and set a female-artist record with five Grammys, including Album of the Year.
MS LAURYN HILL UNPLUGGED HOW TO
The title is "MTV Unplugged 2.0," but a more accurate one would have been "The Miscalculation of Lauryn Hill." As in: This is not how to follow up "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," the stunning 1998 solo debut whose bracing meld of neo-soul fervor and hip-hop attitude elevated the Fugees singer and rapper to superstar status.
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