Critics, who were first privy to Lauryn Hill and her mellifluous, sometimes gritty alto on the Fugees' 1993 debut, "Blunted on Reality," suggested she break free of the constraints of the group and go solo. The critics obviously missed the point. Undaunted, Lauryn Hill stuck to her principles, which included fierce loyalty to the group, and went on to co-write, co-produce and serve as featured performer on the Fugees' sophomore offering, "The Score." The rest, so the adage goes, is history. The album went on to rack up sales of more than 17 million units, making the Fugees the biggest-selling rap group of all time.

With fellow cohorts, Prakazrel "Pras" Michel and Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill also garnered two 1996 Grammy awards: Best Rap Album for The Score and Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for Lauryn's poignant cover of the Roberta Flack classic "Killing Me Softly." That single became the hip-hop anthem of 1996 and firmly insuring the Fugees' success in the upper echelons of pop music's colorful history.

The young woman – who Public Enemy's Chuck D admiringly describes as "sunlight" and a "Bob Marley (of the) 21st Century," has documented her glorious, multi-faceted life on record. This auteur steps fearlessly into the musical arena, dealing with subjects that are close to her heart. At times, her humor is wry and candid and her pain and anger startling, but she is never bitter. She has been galvanized by her life experiences.

"I'm close to all of them," she says, almost maternally, about her songs. "Every time I got hurt, every time I was disappointed, every time I learned, I just wrote a song," she explains.

Her skills as a prolific songwriter have led to her writing songs for various artists. She wrote and produced "On That Day" for gospel artist CeCe Winans, and, in addition to writing the smash hit title cut for Aretha Franklin's album, "A Rose is Still a Rose," Lauryn Hill also directed the song's accompanying video. She has proven herself to be a versatile performer and producer.

Her immense talent transcends gender-specific constraints. "Men like it when you sing to them. But step out and try and control things and there are doubts. This is a very sexist industry," she opines. "They'll never throw the genius title to a sister. They'll just call her 'diva' and think it's a compliment. It's like our flair and vanity are put before our musical and intellectual contributions."

Having spent her much of her formative years in the nation's spotlight, first as an actress (she appeared in a recurring role in "As the World Turns" and was featured in "Sister Act II: Back In the Habit") and now as a multi-platinum artist who still finds time for charitable causes (she is the founder of non-profit organization, The Refugee Camp Youth Project, whose manifesto is based on giving back to the community and improving the quality of life for inner-city children), Lauryn Hill has very much come into her own. As Lauryn Hill, the hip-hop groundbreaking genius, puts it, "I want my music to touch real people. I'm still trying to figure myself out, like most people.... because I'm still living and learning..."

Lauryn Hill's first solo effort, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" (1998), established her as a major talent in her own right. The album sold more than 12 million copies and earned Hill five Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, a Billboard Award, a Soul Train Award and an MTV Music Award.

Notable songs include --

Years active: 
   ..90s, ..00s

Born:
   May 26, 1975
      ..in New Jersey
         ..in South Orange
         ..in Newark area