When Ms. Lauryn Hill dropped her debut solo LP, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, she became a global superstar. The album sold 422,624 copies in its first week, reached 8x-Platinum status, and won the rapper/singer five Grammy Awards including Album of the Year.
Even though the project is considered a Hip Hop masterpiece, Hill never dropped another studio album. Twenty-three years later, fans of the Fugees member still question why she decided not to release an official follow-up.
Hill gave a very rare e-mail interview for Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums podcast to give her thoughts about the classic The Miseducation. The episode is available exclusively on the Amazon Music app.
“The wild thing is no one from my label has ever called me and asked how can we help you make another album, EVER…EVER. Did I say ever? Ever!” stated Hill. “With the Miseducation, there was no precedent. I was, for the most part, free to explore, experiment, and express.”
She continued, “After the Miseducation, there were scores of tentacled obstructionists, politics, repressing agendas, unrealistic expectations, and saboteurs EVERYWHERE. People had included me in their own narratives of THEIR successes as it pertained to my album, and if this contradicted my experience, I was considered an enemy.”
In 2002, Lauryn Hill presented MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. The live album, recorded in 2001 at MTV Studios in Times Square, was met with mixed reviews. That project has since been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.