Lauryn Hill Explains 11-Year Absence From Music, “There Were A Number Of Different Reasons”

Grammy-winning singer Lauryn Hill has stepped forward to explain her 11-year absence from the music spotlight.

Hill claims there were various causes to why she disappeared from music.

“There were a number of different reasons (why I left),” she says in the interview. “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.” (USA Today)

She also believes each artist must be given a certain amount of time to evolve.

“Oftentimes,” Hill says, “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 … 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.” (MSNBC)

Last year, Wyclef Jean publicly asked Hill to consider doing a Fugees reunion.

“Let me play you a classic record,” Clef told his crowd of fans at a December 2009 concert. “This group still sold 22 million copies and the reason I’ll never go broke, I’m still living on they publishing check. See. So right here, Wyclef passing number one — and if Lauryn Hill is listening, get the group back together too!” (YouTube)

The singer’s biggest album to date is her 1998 solo debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

The momentum finally culminated at the February 1999 Grammy awards, during which Hill took home five trophies from her 11 nominations, including Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album; the most ever for a woman. In an interesting twist, Hill’s album proved to be such a commercial and critical success that it shed doubt on the Fugees’ future. Their in-fighting became common knowledge, and matters were complicated when many fans interpreted Miseducation‘s various anti-stardom rants as a public dissing of co-Fugee Wyclef Jean. (All Music)

Check out some past Lauryn Hill footage down below: