Singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill is celebrating her release from prison with a new single. The former Fugees artist served a three-month sentence for tax evasion and now she’s back with a new record, “Consumerism.”
According to theguardian.com:
“Hill will be released from prison today, and the issue of her new single – Consumerism – has been timed to coincide with her emancipation.
“The new song, which appeared online today, sounds like a spewing of pent-up thoughts and frustration – a super-speed rap listing societal problems such as ‘corporate greed in Jesus’ name,’ ‘corporate cannibalism,’ ‘compromised commercialism’ and ‘neo-McCarthyism,’ taking a sidestep from the R&B melodies that resounded on her landmark album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.”
Hill says that song was recorded before she was sent to jail and it reflects the space that she was in at the time. That she seems angry on the record seems fitting, since there was some controversy around her incarceration as others in similar situations have been able to avoid jail time.
As reported by rollingstone.com:
“Hill’s release follows a controversial three-month sentence for failing to file tax returns on over $2 million in income over a two-year period beginning in 2005. Leading up to her incareration, she cited historical racism as one of the bigger reasons of her tax woes. On a brighter note, she recently inked a deal with Sony and a new record is reportedly in the works. ”
Hill also explained her inspiration for “Consumerism.” In a statement accompanying the new single she says:
“Consumerism is part of some material I was trying to finish before I had to come in. We did our best to eek out a mix via verbal and emailed direction, thanks to the crew of surrogate ears on the other side. Letters From Exile is material written from a certain space, in a certain place. I felt the need to discuss the underlying sociopolitical, cultural paradigm as I saw it. I haven’t been able to watch the news too much recently, so I’m not hip on everything going on. But inspiration of this sort is a kind of news in and of itself, and often times contains an urgency that precedes what happens. I couldn’t imagine it not being relevant. Messages like these, I imagine, find their audience or their audience finds them, like water seeking its level.”
Before her career took an unfortunate downturn, Hill was set to be one of the greatest female artists of all time. Now let’s see if she can recapture some of that magic on her upcoming record.
Check out the “Consumerism” single below.
