Who doesn’t love the lyrical dexterity she displayed on songs like “Lost Ones,” the heart-wrenching honesty she gave on “Ex-Factor,” and the gorgeous melodies she sang on “The Sweetest Thing.”
We’re talking about Lauryn Hill, of course, and some of her much-celebrated work.
And now it’s been reported that she’ll release a new song, the first one she’s dropped since 2014’s “Black Rage (Sketch).”
The new cut will be on the “Queen & Slim” soundtrack, a film dubbed as a “black Bonnie and Clyde.” And it’s written by Lena Waithe, directed by Melina Matsoukas and stars Daniel Kaluuya, as well as Jodie Turner-Smith.
“I wanted the soundtrack for ‘Queen & Slim’ to showcase the historical evolution of black music, from its roots in blues and soul to modern bounce, hip-hop, and R&B, much like we used to see in film soundtracks in the 1990s,” Matsoukas explained. “We partnered with Motown because of their legacy within black music.”
Hill recently appeared on a song with Pusha T titled “Coming Home,” about mass incarceration, but the new cut will be her first solo release in five years.
Hill’s name first started making noise as the standout member of the Fugees, the ’90s group that also included Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel.
The group barely made noise with their debut album “Blunted on Reality,” released in 1994. But once they released the remix to their song “Vocab,” produced by Salaam Remi, their star power rose to new heights.
But that much-needed jolt in the Fugees’ career would be nothing compared to the massive success they had with their sophomore release “The Score,” which would only further establish Hill as the group’s standout.
And “The Score” also ended up being the perfect launching pad for Hill’s 1998 release “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” which won five Grammy Awards, including album of the year, and is still considered a masterpiece to this very day.
In 2002 the album “MTV Unplugged No. 2.0” was released, a collection of acoustic guitar songs from Hill, and since then she’s stayed active by touring.
The “Queen & Slim” soundtrack, which also features artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Baby and Vince Staples, will be released by Motown on Nov. 15 — while the film itself will be out on Nov. 27.
