Lauryn Hill Breaks Silence On Her 11-Year Absence

Celebrated for her work with the Fugees and her classic solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the Grammy-winning hip-hop/R&B artist has barely been seen since 1999. Ms. Hill, now 35, finally explained her mysterious absence to National Public Radio’s Zoe Chace, who scored a interview with the artist following a rare performance in Santa Rosa, California.

Why did she stop recording?

There were a number of different reasons. 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.

The former Fugees-member also took aim at the music industry, suggesting it didn’t nurture its artists with enough care or patience:

Oftentimes, 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.