Born May 26 1975 in Newark New Jersey, Hill would go on to change the face of hip hop with her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

Growing up Hill had an abundance of musical influences coming from her father who would sing at local nightclubs and weddings, and her mother who would often play the piano. ¨There were so many records, so much music constantly being played¨ stated Hill. Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield and Aretha Franklin are only some musicians she would repeatedly listen to.

Her career began as a teen actress in 1991 on set of As the World Turns followed by King of the Hill film and a performance in Sister Act 2, which quickly gained popularity.  She followed that by starting the music band the Fugees with Pras and Wyclef Jean. In 1996, their second album The Score charted at the billboards top 200 gaining Hill her first grammy for best rap album. The first single “Killing Me Softly,¨ a cover of the Roberta Flack original, quickly climbed to the top and became the best selling single of 1996.

Her debut solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill got her on the charts, making Hill the first artist to debut on No. 1. Released from her album, “Ex Factor,” “Nothing Even Matters,” and her number one as Doo Wop(that thing) which was nominated as the song of the century.  The album also was awarded a grammy for album of the year making Hill the first rapper to receive this award.

Hill has been paving the way for female rappers everywhere, and in 1999 ¨the Lauryn Hill effect¨ was pioneered as the a rise of female rappers started to increase following Hills breakthrough success, in an interview with Nicki Manji the question ¨who inspires you the most¨ was asked Manji responded with ¨Lauryn Hill¨ following that Manji stated that ¨The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill¨ is her top album.