ROC4LIFE

Lauryn Hill is 37 today. Here are 11 things you should know about the genius they call L’Boogie.

1. Her middle name is Noelle.
She was born in South Orange Jersey as Lauryn Noelle Hill. She later picked up the nickname L’Boogie for her poetic skills.

2. Nas was supposed to appear on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Nas missed an opportunity to drop a verse on Hill’s masterpiece, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. “I was supposed to be on the The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album but I was caught up with whatever and I never made it to the sessions. That’s one of my greatest regrets with music,” Nas tells Complex. “I was getting the calls to come rap on the album and something was always happening at the time when I got the call. Lisa Ellis of Sony always used to tell me, ‘Man you fucked up, you’re supposed to be on that album.’”

3. He was with the same guy for 15 years.
Hill had a well-documented 15-year relationship with Rohan “Son-of-Bob” Marley. It’s not clear whether or not they were married in the legal sense, but they have five kids together. They broke up right around the time Hill became pregnant for another man.

4. Marley moved on.
After their relationship ended, Rohan moved on to Brazilian model Isabeli Fontana.

5. She often detailed personal frustrations in her music.
Example: “I Used to Love Him” was a breakup note to Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean.

9. Doo Wop came from a box.
In case you’re wondering why the title for her hit single “Doo Wop (That Thing)” seemed random, it came from a box labeled “doo wop” that just happened to be sitting around the house.

10. She’s ill with the pen.
Hill isn’t just good for rhyming and singing. She’s also written songs for other singers, including Aretha Franklin and the late great Whitney Houston.

6. She made Grammy History.
Hill notched 10 nods at the ’99 Grammys, becoming the first woman to get nominated 10 times in one year. She won five of them: Album of the Year, Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist. Hill also became the first woman to win five Grammys in one night.

7. Hill’s solo debut was a group effort.
Hill is credited with writing and producing The Miseducation in its entirety. It was actually a collective effort. Production came from a group she nicknamed New Ark. A then little known U of Penn junior named John Legend played piano on “Everything is Everything.”

8. It was born out of frustration.
Wyclef didn’t support Hill’s solo effort initially, so she decided to break off from the Fugees and go it alone (well, almost). When ‘Clef finally came around and offered production assistance, she turned it down.

11. New-Ark sued her for song credits.
In 1998, Hill’s collaborators, New Ark (Vada Nobles, Rasheem Pugh, Tejumold and Johari Newton), filed a lawsuit against her and her record label, stating that she “used their songs and production skills but failed to properly credit them for the work.” Despite the liner notes claiming that the album was “produced, written, arranged and performed by Lauryn Hill,” New Ark claimed it produced at least 90% of the album. The suit was settled out of court in 2001 for a reported $5 million.

See also
5 of Lauryn Hill’s Greatest Hits

The 10 Most Influential Women in Hip-Hop

(Photo: Cleveland.com)

— Rizoh