Schumacher describes himself as part of Ms. Hill's dedicated fans. I call bullshit. Ms. Hill's dedicated fans accept her for who she is, they don't write hit pieces about how she is no longer a good artist because she isn't what they want her to be. Lauryn's greatness does not diminish because of lack of commercial output. A "dedicated" fan would never suggest something so disrespectful.
I have to respect the fact that Stefan Schumacher seems to be a fan of the Black Star album, which dropped the same year as Miseducation. He mentions it favorably in his piece. However, defending the honor of someone who has given as much to me and my community as Ms. Hill has trumps any of that for me. Who knows when I will do something Mr. Schumacher doesn't like or understand, and then I will be the one he is writing hit pieces about. Maybe I've already done that. Sigh.
D'Angelo and Sade have made us wait decades for music. Dr. Dre's Detox may never be released. I don't know the exact reasons why, nor do I care. Dr. Dre gave me N.W.A, The Chronic, and 2001. He owes me more? Nah. I feel like The Chronic was so good, I may need to give him some more bread, even with his Beats/Apple situation.
True fans celebrate what they have already received, they don't whine like spoiled children about not receiving things they were never owed in the first place. When (and if) an artist shares their art, it is a privilege not a right. Try to remove your personal feelings from that equation.
I saw Lauryn Hill perform a full set at Brooklyn Bowl this summer. It was intimate, and the house was packed with dedicated fans. These fans weren't yelling out song titles or getting upset because Lauryn was performing newer renditions of classic records. We came to see what Ms. Hill came to express, nothing more, nothing less.
She started her set with Bob Marley classics, which got the Brooklyn crowd going quick. Once she had us in her grasps, she did soul/doo-wop drenched versions of songs from Miseducation. They were well thought out, upbeat and reminiscent of the music that Lauryn, who was born in 1975 like me, grew up on. It occurred to me in this moment that these were the live versions of the Miseducation songs she had been working on for the last few years.
Lauryn had transcended her L-Boogie phase a long time ago: she was now intent on presenting the entire canon of Black music on stage. It's never been just about her or her music. When she did bless the crowd with some songs from the Fugees album The Score, not only did she perform her verses, but she performed the songs that the Fugees sampled to create their songs. It was a musical history lesson, and it was a brilliant performance. Maybe if we watch what Lauryn is actually doing instead of complaining about what she is not doing, we can continue to be inspired by her.
In 2005, Lauryn Hill told USA Today, "If I make music now, it will only be to provide information for my own children. If other people benefit from it, so be it." If anyone deserves to be able to say something like this, it is the legendary Ms. Hill.