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The Cult of Lauryn Hill: An Alternative View
By Tola Ositelu
My first introduction to
Lauryn Hill was way back in the mid-‘90s. In hindsight it was a rather late one. Most people were already familiar with her 1993 appearance in
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, which for some reason had escaped my attention up until then.
I remember first hearing Ms Hill’s name early 1996. I was half-way through my GCSE’s, a new girl had joined my class; a true R&B/Hip-Hop head fresh from Nigeria. I kept hearing her talk about this group called the Fujis (as I thought it was spelt then), which she explained was short for ‘Refugee.’ I asked my best friend at the time - Maggie, who was a bit of a Hip Hop connoisseur - if she had heard of them. Of course she was very familiar with the
Fugees debut
Blunted on Reality, the singles, at least.
It was also around that time I recall listening to Kiss FM 100 (when it actually cared about things like diversity and credibility) and hearing one DJ getting excited over the release of the follow album
The Score, name-checking ‘The Girl from
Sister Act who can really sing’. Assuming he was talking about the first film, I thought he referred to the timid little ginger nun; I was shocked to think she was making forays into urban music. Maggie soon corrected my mistake.
This time last year, Dot Rotten was already a highly accomplished MC and producer with a substantial reputation in the UK's underground music scene. Now, after an outstanding 2010, the South Londoner, signed to major label Mercury Records, heads this year's queue of underground rappers on the cusp of breaking through into the mainstream. Last month, he was one of 15 highly-touted artists on the longlist for the BBC's prestigious Sound of 2012 award - whether he makes the final five (which is being announced this week) or not, Rotten's status as the only UK rapper in contention speaks volumes about how highly he is regarded by tastemakers in the music industry.
