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Music

Lauryn Hill Vs The World

Tax evasion isn't the first time she's tried to take on the system.
Ryan Bassil
London, GB

Last weekend, Lauryn Hill was sentenced for tax evasion. As a result, she’ll be spending the next three months locked up in jail, which is really going to suck because summer has just arrived.

But making a mess of her personal life isn’t new for Lauryn. Ever since she first appeared as a teenager on Showtime at the Apollo, she’s flirted with controversy. From the beginning, it’s been Lauryn Hill versus The World. Let’s take a look at some of her most famous challenges.

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Lauryn Hill Vs. The Taxman

The IRS is intent on reminding me how much of my life they’re going to take away if I refuse to pay the measly pittances that are left over after I’ve cashed my freelance invoices. They’re like a needy ex, incessantly messaging for an old sweater, except they're the men in suits and if I don't give them what they want, they’re going to take away my television and first edition Goblet of Fire.

I guess Lauryn opted to slip the envelopes under the fridge and pretend that they never existed, because she failed to pay taxes on over $1M's worth of earnings between 2005 and 2007. When she was first arrested, she responded to charges on Tumblr, claiming she paid taxes when she was working regularly but stopped when she wanted to protest against the "climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, racial prejudice, sexism and ageism" in mainstream society.

Shockingly, the "I didn't feel like it, guv" excuse didn't pan out. She tried to step it up a notch in court, even playing the slavery card. "I am a child of former slaves who had a system imposed on them. I had an economic system imposed on me." Boom! You can't argue with that, otherwise you're a racist. (Actually, you can argue with that because it's stupid and Lauryn was sentenced to three months in prison and three months of house arrest)

Who came out on top?
The taxman, because he always does.

Lauryn Hill Vs. The Catholic Church

Hill's Christianity has been a central theme in her work. The Miseducation Of… combines elements of Rastafarianism and Ethopian Orthodox with some lyrics taken directly from Corinthians. The record has been the focus of a number of academic papers on religion and culture called things like "No Church in the Wild: Hip Hop Theology and Mission" and "Believe Me, This Pimp Game is Very Religious: Toward a Religious History of Hip Hop." After the record's release, she spent a year hanging out with some kind of spiritual guru called Brother Anthony, a man she described as having an "understanding of the Bible like no one else I ever met in my life." Basically, she knows her shit when it comes to Jesus, so when she attacks the church, it's kind of a big deal.

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Back in 2003, Lauryn Hill was invited to perform at the Vatican and decided to use the performance as a means of addressing—and shunning—the high-profile cases of child sex abuse by priests in the US. Standing just yards from five of the most senior cardinals in the Roman Catholic faith, Hill asked:

“What have you got to say about the lives you have broken? What about the families who were expecting God and instead were cheated by the Devil? Who feels sorry for them—the men, women, and children damaged psychologically, emotionally, and mentally by the sexual perversions and abuse carried out by the people they believed in? Holy God is a witness to the corruption of your leadership, of the exploitation and abuses, which are the minimum that can be said for the clergy. There is no acceptable excuse to defend the church.”

Which is not only a baller move but a pretty a sensible question to ask, because members of one of the largest religions in the world were committing sins that, had they been committed by a B-list Welsh rockstar or a BBC employee, would be worthy of a public trial.

Who came out on top?
Lauryn Hill. When you’re arguing with child molesters, there can only be one winner.

Lauryn Hill Vs. The Public

After the release of her debut record, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn decided that she didn’t like being recognized in the grocery store. So what did she do? She stopped doing interviews, stopped watching television, and stopped listening to music. She also fired her management team and attended bible study class five days a week.

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Essentially, she was in a self-imposed exile, free from the insecurities of “being black, young, and gifted in this Western culture.” In some ways, her drop out of the public eye is understandable. I can imagine that it’s pretty annoying being blindsided by fans intent on ruining your life each time you step out to get a pint of milk. But at the same time, it's a shame to lose someone who wasn't just a good musician, but an interesting one. Before she went cray, Hill could talk lucidly and often with good humor about religion, race, and politics. You'd be hard-pressed to say the same about any of today's big-league rappers.

Who came out on top?
No one. We didn't get another album, and Lauryn's life spiraled out of control.

Lauryn Hill Vs Wyclef Jean

Who came out on top?
Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill Vs. The Critics

In the last couple of years, Lauryn started to play shows in a bizarrely-chosen series of venues and countries with almost no promotion. She's turned up to shows almost two hours late and performed atrociously, prompting fans to leave early and request refunds. No wonder critics have taken aim, describing her shows as "a train wreck as miserable to watch as it was to hear" and The National Post described one performance as watching "an artist write their own obituary on stage."

On the other hand, The Miseducation Of… remains one of the most celebrated hip-hop records of all time. It was the first rap record to win the Best Album Grammy and regularly features in those lists of things and stuff that music magazines love to make. On the day of her sentencing, Lauryn managed to rush release new track “Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix).” Writing on her Tumblr, she said, “Here is a link to a piece that I was ‘required’ to release immediately, by virtue of impending legal deadline," which basically means, “Hi. I’m going to jail and have a massive debt to pay off, so please buy my new record and save me! Lol?” Still, it was a decent enough song to have critics/link-baiters posting it all over the web.

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Who came out on top?
Lauryn by a squeak.

Lauryn Hill Vs. The Lawsuits

Though Lauryn Hill’s debut album, The Miseducation, was largely a collaborative piece of work, apparently there was “label pressure to do the Prince thing," which essentially means crediting all the tracks to the artist, regardless of any outside help. It sounds completely unfair, but when asked about this approach, Hill responded, “We all love each other. This ain’t about documents. This is blessed.” But, I guess that not everyone loved each other, because the musicians behind the record filed a 50-page lawsuit against Hill, which ended in a reported $5M out-of-court settlement. I bet she wishes she’d added their names to the credits that no one ever reads, because then maybe she’d have a spare $5M to pay off her taxes in time.

It’s not the only lawsuit that’s been held against Lauryn, though. In 2011 former guitarist Jay Gore sued her for $20,000 after claiming that she regularly harassed members of the crew and “stiffed” them out of money. Reportedly, she’d finish up shows with a person-by-person critique, berating both musicians and road support personnel, and that she one time made the statement “I can’t believe I am paying you fools, you should be paying me.”

Also, prior to her recent arrest, Lauryn had an eviction lawsuit filed against her after failing to pay rent at her house in New Jersey. However, the house was a mansion, and she’d been renting it since 2009, so you’d think if she couldn’t afford rent, she’d downsize or something?

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Who came out on top?
Breaking rocks in the hot sun, Lauryn fought the law and lost millions of dollars.

Well done Lauryn! You beat the world! But you're still going to prison. Soz.

Follow Ryan on Twitter: @RyanBassil

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