Lauryn Hill Performs New Somber, Emotional Tunes On MTV

Jet, August 13, 2001

A spiritual, emotional Lauryn Hill recently took the stage to tape an episode of MTV's "Unplugged" singing of God and freedom with tears streaming down her face during several songs.

Dressed casually with a baseball cap and scarf, she joked to the audience: "I used to get dressed for y'all, but I don't do that no more. It's a new day."

The 26-year-old Grammy winner sang all new songs, some of which don't even have titles yet.

Later, she spoke seriously about her faith and shunning the trappings of fame, and several fans in the audience shed tears with her.

"I'm a mess, but God is dealing with me every day," she said. "That's what all these songs are about: problem, cause and solution."

She started to cry as she sang about the strength God has given her to endure, "What a wonderful, merciful God," she sang.

She told the audience: "I know some of the songs are really heavy. Fantasy is what people want, but reality is what they need. And I'm retired from the fantasy part."

Hill became a major superstar with her Grammy Award-winning 1998 solo debut CD, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, with Doo Wop (That Thing), a remake of the '60s pop classic Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You, Lost Ones and Nothing Even Matters, a duet with D'Angelo. She began her music career with the hit group the Fugees, who also included Wyclef Jean and Prakazel Michel. The group won a huge following with Killing Me Softly, a remake of Roberta Flack's '70s classic.

Hill's "Unplugged" appearance is scheduled to air on MTV2 in the late fall and will rerun on MTV afterward.