I'm a huge Fugees fan from back when they did Nappy Heads off of Blunted on Reality. It's easily been 10 years since they did an album together and now Wyclef is airing out Lauryn for being the reason why there will never be another.
While everybody thinks she's "enlightened" and on a higher level than us mere mortals, Clef puts Ms. Hill (that's how everyone around her MUST refer to her) on blast for being selfish and difficult to get along with. Is she crazy?
Here is an excerpt from Clef's interview in the upcoming new issue of Scratch Magazine:
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Scratch: What's going on with the Fugees reunion, or lack there of?
Wyclef: I'm officially Paul McCartney from the Beatles now. If the Fugees wanna come back, and Lauryn wanna come back…you can't break the format. Don't come back and be like, "I wanna produce a beat." That's like me saying I wanna sing an R&B vocal. When we was working on the album, I was like, [to Lauryn], "You need to do this like this." [And] she says, "How do you know what's relevant? I haven't heard anything from you in the past like three, four years?" The minute she said that I was like, I gotta go back to working.
So what's ultimately holding you guys back?
Lauryn is straight up the problem, bro. She wants to be a producer. Don't come telling us how to chop up beats so you can get credit for it.
What makes you think she would take the credit?We did a remix [with] Lauryn for John Legend, for the record "How High." John Legend was saying our names. You know what she had [him] do? She was like, "Take off Wyclef and Jerry's names." Because she wanted people to think that she was the one doing the beat…I'm a producer and I'm a beatmaker with my cousin Jerry Wonder, and I'm a writer. She's a writer, a vocalist, [and] a great [vocal] composer. And she's great at picking out samples—she got 20 billion samples but can't chop 'em up to save her life.
So she hasn't made any of the beats she got credit for?
It's real simple—if you did the beats, where are the beats? Show us one beat that you did. If you bring 'Clef to the studio, put an MP, put an SP, put a bunch of stuff, bring a bunch of cameras [and] say, "Clef, do a beat in two minutes." The beat's done! Bring Lauryn Hill in the studio with the same camera, say we give you three hours. Matter fact, fuck it, we'll give you a month—do a beat. She can't put it together!
Ignorance: that bow tie
14 comments:
Have you seen recent pics of L-Boogie? She looks a hotter than hot mess... I don't know what drugs or dick she is on, but it must end....
I guess that Marley dude got the best of her....
Whatever the case maybe, she needs to rest on the Lord and let him be her strength, because her craziness needs to end
I take everything Clef says with a grain of salt. Dude has done some foul things to people's careers for a while and just to people, period.
And brother, you are NOT Paul M. If you were, you wouldn't have said this, because I only imagine this FURTHER pushing Lauryn - her mama named her Lauryn, I'ma call her Lauryn - away.
And I don't know what she's doing now, but chick IS "enlightened" (have you not heard her) and has a level of consciousness beyond most mortals ... but then again, so do I. ; )
Hey James, do you know why when I try to type my webpage it never comes up so you all can click on it? Like is there a way to scroll over my name and see that I'm trying to get ya'll to go to YBPguide.com?
I'm not sure. I've never used that option. I just sign on with the google account.
As far as Lauryn's "enlightenment" goes, I gotta disagree. Chick is bananas. It looks like she hasn't learned from the very thing that publicly embarrassed her and made her hate the music industry (i.e. not giving proper credit to those that helped her make the music).
It's fact that she had people help her write songs and make beats, paid them under the table, and in an effort to show that she was independent and didn't need Wyclef to be successful, took all the credit for the music on Miseducation and hoped that no one would call her out on it. Then after the embarrassment of the trial, she disappears, "finds/reinvents herself," and rambles on about the Mystery of Iniquity.
I think this "enlightenment" is actually a bruised ego; and in order to validate herself to the world, she wants people to think she's the Black Ghandi. The truth, however, is that her ego is bigger than it ever was.
No disrespect Brandon, but you have no idea what happened with Lauryn and Wyclef or anything else related to them ... or anything else in the music industry, for that sake.
You are just taking Clef's word for it. Clef has shown himself to have made as many "errors" as Lauryn (look up info on his relationship with Pras; City High; them Maria, Maria guys; and even his wife, for crying out loud).
And you're not even taking Clef's word. You're taking a writer's word - a writer you don't know and who likely was not even in the studio, nor has probably even tried to interview Lauryn and/or a third party for balance.
You have no clue what Lauryn learned from Miseducation. You don't even know if the guys who sued her were telling the truth (our justice system is quite twisted, you know).
I believe your interpretation of what "embarrassed" her is even off. I personally don't even think she was embarrassed (has she said that?). I believe she was convicted - there's a difference - by being a part of something so foul and so corrupt.
Why can't her reinvention be legit? Even if she did lie, does that make her now noncredible? Is she defined by her errors? Are WE? If we are, that doesn't make her comments in the Mystery of Iniquity false, does it? Regardless of whether she was fairly found guilty, the foulness of the judicial system that she spoke of in that song is real. No need for examples, you know the deal.
Lauryn was "enlightened" before any of this happen. She was spitting knowledge that the masses still don't understand when she was with the Fugees ... and probably before we even knew she existed.
Where are you getting this black Ghandi stuff from? How do you know so much about Lauryn's ego?
Why are we so threatened by other peoples knowledge? awareness? insight? enlightment?
(James, if you don't think you're personally threatened, then you can just take the question hypothetically.)
I'm putting my blog in this lil' box, since blogger be hatin'!
*shakes fist at blogger*
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I just read some comments Pras released about Lauryn being foul for holding up the reunion. Some might say they must be right, because it's both of them against one. But I say if those guys really cared about Lauryn would they disrespect her publicly the way they do? They don't care about her. They care about money. And they know that nobody gives a f___ about seeing Wyclef or Pras wack a_____. We want to see Lauryn. People keep trying to bring up that lawsuit saying she aint as talented as she tried to put on, but the truth is that Wyclef nor Pras are as talented as they want you to believe. If they were they would go on with their lives (like New Edition, the Temptations, the Supremes ... you get the point). Wyclef and Pras need Lauryn. Good thing is Lauryn doesn't need them. So Lauryn, go do you. Clef and Pras, go kick rocks.
Wow! Y'all are letting me have it right now. Easy.
I hear what you guys are saying, but I still think she's a little off. Maybe Black Ghandi was a little harsh, and maybe it's not her intention to come off that way, but people worship her like she's the Messiah. And even with all this so-called "enlightenment", all her original songs are about pain and getting screwed over in the name of love??? (peep her new single "Lose Myself"). Maybe music is her PERSONAL therapy, but I think people should be very careful about crowning her the next Jesus (or Jah, who she used to praise). Sometimes I just feel like people need someone to follow, and tend to want to follow someone who is in the process of trying to find themselves (albeit after teetering on the verge of a mental breakdown) because they haven't yet found themselves. Even in listening to her speeches between sets, a lot of what she says sounds intelligent and complicated, but doesn't make much sense when you break it down. I'm sure I can't decode it simply because I'm not enlightened, but I digress.
And yes, I do honestly believe that she got help on Miseducation and didn't properly credit the contributors to show that she could do it without Clef or anyone else (Peep "Lost Ones" which was a diss to Clef). And no, I don't know that as fact, just like you don't know that it's not. Just an opinion. The result, however, WAS a settlement and future credits for the suing contributors. I'm assuming that Lauryn had money for good enough lawyers in our screwed up legal system to squash their claims if they weren't true.
As a matter of fact, I just read an article (which sites the Lauryn case) about unknown writers contributing heavily to big projects and getting screwed out of proper credits and royalties. Ne-yo co-signed in the same article and talked about how he used to have deal with the same problems, and has just recently gotten enough notariety to stop it (he cited how Beyonce initially falsely claimed that she wrote Irreplacable). If he wasn't Ne-yo the superstar, we never would've known.
Being embarrassed/ exposed/discredited like that in front of the world after winning 9 Grammys for originaility, being screwed over by the man you love, and being the new corporate cash cow with new pressures to earn will drive you insane. Ask Dave Chappelle. He saw it coming and got out before all of the accollades that Lauryn got.
But aside from that, there are numerous reports about Lauryn only responding to "Ms. Hill", charging $100 for people to sit in on rehearsals, making her audience members sit on the ground in small venues, demanding that no one in her band walk ahead of her, demanding that people not look at her and face the wall when she enters venues, consistently showing up hours late to shows without apologizing to her fans, and just flat out putting on bad shows at ridiculous prices (WWJD?). Are all of these things true? Probably not. But if you search on the internet for her overseas show reviews, you'll find numerous die-hard fans giving similar accounts and disappointed at what they witnessed.
But maybe that's what enlightenment is all about.
In an interview released yesterday on YouTube, she seems a little off with her mannerisms and appearance, but seems very focused and coherent. I think she's recovering quite nicely.
My final thought is this: We ALL fell in love with L-Boogie circa '98. She was extremely talented with the world at her fingertips... all she had to do was reach out and grab it. It's the classic Greek Tragedy. We all want her so badly to reach her potential, so we all go along for the ride and validate her present state of "enlightenment."
Now what if she was the same woman, cracked out hair and all, bad make-up, crazy clothes, ramblings, the whole 9... and she was NEVER famous and was just another chick singing on the corner for spare change on Franklin St., with brief teachings in between her songs... would you still think she was enlightened? Or would you think she was nuts? Don't we walk by these people every day? Are they enlightened? What makes her voice more valid than theirs?
My bad brother. This is the problem with blogs (and emails and IMs) - you can't really show emotion/context. My previous entry probably came off as much more intense than the spirit in which it was written - which honestly, was a light-hearted one. I was just asking mad questions that I really wanted you to think about.
You are right. People make folks mini-Gods too often. But I'm not really sure that's Lauryn's fault as much as it is our own and the society/culture that exists that makes us more prone to doing this - but that is another post. Besides, Lauryn recognizes that she isn't God and makes attempts to share her humanity and who God is as she knows him to be. If we get it twisted and walk away with that saying "Lauryn is God," then that's us. Not her.
"Even in listening to her speeches between sets, a lot of what she says sounds intelligent and complicated, but doesn't make much sense when you break it down. I'm sure I can't decode it simply because I'm not enlightened, but I digress."
This is funny - your sarcasm (I can hear you saying it now) - but is probably somewhat true. I'ma stop using "enlightened" in a pejorative sense here, but the truth is you probably don't get it/her because you haven't been through comparable situations. It's not about you not being enlightened, it's about different life experiences. She's just trying to share hers with you. If ya'll don't get each other - it's cool. Maybe one day you will. I admit that I don't understand everything Lauryn says ... but I understand more now than I did in 98. And my lack of comprehension doesn't say anything bad about me or her. It's not about anyone being "deeper" than everyone - it's about us being us and sharing us. If you get it, bless you. If you don't, I wish you the best on your journey - and I really believe that is what Lauryn feels/says. And the masses inability to get her is what led to her exodus.
I really don't know if she got help or not on Miseducation. But to me even if she did, that doesn't discredit her message or her talent. And James, we all know that even good lawyers lose.
Your Chapelle - I miss him - reference was interesting. You failed to mention that he himself has blasted the world for how easy we label someone "insane." Maybe he nor Lauryn are insane - or even close to it. Maybe they just aren't us. Maybe they just don't fit in our systems of understanding. And when we see something we don't understand, we say: crazy, foul, messed up, insane. And that's a problem.
I've read many of those reports you mention and like you said, some of them may be true - I honestly don't have a problem with some of them. But it's also worth noting that Lauryn isn't quoted in most of those articles and mad sources were used anonymously. Come on brother! You and I both studied journalism! We know how foul and one sided the press can be. I can put anything up on the web right now about you and folks would run off with it! ; ) That's foul man.
I need to look at that YouTube clip. Twilla just sent it to me.
Brandon that's it. She DID grab the world. Many of us have. And when we found out that it burnt or had sharp needles or left this foul-smelling ooze on our hands that was hard to wash off, we dropped it. It's just that simple to me and mines. This "world" just isn't for everyone and those who have discovered that have chosen to call it out for what it is.
My pastor always says, "If I'm talking to you, then I'm talking to you. But if I'm not talking to you, then I'm not talkng to you." If you aren't a part or have no problem with the issues she calls out, then they shouldn't bother you (I'm talking generally here, Brandon, not to you personally). But the bigger truth is that a hit dog will holler and I believe that is where the masses anti-Lauryn sentiments are coming from.
Well that Lauryn analogy to the crackhead was incomparable. : ) Lauryn is not nuts - or at least we don't know that for sure. But I'll entertain your question. I don't assume every crackhead/homeless person is nuts. Ironically, I've been listening to Arrested Development's Mr Wendell quite a bit this week. I meet enlightened people every day. Honestly most of the folks that I choose to talk to on a regular basis have some knowledge that I don't believe the masses have - including you James.
And I have never implied that Lauryn's or anybody else's voice was more valid than anyone else's - especially the homeless. We all have a purpose here. No one's is greater than anyone else's. I'm trying to get all that God and life has for me from all of his messengers - the rich and famous and the homeless and cracked out.
YBPguide.com
I think Lauryn and Chappelle are very similar. People thought Dave was crazy, too. The only difference is how they presented themselves when they came back to the public. Dave going on Oprah really helped. Some people understood what he said on Oprah, while some didn't. Lauryn came back and did Unplugged - some people got it, some didn't.
I don't think Lauryn is God, but I do think she is one of the most brilliant people of our time. In 'I, Robot' they say that "Brilliant people often have the most persuasive demons." I believe that's true. And I think that partly explains the struggle we see her going through.
Why in the world WOULD Lauryn come out with something new? Do you recognize how twisted the industry is right now!? The freaking world?! If niggas didn't get her in 98, what makes you think they'd get her 10 years later? If I was Lauryn, I'd keep doing them lil shows for the people who feel her and give the rest of the world the finger.
Just caught the YouTube interview. She said some beautiful things. It was great to hear from her.
I don't know what you really meant by "she's recovered nicely," so I can't really respond. : )
But I appreciate the fact that she's expressing herself visually and even movement-wise differently. She can't look/move/act, etc. like she did in 98 or what "we" call "normal." It's not 98 and normalities are relative and mythical, at that.
I don't look at her as a saviour. Her words at one time were uplifting and thought provoking.I just hope that she'll be alright. Brandon I agree about the Ms. Hill thing, but I think Lauryn & Clef both have big ego's. Clef is a egomaniac too, and he and Pras are still a little salty about people calling them wack(and they are)and wanting her to go solo. I agree with Gene when it comes to Clef. Pras said things didn't work out because Lauryn was in her zone. Clef could have left it at that, but his ego got in the way. Make a beat in two minutes? To me everybody here has very big ego's except for Pras (he's so cheesy,how can he possibly have one?)and they are letting their ego's get the best of them.
Why are we even talking about the Fugees?! Them fools are as relevant as chokers and s-curled high top fades! The only people who want to hear them are grown - and grown folks don't buy CDs! Any Fugee album will bomb - mark my word. If they ain't singing about lip gloss or buying a drank, success will evade them. Their season has past. Realize that you made history and call it a day.
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