The Fugees got blinged up at Aventura's King Jewelers for their first cover story in Essence Magazine since the group reunited. After a 10-year absence, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras returned to the studios earlier this year to record Take it Easy as a follow-up to 1996's multiplatinum album The Score, the biggest selling hip-hop album of all time. The shoot took place Nov. 15 at the Delano Hotel in South Beach.

Source: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/13260043.htm

More news on this:

The reason Lauryn Hill had to step away from the spotlight, she told Essence magazine for its new issue, was that it was a "very toxic situation" for her, because she wasn't able to be herself. "I discovered people could only acknowledge red and blue and I was somewhere between. I was purple," she told the magazine. "And when I can't be whole, I have a problem. I was like, 'I've got to get out of here.' " So she spent two or three years "away from all social interaction," with no music and no television. "It was a very introspective and complicated time because I had to really confront my fears," she said. During her downtime, Hill also wrote a lot — music as well as screenplays — and even dabbled in fashion design, endeavors that helped her become "older, wiser, and clearer." Still, she vetoed plans to do a clothing line, because it bothered her to see her look "exploited, appropriated, copied and reproduced" by others. "Fashion is something I breathe," Hill said. "I wasn't really trying to share my style, I was just trying to be me and exist." Now that's she back with the Fugees, Hill says her hope is that other artists don't get "trapped in images that don't really reflect who they are."

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1518615/2...?headlines=true

I hate when she says this kinda stuff. Sure, she does have a very unique style, but lately she's also been following the fashion trends a lot (Fur, bangles, ethnic inspired skirts, 60s clothing, high-waisted pants, platform shoes, mixing different styles - All of that is very popular right now). So she's also copying. It's not like the intire world started wearing these things, just because L-Boogie did it. Take it easy Lauryn <_<

With that being said, she is definitely one of the most original musicians out there, when it comes to clothing. And I think it was a very good decision not to launch a clothing line, that's only something J.Lo does... lol, imagine if Lauryn made a perfume!

I totally agree with you on that Stine. Everybody is saying things like "Lauryn is a fashion icon", "She wears stuff anybody else wears..". Well maybe people don't mix their clothes exactly the way she does..
I don't know how people dress in other countries but at least here in Madrid if you walk around a little bit you'll see a lot of people wearing stuff that looks just like Lauryn's (ethnic stuff, 60's clothing, high heels, all the accesories and coats..) because that's what's popular right now. (Needless to say that the average person in Spain don't know anything about Lauryn...)

Well maybe she wears them because she likes them. But most people will wear these clothes just because they're in.

Is she talking about the media, or people in general ?

Thanks Stine for the news

I know what you mean, but that's exactly the crucial point. nowadays there there are so many styles and looks going around, but it's the way she mixes up everything. The way she shows everybody that she's wearin what she's feelin.
That makes her unique and that's why she's a fashion icon.
By the way, I would love hear more about that screenplay! I think 2006 will be a big year for Lauryn.
I think her problems with her voice came when she stopped playing music. A voice needs to be trained and it can get very weak when you don't sing for almost 2 years!

PEACE

the invisible man :ph43r:

When's the magazine going to be sold on stands?

She lookz nice.

What month is this from? Could I purchase this now?

I may be totally wrong but it looks like it says february 2006 on the bottom left corner of the cover

It does! Hits newsstands in January...

Wow! She looks great! Hot as hell :crazy:
Does she have any connection with the poeple of the Essence magazine?
'Cause Essence is the only magazine that made an interview with her when she was out of the spotlight and the first that interviewed her for her comeback.

PEACE

the invisible man :ph43r:

The Bold And The Beautiful

Lauryn Hill is talking again. And the multiple Grammy award winning wunderkind has gone to ‘Essence’ magazine to tell her story.

“I felt uncomfortable about having to smile in someone’s face when I really didn’t like them or even know them well enough to like them,” the 30-year old unwed mother of four revealed during an interview with best-selling author Joan Morgan. The somewhat reclusive Fugees front-woman appears on the Feb. cover of ‘Essence’ which arrives on newsstands at the top of the New Year.

In the candid cover story, titled ‘They Call Me Ms. Hill,’ the West Orange, NJ native talks at length about misconceptions of her self-imposed exile, the reunion of the best-selling band, black woman and beauty.

“I thought it was okay for me to write a song about something complicated. But I discovered people could only acknowledge red and blue and I was somewhere between. I was purple.”

Regarding the on again, off again reunion with founding Fugees members Wylcef Jean and Praz Michel, Hill shared: “I’m a lot older, wiser and clearer. I’m more knowledgeable about people. At the same time, there has been an enormous amount of negative energy blocking me and trying to prevent my independent endeavors. So it kind of forced my hand to come back and resolve things. And I’m speaking nicely and politely about that.”

And there is a reason why the 7-time Grammy Award winner who became a multimedia darling on the heels of her groundbreaking solo debut, 1998’s ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,’ hasn’t talked to the press in years. For two or three years I was away from all social interaction. It was a very introspective time because I had to confront my fears and master every demonic thought about inferiority, about insecurity or the fear of being black, young and gifted in this western culture. It took a considerable amount of courage, faith and risk to gain the confidence to be myself.”

From Fugees Online.

^_^ that's good to know.

:blink: I don't understand why she would feel insecure. When her album came out, she got nothing but high praises. :huh:
that's odd.

maybe living up to high expectations

well, I hope she can stay strong. The industry hasn't changed, but she has, so, we'll see what happens.

WOW she look great.... and that interview... she is so..I can't wait to read the whole interview

I like the cover but 3 things bother me about it: 1) The wig! 2) It's a classic rule not to show both chest and legs at the same time... I think it's too much, but that probably just because she hasn't showed any skin for ages. 3) They made her skin tone look lighter than it actually is.

Really ? I didn't know that.
Besides, she's only showing part of her legs. It's not like she's letting it all hang out. -_-

LOL! No no, not at all (Thank God - Imagine if she did a real Lil Kim photoshoot...)

I think like on the cover of the trace magazine, the wig looks good this time (not like that horrible wig at the beginning of the fugees tour <_< )
As long as the picture doesn't look cheap it's ok to show that much skin. And the picture really doesn't look cheap.

PEACE

the invisible man :ph43r:

lol you should see serbian female artists

i think she looks good, ur right about her skin looking lighter tho, but it's probably unintentional, just the makeup

The picture is beautiful, but I would like it even better if she used her natural hair.

Oh believe me, I have seen Ceca :blink: My friend has posters of her ALL over his room!

lol then you know what I'm talkin' about

ok i think i am startin to be fed up with lauryn hill..i still admire her as an artist and i can't wait for her to drop her album but she needs to stop complaining and bragging at the same time...
the unplugged album really changed my life because i was kinda going through the same stuff as her, from a spiritual point of view, and that album definitely helped me to grow as an individual..plus i love her current songs (i had to walk, rich man, damnable heresies) and i can't wait to hear them with more arrangements..but now i dunno..she started getting on my nerve in the recent mobos/ bbc itw, she was complaining too much, i was like "sista, you need to get over it, now that you understaood what happened, stop focusing on the past"..also when she said sthg like "poor people exist because the y need rich people to help them", i didnt understand..at least she admitted that she needed to think this through before giving a proper answer but i thought it made no sense..being monetary or materially rich does not make you spiritually rich, so i don't see how rich people could help poor people in a general way..plus how does we define "rich" or "poor"?anyway..

She is right about lots of stuff though, the fact that she has the right to be proud of her talent and that she (and ppl in general) should stop being sorry for who they are...she is definitely one of the greatest artists of our generation and i'll make sure my kids will listen to her while growing up..but now she is taking it too seriously..the whole "i created fashion trends" is going too far!! ok she definitely has a style of her own but as many said in this thread (i agreed a lot with you stine), she also took her aspiration from many trends, i mean who can't recognize the whole 60/70s style, the roots or african inspirations in her style? i was wearing headwraps and african jewels (i am from Congo) before she blew up so she can't say that she birthed any trend, she just popularized them..plus she forgets to say that she had a very famous stylist during the miseducation days (i don't remember her name, she explained in an itw how she met lauryn hill in an elevator, just after she got Zion, and proposed to "relook" her... you can tell the difference with the fugees era when most of the time it was hit or miss.. when you look at the older videos she always wore baggies or men's clothes in general..nothing extraordinary there, everyb b-girl was dressing like that back in the days)..the only thing that she needs credit for, is the fact that she put back hats in trend and she had the most creative natural hairstyles..but she needs to stop thinking that she knows everything and that she created philosophical theories, most of the things she said are inspired from the Bible and her spiritual beliefs in general..anyway..i don't wanna appear as a hater because i have been admiring her as a lyricist and as an artist for years, but really i don't get her anymore..i am waiting for this essence magazine to make up my mind, but if she keeps on going this road, i'll just wait for the album and i'll stop reading things about her or going to ocncerts..more over, she is always being compared to bob marley and i really thought she'd become the bob marley of our era, but if bob is really her inspiration, she needs to remember that he was someone humble and that he had gone through real pbs not just "metaphysical" ones..she needs to stop complaining for real, ok she went through something hard but it is getting annoying and disrespectful for people who had more difficult lives...
lol sorry i needed to vent...
peace

I think you're nervous about something,so you're not thinkin' right,
go to sleep and tomorrow tell me do you feelin' the same thing

mm was it meant to be funny? coz i didn't see the point of your reply, you didn't adress any of my arguments...i know truth is hard to swallow though, have a nap and come back when you have taken a rest, maybe then we'll be able to have a real convo.
peace

oh c'mon ompiba you can't tell me that L didn't create trends!!!!of course she created them!!!that other people wear the same things doesn't mean that such things are trends!!!!they became trends when someone famous keeps wearing it and creting a style with such things...for example after Miseducation there were the growth of dreadlocks people!!!and she's aware of that..I don't find nothing bad in what she's saying..it's the truth!! -_-

Ompiba I think Ms Hill could care less if you still like her or not.

I don't see the point in your post,you know that this is forum about L right?
You have like 60 posts and you still haven't figured that out?
I think that your post is,no offence,STUPIDEST post I've ever read on this board

yeah. :realmad: , she did set some trends. So what if she´s bragging that´s her problem. We don´t know her personally. I don´t see why we should feel concerned. As long as we like her music !!!


p.s I´m back, guys ;) I managed to find an internet place !!! :bounce:

Hi sybille,are you havin' a good time?

C'mon guys - Don't hate on ompiba. You can disagree all you want, but at least she backed up her opinions. That's more than what I can say about you ddd, no offence.

I know Stine,I'm not offended,and I don't hate nobody,I respect ya'll,but you know me,I can't not to write anything after this kinda post,and please what kind of opinion is that?
"ok i think i am startin to be fed up with lauryn hill..i still admire her as an artist and i can't wait for her to drop her album but she needs to stop complaining and bragging at the same time..."
she's like "I like L very much,but she's talkin' shit",
really ompiba?Why did you wrote this post?
You release what you wrote?

thank you stine for having a critical mind..

mm ddd i dunno why you got all upset, is Lauryn Hill a member of your family or your friend?my post is not stupid, you are... if you can't be critic about the behaviour of your favorite artist, then my friend, you really got a pb....i guess she was right to say that she is worshipped above measure..i didn't know that on a forum dedicated to an artist you were only supposed to praise him/her..unless it is a cult and not a forum?? anyway...i have been a fan of lauryn hill since i heard boof baf and vocab origiNal version on blunted, i am sure you only discovered her when killing me softly was released and that they were the 1st hip hop group you listened to, so don't act like you are a real fan and i am not..anyway please do not reply anymore if all you can do is trying to diss me...do you know what an argument is?
maybe when you get older, you'll be able to articulate your points and have a real conversation with someone who disagrees with you ..

"guest": lauryn hill may not care about my opinion, but you seem to, since you bothered to reply..what was the point of your post again?

lboogie:lauryn hill has a sick and unique sense of style ( i dont have a pic of her in my avatar for no reason),i never said the contrary, that is one of the reason i always liked her, as a natural Black woman myself, she always made me proud because she showed the world that she could rock natural hairdos and still be the flyest.. but she did not birthed trends, she popularized them.. most trends start in the streets, with everyday people, celebrities just give them more exposure, they don't necessarily create them (ask my girl Erykah badu)..plus i disagree with what you said about locks, people have been wearing them since bob marley popularized them, they existed before him too, lauryn hill just wore them in a more stylish way.. but once again she had a hairstylist (although i kinda think most ideas were Lauryn Hill's..but it is not even sure)..by saying that she created "fashion", now she takin it too far..especially since she had a stylist and she wore stuff that artist like neneh cherry, salt-n-pepa or even Bob marley wore before her..

sybillecutey: i think my post is not the first one where lauryn hill's acts or statements are pointed out, and her music is not the only thing discussed here..she got the right to brag, but i also got the right to point it out..last time i checked artists forums/fansites were meant to discuss the artist, not to worship him/her, if it is the case, of course i'll bounce, but please put it on the banner of the homepage then, so it can be clear...since when only good acts can be discussed?

all i know is that i liked the lauryn hill post unplugged, in the dvd she seemed humble and wise and you could tell she was guided and inspired by a Superior Force (i wouldn't go as far as saying God although i think it is Him),now her behaviour is becoming questioning..you can't be humble and deliver a spiritual message then all of a sudden saying you created fashion and you're a Goddess, i don't know what's up with her but it is very confusing...

PEACE

I have completely another opinion....for me you're wronging....but I respect your opinion but I have really to say that for me a trend,of course can start in the street,but it became a trend because a popular person make it(for example think at Madonna's styles) and second

she've never said that she's a Goddess!!!! :realmad: she said that she's tired to be treated like a Goddess...I think it's you who's confusing!!!!! <_<