Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill is rap’s greatest “what if” story.

Born in East Orange, New Jersey, in 1975, Hill befriended fellow musicians Prakazrel “Pras” Michel and Wyclef Jean, and in 1990 they formed a group called Tranzlator Crew—soon to be known as the Fugees.

Though she was the act’s de facto singer, Hill found inspiration in the cultural activism of Ice Cube and Eazy-E, and her gifts as both a rapper and a world-class singer were on abundant display in the band’s 1996 version of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly with His Song.” The Grammy-winning single anchored the Fugees’ chart-topping second album, The Score, and while it was the group’s last record together, it was merely the beginning of Hill’s story.