(1987) At the age of 12, Lauryn perform on the legendary "Amateur Night at the Apollo" in Harlem. Booed in the beginning because the crowd could not hear her, Lauryn continued to sing, and was instructed to hold the microphone closer to her mouth. After doing so, the crowd's jeers quickly turned into cheers and now Ms. Hill, is an Apollo Legend.

(1991) Acting was Lauryn's first passion. At the age of 16, she began acting for the hit soap opera, "As The World Turns."

(1992) Lauryn teamed up with high school friend, Wyclef Jean, and his cousin, Pras to form The Fugees.

(1993) Hill's first film debut was in "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" alongside Whoopi Goldberg. In the same year, Lauryn appeared in the film, "King of the Hill." Lauryn balanced acting, school, and The Fugees all the while keeping her grades up. Hill made excellent scores that won her acceptance at every university she applied: Yale, Rutgers, University of Pennsylvania, Spelman, and Columbia.

(1994) The Fugees (Tranzlator Crew) as they were originally known, first album Blunted on Reality did pretty decently in sales. Lauryn decided to cut her education at Columbia University shortly after one year due to The Fugees' upcoming tour. If you own the album, you know that it does not show the potential of any of the group's members. They seem overly excited, and drown out their skills with overrated hyper-activity. There are a The Fugees' second album, Bootleg Versions was responsible for the popularity that ended Lauryn's formal education at Columbia.

(1996) The Fugees capitalized off of Bootleg's success and used its songs as models for their next album, The Score. The Fugees dropped "Tranzlator Crew" from their name, and released The Score who's calmer pace and abrasive yet poetic lyrics gave the Fugees international acclaim and recognition. The song, "Killing Me Softly" was a huge hit, and is still being played today...years after the album's release. It was with this song that people started to realize Lauryn had skill and talent beyond her years surpassing anyone in the industry then, and now. Other hits off the album include "Ready Or Not," and Fu-gee-la." This album ended up sending the trio home with two grammys. Lauryn also continued with her acting career appearing in a television movie, "Daddy's girl." She also founded The Refugee Project, a non-profit organization that provides cultural and recreational activities for inner-city kids.

(1997) Lauryn made two film appearances this year. She appeared as herself in "Rhyme & Reason." She played the role of Debra in the African-American comedy, "Hav Plenty." In the meantime The Fugees, was having difficulty dealing with their new fame. Rumors of love conflictions came out, and jealousy flew around as the talk centered less and less on the group and more and more on the small beauty with the powerful voice, whose name was known little outside the hip-hop community, Lauryn Hill.

(1998) Had a small role as Leslie in the poorly advertised movie "Restaurant." Lauryn finally decided to do an album project in which she controlled every single aspect. The album later became known as "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill." The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill has recently been certified 6x Platinum!! The title of her album comes from Carter G. Woodson's novel, "The Miseducation of the Negro." If you read the book you'll come to realize that the template of the book is exactly the same as the template of the album. "Miseducation" revealed Lauryn's true musical talent which is phenomenal.

So I bet your wondering who inspired Lauryn Hill? Without her having to say it, we all know God has made a great impact on her life and always comes first. Ella Fitzgerald, and Bob Marley are just two of many artists that had an effect on Ms. Hill. I received an email from an irate web surfer claiming that Stevie Wonder is Lauryn's idol. I must correct this visitor who called him/herself "a true Lauryn Hill fan." No one is Lauryn's idol, however Stevie is one of the many artists Lauryn admires that I chose to omit do to lack of space. The list goes on and on from Aretha to the Chi-lites, to The Supremes to the entire Motown family and so on and so on...

(2001) Lauryn goes through a tremendous spiritual overhaul and examination, which leads to a change in her appearance (removal of dreads), and a change in how she handles her career. No more fake shit, basically. No more lies, no more playing games with the media.

(2002) Lauryn Hill released her second album which is really just the recording of her MTV Unplugged session. The lyrics here take on a new depth that I never thought was possible. Listening to her thoughts makes my head hurt...in a good way. Like the unbearable weight of meditation - something that cannot be conveyed, but only experienced.

Wishing Lauryn the best. Thank you.