Lauryn Hill is perhaps one of the greatest and more influential rappers of all time and regarded for breaking countless barriers for women in hip-hop. She is greatly credited with bringing neo soul to pop culture, and throughout her career won eight Grammys, the most of any female rapper. The New York Times referred to her once as “the most popular woman in hip-hop,” and billboard ranked her as the seventh greatest rapper of all time. 

She was first known for being a part of the group Fugees, with who she was the first female to ever win the Grammy for best rap album. She then released her first and only solo album and phenomenon “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” which would go on to be one of the best-selling albums of all time. The album includes iconic songs like “Everything is Everything” and “Doo Wop (That Thing),” and would earn her five Grammy awards. The album sold over 400k copies in its first week.

With countless records under her belt and frequent appearances in the top of musical “best of” lists, Lauryn Hill is a cultural icon influencing generations of musicians, artists, even thespians as Lin Manuel Miranda has frequently cited Hill as an influence in the music for his Broadway hit, “Hamilton.”