Lauryn Hill has explained to fans why she never released another album after her hit debut ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’.
It has been almost three decades since the singer, rapper and songwriter dropped her critically acclaimed debut album in 1998, and in the time since she has not released a sophomore record.
That 1998 release featured singles including ‘Everything Is Everything’, ‘Ex-Factor’ and the chart-topping ‘Doo Wop (That Thing)’.
Now, in a new Instagram post, the singer has shed light on why she hasn’t released more albums since then, and revealed that much of the reasoning stems from burnout and lack of authentic inspiration.
“When you’re inspired and desire to be principled, what doesn’t get talked about enough is the drain… nor the challenge to find safety so that you can create with integrity,” she revealed, adding that a lot of people create with the hopes of making money from it.
“Most see opportunity as dollars only and often exclude the ‘sense’. ‘The Score’ [Fugees 1996 album] nor the ‘Miseducation’ were made because we were ‘allowed’ to represent what we did, we fought for every inch,” she said. “Wild success can cause greed that begins to denegrate the art for the money.”
Lauryn Hill speaks on why she hasn’t released another studio album since ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’:
"When you're inspired and desire to be principled, what doesn't get talked about enough is the drain… nor the challenge to find safety so that you can create with… pic.twitter.com/M1MI7GGeR8
— Kurrco (@Kurrco) May 17, 2026
Continuing, Ms Hill wrote that “artists go through phases, creativity requires expression, exploration and experimentation,” before comparing herself to Harriet Tubman and suggesting they had a similar desire to challenge certain systems.
“I was like a Harriet Tubman figure in some respects running to speak difficult truths to power before certain forces tried to close those doors,” she shared. “If it was so easy to do, where is that expression now on the world stage? Systems fear what they can’t control. Creativity is most potent when it’s free.”
Concluding, she reflected on her impact on the music industry, writing: “If I did nothing else, I introduced standards and possibilities to a generation that didn’t know they could operate on that level before then.
“I am often doing things outside the support of the system before people can even realise what I’ve done. Another artist who values inspiration then recognises its value and re-presents it to an audience then ready to receive it.”
Her comments align with what the singer said back in 2021, as part of a rare interview.
Speaking to Rolling Stone at the time, Hill said her label had never chased her to make another album. “The wild thing is no one from my label has ever called me and asked how can we help you make another album, EVER…EVER,” she said in email correspondence.
“Did I say ever? Ever! … With the ‘Miseducation’, there was no precedent. I was, for the most part, free to explore, experiment and express,” she said, adding that after the record was made she began to face trials like “scores of tentacled obstructionists, politics, repressing agendas, unrealistic expectations and saboteurs EVERYWHERE”.
“People had included me in their own narratives of THEIR successes as it pertained to my album, and if this contradicted my experience, I was considered an enemy,” she added.
“I think my intention was simply to make something that made my foremothers and forefathers in music and social and political struggle know that someone received what they’d sacrificed to give us, and to let my peers know that we could walk in that truth, proudly and confidently.”
In March, the singer announced that she would be bringing the massive Diaspora Calling! Festival – dedicated to music and culture from the African diasopra – to the Milton Keynes National Bowl on Friday August 7.
So far, Hill has been announced as its headliner, with fellow Fugees member Wyclef Jean joining her on the bill. Hill’s sons YG Marley and Zion Marley – also the grandchildren of reggae icon Bob Marley – are also scheduled to play at the festival.
Diaspora Calling! began in 2016, and has since hosted the likes of Nas, Kehlani, Noname and Little Simz on its roster.