Hill is noted as a humanitarian, and in 1996 she received an Essence Award for work which has included the 1996 founding of the Refugee Project, an outreach organization that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk youth, and for supporting well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, as well as for staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration.
In 1999's Grammy Awards, Hill was nominated eleven times and won Album of the Year (beating Madonna's critically acclaimed album Ray of Light), Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, setting a new record for a female performer.
Hill has four children with retired (American) football player Rohan Marley, son of the late reggae music icon, Bob Marley: Zion David Marley, born 1997, Selah Louise Marley, born 1998, and second son Joshua, born 2002. A fourth child, John, was born in 2003 and the couple married soon after.
Early life
Lauryn Hill was born in East Orange, New Jersey. Hill was the second of two children born to high school English teacher Valerie Hill and computer programmer Mal Hill. As a child, Hill incessantly listened to her parents' Motown and 1960s soul records. Music was a central part of the Hill home. Mal Hill sang at weddings, Valerie played the piano, and Lauryn's older brother Melaney played the saxophone, guitar and drums.
Hill graduated from Columbia High School (New Jersey) in Maplewood, New Jersey. Hill was an active student, cheerleader, and performer. She began her acting career at a young age, and started performing music in 1987. In 1988, 13-year old Hill appeared as an Amateur Night contestant on It's Showtime at the Apollo. Hill sang her own version of William "Smokey" Robinson's song "Who's Lovin' You?". A nervous Hill sung far away from the mic and was heckled at first; but persisted and finished her song to a standing applause, though she did not win.
Hill was childhood friends with actor Zach Braff and they both graduated from Columbia High School in 1993. Braff mentions inviting Hill to his bar Mitzvah in 1988.[1]
Hill appeared on the soap opera, As The World Turns as Kira Johnson. In December 1993, she starred in "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" as Rita Louise Watson. In the film, she performed the songs "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (a duet with Tanya Blount) and "Joyful,Joyful" . It was in this role, as Rita, that she first came to national prominence, with Roger Ebert calling her "the girl with the big joyful voice". Although Sister Act I and II were originally conceived as vehicles for comedian Whoopi Goldberg, the second installment won Lauryn equal notice.
Her other acting work includes the play Club XII with MC Lyte, and the motion pictures King of the Hill (as Arletta the Elevator Operator), Hav Plenty (1997), and Restaurant (1998). She appeared on the soundtracks to Conspiracy Theory in 1996 (on the track "Can't Take My Eyes Off You") and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood in 2002 (on the track "Selah").
Her most recent album (mixtape) entitled "The Re-Education of Lauryn Hill" was released in 2007.
Lose Myself
Lauryn Hill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And all I ever wanted was love
I used to love without fear a long time ago
And all I ever wanted was love
Then somebody came around and tried to hurt me
Tried to make me feel like I was unworthy
Took a pure love and tried to make it dirty
Truth was they never did deserve me
I had to lose myself so I could love you better
I had to lose myself, had to lose myself so I could
Love you better
Had to lose myself, had to lose myself
So I could love you better
Had to lose myself in love
And that's just the way it is'
Couldn't tell me I was love when I needed it
When, all I ever wanted was love.
Should a told me just me because!
I'm worth receiving it
But all I ever wanted was love
There's is something awkward about the selflessness it
Takes to
Give love and the good that it makes you!
True love can never really forsake you
But it took a little while just for me to see!
I had to lose myself so I could love you better
I had to lose myself, had to lose myself so I could
Love you better
Had to lose myself, had to lose myself
So I could love you better
Had to lose myself in love
And that's just the way it is'
I had a paralyzing fear of facing failure
And I couldn't love you perfectly with fear in my head
So I peerlessly had to face the danger
So I could come back and love you whole instead
All of your soul I said!
So I could make it better
I had to lose myself so I could love you better
I had to lose myself, had to lose myself so I could
Love you better
Had to lose myself, had to lose myself
So I could love you better
Had to lose myself in love
And that's just the way it is'
be-Sec:
And so it goes that I never meant to hurt you
Couldn't stay but I never meant to desert you
Whole lot a things I just had to work through
Time to heal and restore myself worth too
Confrontation of my fears and anxiety
Cried a whole lot years I suffered quietly
And though it may have taken years I can finally!
Tell you that you were always on my mind!
I had to lose myself so I could make it better
I had to lose myself, had to lose myself so I could
Make it better
Had to lose myself, had to lose myself
So I could make it better
Had to lose myself in love
And that was just the way!
Takes strength to absorb all the abuse I did
Great love to absorb all the misuse I did
Hey baby it's not an excuse I give.
And I'd do it all again because for you I live
Takes strength to absorb all the abuse I did
Great love to absorb all the abuse I did
Hey baby it's not an excuse I give.
And I'd do it all again because for you I live
I had to lose myself so I could make it better
I had to lose myself, had to lose myself so I could
Make it better
Had to lose myself, had to lose myself
So I could make it better
Had to lose myself in love
And that was just the way!
And that was just the way it is'
In Lauryn Hill's song "Lose Myself," she reflects upon a time when she used to love without fear, and all she ever wanted was love. However, somebody came into her life and tried to hurt her, making her feel unworthy and dirty. For a while, she lost herself and her ability to love freely. However, she recognizes that she had to lose herself in order to love her partner better. She was able to face her fears and anxieties and work through them to restore her self-worth and love her partner with her whole being.
The chorus repeats the phrase "I had to lose myself so I could love you better," emphasizing the sacrifices and growth necessary for a healthy, whole-hearted love. Hill acknowledges that it takes strength and great love to absorb and heal from abuse and misuse, and she'd do it all over again because for her partner, she lives.
Overall, this song is a powerful testimony to the transformative power of love and the necessity of facing one's fears and anxieties in order to love selflessly and completely.
Line by Line Meaning
I used to do it for the love a long time ago
In the past, I used to do things purely because I loved it.
And all I ever wanted was love
All I desired was love.
I used to love without fear a long time ago
Before, I loved without apprehension.
Then somebody came around and tried to hurt me
Someone attempted to inflict harm upon me.
Tried to make me feel like I was unworthy
They want me to believe I didn't deserve anything positive.
Took a pure love and tried to make it dirty
They attempted to corrupt the pure love I had.
Truth was they never did deserve me
The reality is they didn't deserve me at all.
I had to lose myself so I could love you better
I had to put aside my own needs to love you better.
Had to lose myself in love
I needed to be consumed by love.
Couldn't tell me I was love when I needed it
When I needed love, no one was there to assure me.
Should a told me just me because!
Someone should have informed me that I deserved love.
There's is something awkward about the selflessness it
Giving love selflessly feels odd in some way.
Takes to give love and the good that it makes you!
It takes great effort to love, and the results are positive.
True love can never really forsake you
Real love will never abandon you.
I had a paralyzing fear of facing failure
I couldn't overcome my fear of defeat.
And I couldn't love you perfectly with fear in my head
I couldn't love you entirely with fear lurking in my head.
So I peerlessly had to face the danger
I had to boldly confront the danger.
So I could come back and love you whole instead
So I could love you wholeheartedly when I returned.
Takes strength to absorb all the abuse I did
It requires resilience to bear all the suffering I have imposed.
Great love to absorb all the abuse I did
It takes immense love to withstand all the pain I've caused.
Hey baby it's not an excuse I give.
I'm not offering this as an excuse.
And I'd do it all again because for you I live
I would repeat it all because I live for you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: LAURYN HILL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind