After being in hiding for almost 3 years, and not having another album for almost 15 years, Lauryn Hill is finally back with her old tactics mixed with a new beat. She is clearly thinking about a lot in this new single called “Neurotic Society” (Compulsory Mix).
According to Rolling Stone, after pleading guilty for evading taxes between the years of 2005 and 2007 for over $1 million, she has finally been given until the end of this week to pay it all up.
$50,000 out of a $554,000 tax bill was all that was paid last week when the federal judge gave her an additional two weeks to pay it all off before being sentenced for these legal allegations.
She had also announced that the death of former rapper Chris Kelly from, Kriss Kross, and all of her current legal problems sparked a light and inspiration for this song according to MTV.
"In light of Wednesday's tragic loss (of former label mate Chris Kelly), I am even more pressed to YELL this to a multitude that may not understand the cost of allowing today's unhealthy paradigms to remain unchecked!"
The beat has a sound just like a “Neurotic Society” would sound, rapping swiftly about just how toxic our society really is.
“It took years for me to get out of the ‘parasitic’ dynamic of my youth, and into a deal that better reflects my true contribution as an artist, and (purportedly) gives me the control necessary to create a paradigm suitable for my needs.”
Writing on her Tumblr page she had many different feelings and thoughts about where she is now and issues that had kept her locked up for so many years. Although the song is a little different then what fans are used to, she still will never stop delivering a message:
"I’ve remained silent, after an extensive healing process. This has been a 10+ year battle, for a long time played out behind closed doors, but now in front of the public eye. This is an old conflict between art and commerce… free minds, and minds that are perhaps overly tethered to structure. This is about inequity, and the resulting disenfranchisement caused by it. I’ve been fighting for existential and economic freedom, which means the freedom to create and live without someone threatening, controlling, and/or manipulating the art and the artist, by tying the purse strings."
According to Huffington Post, Hill will in fact be creating a new record label within the company of Sony Music after signing a deal with them this year. This new sound is said to be her last studio album, and virtually very different than what we had heard previously:
"Here is a link to a piece that I was ‘required’ to release immediately, by virtue of the impending legal deadline. I love being able to reach people directly, but in an ideal scenario, I would not have to rush the release of new music… but the message is still there,"
No date has been released for her new album, but she is definitely in the works of making new music.
Image Credit: Tumblr: Rolling Stone