Lauryn Hill Counters Robert Glasper’s Claims Of Stolen Music, Poor Treatment

Singer Lauryn Hill has finally responded to the accusations made earlier this month by jazz musician Robert Glasper that she “stole” or plagiarized songs on her renown 1998 album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Rolling Stone reports. Hill also addressed the accusations that she had mistreated her band while they were touring in the past.

Hill explained and defended herself against the allegations in a post on Medium that was published on Monday. “I apologize for the delay in getting this posted,” Hill began. “I was late in hearing about it. I understand this is long, but my last interview was over a decade ago.”

In her response, Hill stressed that while she may not have maintained the “necessary boundaries” between herself and the other musicians she worked with on the album, none of her songs were ever stolen from anyone. “I may have been inclusive,” she noted, “but these are my songs.”

In an interview on a Houston radio station, Glasper also accused Hill of being “harsh” when he was in her band for a short time in 2008, claiming that she would essentially do whatever she wanted and would come and go as she pleased. “Every day she comes in and changes the show, changes what she wants to do,” Glasper alleged. “The last rehearsal, she doesn’t show up. Her manager comes in and says, ‘Lauryn’s not really feeling the way you guys have been learning the music, so we’re gonna cut your pay in half.'”

Hill, however, argued against this accusation, insisting that she would never shortchange an artist for no apparent reason. “If fees had been negotiated and confirmed without my knowledge, I may have asked for them to be adjusted. But I would never just cut a musician’s pay arbitrarily unless I had a legitimate reason,” she responded.

Referring to Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, and Herbie Hancock, Glasper went on to say that Hill should be able to remain as “cool” or level-headed as them, especially since she “hasn’t done enough.”

“You haven’t done enough to be the way you are,” he claimed, addressing Hill directly. “You just have not. The one thing you did that was great [Miseducation], you didn’t do.”

I chose to wait until after the anniversary to post this. Thank you everyone for the Love! I’d like to clear a few things up.
-MLH

Full statement available here: https://t.co/kbtvoOWD2R

— Ms. Lauryn Hill (@MsLaurynHill) August 28, 2018

“I adore Stevie, and honor Herbie and Quincy, who are our forebears, but they’re not women,” Hill said in response to Glasper’s assertion. “Men often can say ‘I want it done like this’ and not be challenged. The same rules don’t always apply for women who may be met with resistance.”

“When this happens,” she explained, “you replace that player with someone who respects you and the office you hold.”