Lauryn Hill Releases New Song ‘Consumerism’ On Eve Of Prison Release
Lauryn Hill has released a new song “Consumerism” on the eve of her release from prison.
The former Fugees songstress has completed a three-month sentence for tax evasion and will be released from a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut today.
Last year Hill pleaded guilty to failing to file taxes returns on over $2 million over a two-year period from 2005 to 2007. Sentenced earlier this year with a three month house arrest and year’s parole supervision tagged onto her jail term, the 38-year-old was also penalized for earnings made from 2008 and 2009.
The mother-of-six wrote “Consumerism” before she entered prison and it will appear on Part 1 of a upcoming musical set titled Letters From Exile. Released before Hill’s coming out, the track comes with a note from the singer posted on her Tumblr page explaining the background to the song.
“‘Consumerism’ is part of some material I was trying to finish before I had to come in. We did our best to eek out a mix via verbal and emailed direction, thanks to the crew of surrogate ears on the other side. Letters From Exile’ is material written from a certain space, in a certain place. I felt the need to discuss the underlying socio-political, cultural paradigm as I saw it.”
She added: “I haven’t been able to watch the news too much recently, so I’m not hip on everything going on. But inspiration of this sort is a kind of news in and of itself, and often times contains an urgency that precedes what happens. I couldn’t imagine it not being relevant. Messages like these I imagine find their audience, or their audience finds them, like water seeking it’s level.”
At the time of her arrest last year, Hill wrote an essay citing historical racism as one of the reasons for her tax issues. At her trial, she listed threats to herself and her family as the context for failing to meet her tax obligations. Before entering prison she inked a deal with Sony to address some of her financial woes.
Rolling Stone magazine describes “Consumerism” as a “laundry list of societal ills over a chaotic rhythm that’s more Death Grips than ‘Killing Me Softly.'” The rap slams corporate greed, a gamut of “-isms,” “compromised commercialism,” and “neo-McCarthyism.”
Obviously it’s not a party hit, but what do you think of “Consumerism?”
[Image via BET]
