graecophilos said:

Well she's not married to Rohan, for starters. He's married to someone else, but he and L have been together for a long time and have 5 kids. The child bearing itself would have slowed her career, but she's "married into" the Marley family who are a very complex and large brood from a very different culture than suburban NJ.

The Marleys are a dynasty like the Jacksons COULD have been and the family has many strong personalities and strong religious affliations. It wouldn't be a stretch to think they have some major influences over Lauryn. I can't tell you that this is for sure true, but L idolized Bob and Rita
before she hooked up w/ Rohan. Considering he was raised and adopted by his grandmother, Bob's mother (ie Cedella Marley Booker...aka Mother Booker)....who knows how far she's allowed all of them to influence her?

I guess people attribute it to her drastic changes that happened around the time of Rohan's arrival. She used to be a normal star and then suddenly she's almost anti all that. As I said earlier, I tink it was too much for her but hooking up w/ Rohan around this time had to play some part methinks.

SoulAlive said:

I'd agree...if she HAD a career . She's done.

SCNDLS said:

That 2nd pic could very well be the VERY definition of "A Hot Mess".

musicjunky318 said:

Japanrocks you don't know much about the Marleys, I take it? I'm not so sure she's "crazy" but if she is, they ain't helping matters!

Timmy and SCNDLS y'all ain't right clowning Bob's height. He was 5'4, I think. Unlike Prince, he was also known as Tuff Gong...cuz he was a serious street fighter when necessary. The guy was small, but mighty.

How 'bout Gong Ho?!
[Edited 6/11/09 9:34am]

brooksie said:

Just speculating here but I think I agree with most of what you're saying and I also think these things factor in too.....

Post partum depression (she's probably been suffering from it for years)
Rohan is a player and has other children. He has never married Lauryn
Her religious guru has hurt her well being IMO
Fame - she could never deal with it too well

Last I heard, the baby she's recently had was over 5 months old before they even gave the poor thing a name. Not sure if they ever did either. Another whack suggestion from the guru.
[Edited 6/11/09 10:16am]

Empress said:

Yeah, 5 kids in about 10 years time has it's issues and I think post partum is a big issues here. I don't know if Rohan's been a bad boy since he knocked up her cousin, but he has at least 3 more kids than the ones w/ Lauryn. Sometimes it seems like she's something of a single mother.

I've never quite understood the religious guru guy, but it seems he's taken her to some strange places. Don't know if she's named her daughter yet, but she's definitely matching by the beat of her own drummer.

MuthaFunka said:

where has musicjunky318 been?!

brooksie said:

Yeah I heard Bob whup some ass in his day, lol.

bboy87 said:

brooksie said:

Okay, I left off an inch. He was still a tiny ass muthafucka but sexy as hell.

SCNDLS said:

LOL! Damn Bob Marley was a little runt!? T.V. surely does him justice, he looked much taller! I bet when he smoked his ganja he felt taller!

Chic35 said:

Prolly why he got in all them fights.

Well Bunny Wailer was even shorter than The Gong. One thing cool about Bob was he never sweated his height. Peter Tosh was like 6'5 and Bob never tried to make himself look taller.

Both Bunny and Bob were quite tough, so maybe it was a bit of Napoleon complex?

He was fine as hell tho...he and Smokey Robinson coulda been brothers.

Here's a fairly recent pic of Lauryn w/ Martha Stewart and 4 of her kids. She'd had #5 by then, but the baby's not pictured.

Why her lips so black?

SCNDLS said:

methinks this is what happened...

SCNDLS said:

I was gonna ask the same question. She got those Kool Cigarettes lips

we stay on the same wavelength
SCNDLS-----><-----BBoy87

bboy87 said:

You di'int know?

Here's a piece about this situation from August 08. Rohan speaks about Lauryn. It was originally posted on BlackVoices.com by Karu F. Daniels but I can't find the direct link.

Finally, someone is speaking on behalf of Lauryn Hill.

And it's not a media savvy record label publicity staffer or an unnamed source; it's the reclusive rapstress' five babies' father, Rohan Marley.

In the Aug. 18 issue of 'People' magazine, the fourth son of late reggae music legend Bob Marley breaks his silence about Hill, who set the country ablaze with her critically-acclaimed solo album, 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' ten years ago.

Since she released the multiple Grammy Award-winning opus and its subsequent hit singles, Hill became an international music icon in its aftermath. With spotty recording projects throughout the years, and somewhat bizarre public outings, the New Jersey native has left many wondering "Whatever Happened to Lauryn Hill?"

Marley offers answers to that often asked question.

"She loves [suburban life], being with her children, seeing them grow and instilling our teachings of righteousness to them," the 36-year old former college football player explained. "[She does] what regular people do: She cooks, shops, goes to restaurants, regular things ... She became more in tune with the earth."

Hill, the former front-woman of the chart-topping, groundbreaking hip-hop trio, The Fugees, did not go off on the deep end, as many believed -- even after a series of odd appearances, most notably her 2001 'Unplugged' album (which caused 'Los Angeles Times' music critic to refer to her as "unhinged.").
The couple, who Marley says is "spiritually together," has five children: sons Zion, 11; Joshua, 6; and John, 5; and daughters Selah, 9; and a still unnamed seven-month-old.

Hill, herself, declined to comment for the 'People' magazine article – which seemed to have come from out of nowhere. But fellow Fugees members Wyclef Jean and Praz Michel was quoted throughout.

"When you're so successful, if you don't have one person around you that can talk some sense [into] you, it's over," Jean, also Hill's former lover, said. Meanwhile, Michel revealed that the she told him "she was gonna have people call her Empress.'"

Marley retorted: "They tell the record label, 'She's crazy,' and then the next minute they say, 'Oh, Rohan, can you call Lauryn [for me]?' It's hypocrisy."

So what's up with the renewed interests in Lauryn Hill?

Well, like a few legendary musical geniuses before her – Nina Simone, Miles Davis and Sly Stone come to mind -- her timeless tunes juxtaposed with her enigmatic persona continues to cast a spell on music aficionados and media buffs, alike.

It was on August 25, 1998 when Columbia Records released the masterfully produced 'Miseducation' project, which spurred tracks such as 'Ex Factor,' 'Everything Is Everything,' 'Lost Ones,' 'Sweetest Thing,' and the chart-topping hit single, 'Do Wop (That Thing).'

Hill's then-record company publicist Miguel Baguer helped bolster her through the mainstream media stratosphere with coveted magazine cover stories in 'Time,' 'Rolling Stone,' 'Entertainment Weekly,' and 'Harper's Bazaar,' among many others.

The career defining album, which garnered five Grammy Awards including the prestigious 'Album of the Year' honor, has stood the test of time causing its listeners to yearn for more.

Hill is still signed to the major record label but, unfortunately, there are no plans to release a follow-up in the near future.

Here's some pics of them togehter over the years:



[Edited 6/11/09 16:21pm]

brooksie said:

Damn she looks whooped. Not a cute look, L-Boogieman.

MuthaFunka said:

back in the day, she looked like she smelled like Motions hair conditioner and Cocoa Butter


now....more like fried bologna and cigarette water

bboy87 said:

Naw y'all that's some RnB lips....roaches n blunts!

bboy87 said:

brooksie said:

bboy87 said:

brooksie said:

Po' thang.

I remember when fine ass Rohan played college ball.

I just can't believe she's gone so far from what she was. It's amazing seeing her in those pics w/ Rohan and then seeing her w/ Martha. It's hard to believe she only inher early-mid 30s right now.

bboy87 said:

Lauryn been hittin that ganja with Rohan or what? Her lips are black as the dark knight! She looks terrible!
[Edited 6/11/09 19:42pm]