(3 of 3)
Night in New Jersey. A soft, warm rain is falling. You are standing on Hill's front porch. Hill bought the house for her parents and has her own place nearby, but she's been living here as she readies herself for the birth of her child. Hill's mom helps with the baby, as does Hill's boyfriend Rohan Marley, the son of Bob Marley and the father of both Zion and Hill's unborn child. Hill says the two have "plans to marry" but no set date. In the meantime, she says, "I don't consider myself a single parent because my son's father is very much involved."
She appreciates the help. Like other multimedia hip-hop stars, Hill, who appeared in Sister Act 2, has a lot of offers. She's considering a part in a possible movie adaptation of John Irving's novel The Cider House Rules, she's in discussions with director Joel Schumacher about appearing in a big-screen version of the musical Dreamgirls, and she recently started her own film production company. Next year, she hopes to go on tour with neosoul star D'Angelo.
Right now she's making her chief impact with her music. Hill wrote and produced every song on her CD (except for two standards she covers). Her album also uses live instruments, giving it a fresh, personal feel. "People like Lauryn and Wyclef and Missy [Elliot] are making creative albums," says Funk Master Flex, a D.J. for New York City's Hot 97 radio station, whose own CD, The Mix Tape Volume III, is a Top 10 hit. "They're sending a signal to other artists: check yourselves, and step up your game."
Back on that Jersey porch, something else is on Hill's mind. She smacks her lips. "You get these hungers when you're pregnant," she says. "At least I do. For strange things." Hill then announces she has a craving for a kind of soap.
Driving out of South Orange, it's hard not to think of Hill's odd craving metaphorically. It's a creative time in hip-hop history, a pregnant time; there's a hunger for music that is out of the ordinary, that breaks boundaries. You think of a line from one of Hill's songs: "I treat this like my thesis/ Well-written topic/ Broken down into pieces." You slip Miseducation into your CD player. "Now some might mistake this for just a simple song..."