Lauryn Hill Faces Court Date Next Month

05/25/2000 1:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(5/25/00, 1 p.m. ET) - Lauryn Hill is scheduled to appear in court June 21 as part of the discovery phase of a lawsuit facing her from New-Ark Entertainment.

In a suit filed against Hill in November 1998, the members of New-Ark allege that Hill "used their songs and production skills but failed to properly credit them for the work" on Hill's debut solo album, 1998's The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, which has sold 5.7 million copies.

On June 21, Hill will be asked, under oath, whether or not she wrote the songs on her album. Although New-Ark's suit says that they should have received credit as songwriters and producers, Hill claims she wrote and produced the entire album. Members of the New-Ark production team are credited as supplying "additional production," "additional musical contribution," and "additional lyrical contribution" to the Grammy-winning album. The case has been delayed a number of times.

Despite the controversy surrounding her album, Hill still has respect from her peers. D'Angelo, who appeared on Hill's album, told LAUNCH that artists such as Hill are successful because they stand out artistically.

"Lauryn Hill, the message that she sings about and the things that she does, it's going to work because she's so different from what everybody else is talking bout. It's almost like an antithesis of what some motherf--kers are talking about. 'Cause although a lot of people are buying or dancing off of it, it really don't mean that they really, really, really appreciate it," D'Angelo said. "You ever catch yourself singing something that you know you don't like? You know you hate the song but because you done heard it so many times you're singing it. But when something comes along that's different and that's dope and that they can identify with, they gonna love it."

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