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50 free Lauryn Hill trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Lauryn Hill trivia quiz covers the New Jersey teenager who acted in a soap opera and Sister Act 2, fronted the Fugees on The Score, and then made one of the most acclaimed albums of all time. The easier questions handle the landmarks: her hometown, the Fugees' breakout cover, the debut single that entered the Hot 100 at No. 1, and the night she won five Grammys. From there the quiz gets into the making of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in Jamaica, the New Ark lawsuit, MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, and the songs of hers that Kanye West, Drake and Cardi B have sampled. The hardest questions are for the obsessives: the name of her first group with Pras, the Bob Marley virtual duet, the Vatican speech, the tax case that sent her to Danbury, and her surprise return at Coachella and the 2026 Grammys. Because she quotes and is quoted so much, we have kept every question about facts, dates and records rather than lyrics. Every answer was checked against Lauryn Hill's encyclopaedia entry before publishing. If you enjoy this, try our 90s hip hop and R&B quizzes next.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Lauryn Hill was born in East Orange and raised in South Orange, both in which US state?
New Jersey
At her high school she ran track, cheered, founded the gospel choir and was a classmate of actor Zach Braff.
Q 02Which record label signed the Fugees in 1993?
Columbia/Ruffhouse
Hill used her earnings from acting to help finance the group before the deal; their name derived from 'refugee', a slur aimed at Haitian Americans.
Q 03In Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, Hill played which surly Catholic-school student?
Rita Watson
She sang 'His Eye Is on the Sparrow' and 'Joyful, Joyful' in the film, and director Bill Duke said her rap in one scene was entirely improvised.
Q 04Before Sister Act 2, Hill played troubled teenager Kira Johnson on which soap opera?
As the World Turns
An agent noticed her in Club XII, MC Lyte's off-Broadway hip-hop take on Twelfth Night, and got her the recurring role.
Q 05The title of Hill's 1998 solo debut was partly inspired by a 1933 book by which historian?
Carter G. Woodson
Woodson's The Mis-Education of the Negro shared the honour with a film and autobiographical novel, The Education of Sonny Carson.
Q 06Which lead single from Hill's debut album entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1?
Doo Wop (That Thing)
It made her the first artist whose first appearances on both the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 debuted at the top.
Q 07How many Grammys did Lauryn Hill win in one night in 1999, then a record for a woman?
5
Her haul included Album of the Year and Best New Artist, and she declared from the stage: 'This is crazy. This is hip-hop!'
Q 08Hill was the first artist from which genre to win the Grammy for Album of the Year?
Rap
She was also the first rapper to appear on the cover of Time.
Q 09Hill's cover of which Roberta Flack song became the Fugees' breakout hit in 1996?
Killing Me Softly
It won the Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group and crossed over to pop, hip hop and adult contemporary radio.
Q 10What was the title of the Fugees' hugely successful second album, released in 1996?
The Score
It sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and won the Grammy for Best Rap Album, making Hill the first woman to receive that award.
Q 11Where did Hill record The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill?
Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica
The studio was founded by a reggae legend whose son Rohan she was by then dating.
Q 12Rohan, Hill's long-term partner and the father of five of her children, is a son of which musician?
Bob Marley
Rohan had played football at the University of Miami; the two met in the summer of 1996 while Hill was still involved with Wyclef Jean.
Q 13Hill's song 'To Zion' was written about her decision to do what?
Have her first child
Some around her had encouraged an abortion so as not to interrupt her career; the pregnancy instead lifted her out of writer's block.
Q 21Hill's 2002 live album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 featured her singing accompanied only by which instrument?
Acoustic guitar
Rolling Stone called it 'a public breakdown', yet it debuted at No. 3 and went platinum.
Q 22Hill won a second Album of the Year Grammy as a producer on which 1999 blockbuster album?
Santana's Supernatural
She wrote, produced and rapped on the track 'Do You Like the Way', which also featured CeeLo Green.
Q 23Hill's cover of 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' was recorded for which 1997 film?
Conspiracy Theory
Q 14Which Fugees bandmate first approached Hill in high school about forming a group?
Pras Michel
Wyclef Jean, Pras's cousin, joined later, replacing another female vocalist.
Q 15What was the original name of the group that became the Fugees?
Translator Crew
The name was chosen because they wanted to rhyme in different languages.
Q 16What was the title of the Fugees' poorly received 1994 debut album?
Blunted on Reality
Their management had pushed them toward gangsta-rap attitudes; Hill's verse on 'Some Seek Stardom' was singled out as a highlight.
Q 17What nickname was Hill known by within the Fugees?
L. Boogie
Years later she reportedly asked to be addressed as 'Ms. Hill' and considered changing her moniker to 'Empress'.
Q 18Hill was studying at which college before sales of The Score persuaded her to leave?
Columbia
She was considering a history major and still living with her parents at 21.
Q 19Hill wrote and produced 'A Rose Is Still a Rose', a late-career hit for which soul legend?
Aretha Franklin
It contributed to Hill becoming the first woman nominated in ten Grammy categories in a single year.
Q 20Hill's 'Mystery of Iniquity' was interpolated by Kanye West on which single?
All Falls Down
The credit made her a songwriter on West's track; the song came from her divisive MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 album.
The track earned a Grammy nomination even though it was not on any of her albums.
Q 24Hill's posthumous 'virtual duet' with a late reggae icon appeared on which 1999 remix tribute album?
Chant Down Babylon
The track also featured in the film The Best Man and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
Q 25Which group of musicians sued Hill in 1998, claiming they were not properly credited on Miseducation?
New Ark
The fifty-page suit was settled out of court in 2001 for a reported $5 million.
Q 26Hill's non-profit for at-risk youth, founded in 1996, was called what?
The Refugee Project
Its board included Mariah Carey, Spike Lee, Busta Rhymes and Sean Combs, and it ran a summer camp in the Catskills.
Q 27Where did Hill denounce clergy sexual-abuse cover-ups during a 2003 Christmas concert?
The Vatican
The Pope was not present; the Catholic League called her 'pathologically miserable' and her remarks were cut from the broadcast.
Q 28Hill was sentenced in 2013 to three months in prison for what offence?
Failing to file tax returns
She served the sentence at the minimum-security federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, and was released a few days early for good behaviour.
Q 29Hill's 2013 single 'Consumerism' was finished how?
Via instructions sent from prison
She released it right after her release in October 2013 and was allowed to postpone part of her home confinement to tour.
Q 30Hill's 2014 protest song responding to the killing of Michael Brown was titled what?
Black Rage
She also performed it at an Amnesty International benefit in support of Pussy Riot.