Lauryn Hill is scheduled to be released from federal prison today after serving a three-month sentence for tax evasion. The former Fugees singer has marked the occasion with the release of a new track called "Consumerism." The track is a seething indictment of all of the world’s -‘isms, about which Hill wrote:
"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. 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."
– Ms. Lauryn Hill
(h/t Okayplayer)