Lauryn Hill is back.
The 37-year-old musician released a new track called "Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix)" on Saturday, posting a link to the song on her Tumblr page.
"Here is a link to a piece that I was ‘required’ to release immediately, by virtue of the impending legal deadline. I love being able to reach people directly, but in an ideal scenario, I would not have to rush the release of new music… but the message is still there," Hill wrote. "In light of Wednesday’s tragic loss (of former label mate Chris Kelly), I am even more pressed to YELL this to a multitude that may not understand the cost of allowing today’s unhealthy paradigms to remain unchecked!"
Hill, who recently signed a deal with Sony Music, raps on the "Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix)," offering a decidedly different sound from her earlier work. Hill's deal with Sony will have the singer creating a new record label with the company. She will be releasing her first studio album in 15 years later this year, as her last studio-recorded album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," hit stores in 1998. Hill went on to release a live album, "MTV Unplugged No. 2.0" in 2002.
She announced the move on her Tumblr page, writing, "I’ve remained silent, after an extensive healing process. This has been a 10+ year battle, for a long time played out behind closed doors, but now in front of the public eye. This is an old conflict between art and commerce… free minds, and minds that are perhaps overly tethered to structure. This is about inequity, and the resulting disenfranchisement caused by it. I’ve been fighting for existential and economic freedom, which means the freedom to create and live without someone threatening, controlling, and/or manipulating the art and the artist, by tying the purse strings."
"The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" was a huge success for the artist. The album hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, has gone multi-platinum, and won five Grammy awards, including Album of the Year.
