Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix)

Album: not on an album (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • Lauryn Hill pleaded guilty in 2012 of failing to report income of more than $1.8 million between 2005 and 2007. The former Fugees singer signed a last minute deal with Sony to record five new songs plus an album, which enabled her to partly repay her debts. This cut, in which Hill dismisses 2013 as "a joke time, [a] metaphorical coke time," was her first release under the agreement, her first new music since "Repercussions" leaked in 2010.
  • The song was made available by Hill on May 4, 2013, dubbed by the singer as the "Compulsory Mix." She added a link in which Hill stated that she would not have made the tune public so quickly had it not been for her legal problems.
  • Hill was sentenced to three months in prison a couple of days after the song's release for her failure to pay taxes. The sentence also came with three months of home confinement.
  • Such lyrics as "greedy men and pride fiends," followed by "drag queens" sparked controversy for its seemingly anti-gay message. Hill addressed these issues in an open letter on her Tumblr page saying that the song is "not targeting any particular group;" adding that is "targeting everyone in our society who hides behind neurotic behavior, rather than deal with it."

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