Lauryn Hill unveiled her first new solo song in five years, “Guarding the Gates,” which appears on the soundtrack for Queen & Slim, out today, November 15th.
Hill has been performing “Guarding the Gates” live for several years now, and the studio version is an immersive and sprawling ballad filled with lush strings and choral vocals anchored by a steady drum and bass groove. Hill delivers a mesmerizing vocal performance that finds her embracing love on her quest for self-actualization, singing, “What a tragedy, you can laugh at me/You can laugh at me/But I’m in love/ Yes, I’m in love.”
“Guarding the Gates” marks Hill’s first solo song since 2014’s “Black Rage.” Her first and so-far-only solo album remains 1998’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Along with Hill, the Queen & Slim soundtrack features music from Megan Thee Stallion, Vince Staples, Lil Baby, Syd, Burna Boy, Blood Orange, Moses Sumney and more. Directed by Melina Matsoukas and written by Lena Waithe, Queen & Slim stars Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith as a couple who are forced to go on the run after a traffic stop turns tragic. The film is set to open November 27th.
