Just as Lauryn Hill‘s imprisonment brought us her first new track in years, so her release has occasioned new music. 

In May, the ex-Fugee was sentenced to three months in prison on tax avoidance charges. Hill was convicted of failing to pay approximately $1m of tax in 2005-7. Just before her sentencing, Hill released the scabrous ‘Neurotic Society’ as part of a deal with Sony that was intended to help keep her out of prison – a tactic that ultimately failed to bear fruit.

Hill will finish serving her sentence today, and she’s toasted the occasion by releasing another piece of new music. ‘Consumerism’ is available now on iTunes, and, like its predecessor, it’s a fast and furious affair. Centred around a choppy, rock-leaning backing track, it’s a breathless dismantling of social ills and sinister economic forces, not a million miles away from Rage Against The Machine in both content and delivery.

Hill has released the following statement to accompany the track

“‘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.”

Hill’s last studio album was 2002’s MTV Unplugged No. 2.0.