When British R&B songstress Joss Stone started writing material for her forthcoming third album, Introducing Joss Stone, she decided she wanted the disc to feature a couple of collaborations. More than anything, though, Stone wanted to work with one of her favorite artists, the Fugees' Lauryn Hill. In her mind, the musical pairing just had to happen. So for months the 19-year-old tried to secure a commitment from the seven-time Grammy Award-winning artist, but to no avail.

Rather than stalk Hill's management or record-label heads, Stone turned to a more intimate source to make the magic happen.

"I called her mum every day for like a month and a half," Stone explained. "I couldn't get a hold of [Lauryn], and there was no answer from [her camp] — I couldn't get a yes or a no. So I just kept calling her mother."

And Stone's persistence eventually paid off, with Hill hopping on board to contribute to the track "Music," which Joss described as her love letter to song.

"I wrote it based off of the Fugees track 'The Mask' [from 1996's The Score], but now the track has changed drastically — but the bass line's similar," Stone said. "I really think that everybody goes through life looking for love in all the wrong places — in human beings. Unconditional love is impossible to get from a human being, but it's not impossible to get from music. And Lauryn, I've wanted to work with her since the first time I heard her voice. It's a dream come true for me — a goal I can mark off my list. I love her so much, and she's just so talented. She's just a poet."

Labels: Joss Stone, Lauryn Hill