The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the only solo studio album by American singer and rapper Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 25, 1998, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is a neo soul and R&B album with some songs based in hip hop soul and reggae. Its lyrics touch upon Hill's pregnancy and the turmoil within her former group the Fugees, along with themes of love and God. The album's title was inspired by the film and autobiographical novel The Education of Sonny Carson, and Carter G. Woodson's The Mis-Education of the Negro.
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
August 25, 1998
September 1997 – June 1998
- RPM
- Chung King
- Sony Music
- The Hit Factory
- Right Tracks
- Perfect Pair
- Marley Music, Inc.
- Tuff Gong
- House
77:39
- Lauryn Hill
- Che Pope
- Vada Nobles
After touring with the Fugees, Hill became involved in a romantic relationship with Jamaican entrepreneur Rohan Marley, and shortly after, became pregnant with their child. This pregnancy, as well as other circumstances in her life, inspired Hill to make a solo album. Recording sessions for the album took place from late 1997 to June 1998 mainly at Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, as Hill collaborated with a group of musicians known as New Ark in writing and producing the songs.
The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 422,000 copies in its first week, which broke a record for first-week sales by a female artist. It was promoted with the release of the hit singles "Doo Wop (That Thing)", "Ex-Factor", and "Everything Is Everything", while "Lost Ones" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" were released as promotional singles.[4] To further promote the album, Hill made televised performances on Saturday Night Live and the Billboard Music Awards before embarking on a sold-out, worldwide concert tour.
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was among the most acclaimed albums of 1998, as most critics praised Hill's presentation of a woman's view on life and love, along with her artistic range. At the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill earned ten nominations, winning five awards, making Hill the first woman to receive that many nominations and awards in one night. The album's success propelled Hill to international superstardom, and contributed to bringing hip hop and neo soul to the forefront of popular music. New Ark, however, felt Hill and her record label did not properly credit the group on the album; a lawsuit filed by the group was settled out of court in 2001.
Since its release, the album has been ranked in numerous best-album lists, with a number of critics regarding it as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time. Among its honors are inclusion in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list, Harvard University's Loeb Music Library, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American history, the 200 Definitive Albums in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry and the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2021, the album was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America, for estimated sales of 10 million copies in the US, making Hill the first female rapper to accomplish this feat.[5] Worldwide, the album has sold over 20 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time, the best-selling album by a female rapper,[6] and the best-selling neo-soul album of all time.[7]
Background[edit]
In 1996, Lauryn Hill met Rohan Marley while touring as a member of the Fugees. The two gradually formed a close relationship, and while on tour, Hill became pregnant with his child.[8] The pregnancy and other circumstances in her life inspired her to record a solo album. After contributing to fellow Fugees member Wyclef Jean's 1997 solo record Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival, Hill took time off from touring and recording due to her pregnancy and cases of writer's block.[9] This pregnancy, however, renewed Hill's creativity, as she recalled in an interview several years later: "When some women are pregnant, their hair and their nails grow, but for me it was my mind and ability to create. I had the desire to write in a capacity that I hadn't done in a while. I don't know if it's a hormonal or emotional thing ... I was very in touch with my feelings at the time." Of the early writing process, Hill said, "Every time I got hurt, every time I was disappointed, every time I learned, I just wrote a song."[10]
While inspired, Hill wrote over thirty songs in her attic studio in South Orange, New Jersey.[11] Many of these songs drew upon the turbulence in the Fugees, as well as past love experiences.[12] In the summer of 1997, as Hill was due to give birth to her first child, she was requested to write a song for gospel musician CeCe Winans.[11] Several months later, she went to Detroit to work with soul singer Aretha Franklin, writing and producing her single "A Rose is Still a Rose". Franklin would later have Hill direct the song's music video.[13] Shortly after this, Hill did writing work for Whitney Houston.[14] Having written songs for artists in gospel, hip hop, and R&B, she drew on these influences and experiences to record The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.[15]
Lawsuit[edit]
Though The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was largely a collaborative work between Hill and a group of musicians known as New Ark (Vada Nobles, Rasheem Pugh, Tejumold Newton, and Johari Newton), there was "label pressure to do the Prince thing," wherein all tracks would be credited as "written and produced by" the artist with little outside help.[19][42] While recording the album, Hill was against the idea of creating documentation defining each musician's role.[19]
In 1998, New Ark filed a 50-page lawsuit against Hill, her management and her record label, stating that Hill "used their songs and production skills, but failed to properly credit them for the work."[134] The musicians claimed to be the primary songwriters on two tracks, and major contributors on several others, though Gordon Williams, the album's mixer and engineer, described the project as a "powerfully personal effort by Hill ... It was definitely her vision."[105] Audio engineer Tony Prendatt, who also worked on the album, defended Hill, with a statement saying "Lauryn's genius is her own".[135] In response to the lawsuit, Hill claimed that New Ark took advantage of her success.[136] New Ark requested partial writing credits and monetary reimbursement.[137] The suit was eventually settled out of court in February 2001 for a reported $5 million.[42][138]
Impact[edit]
Influence on contemporaries[edit]
Several artists have cited the album as an inspiration for their musical work including Omar Apollo,[139] H.E.R.,[140] Ella Mai,[141] Rachel Platten,[142] and Macy Gray.[143][144] Furthermore, Ella Mai,[145] Rihanna,[146] Dan Smith of Bastille[147][144] and Adele[148] have all called The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill their personal favorite album. American entertainer Donald Glover stated that it's his most-listened to album,[149] while Zendaya,[150] along with rappers J. Cole[151] and Kendrick Lamar[152] have cited it as their favorite album by a female artist.
Producer Savan Kotecha told Vulture that he and Ariana Grande listened to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album during the recording of Grande's fourth studio album Sweetener. Kotecha stated that the chord changes in Grande's song "No Tears Left to Cry" was modeled after the album.[153] Beyoncé cited Hill as one of her primary inspirations for her fourth album 4.[154] The Miseducation also inspired the albums Daytona by Pusha T,[155] The College Dropout by Kanye West,[156] and Immunity by Clairo.[157]
Talent manager Nick Shymansky, shared with BET that after being inspired by The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, his search for a Lauryn Hill-like talent led him to discovering Amy Winehouse in the early aughts.[158] Winehouse eventually began working on her debut album Frank (2003), with many of the producers that Hill has worked with.[159] Country singer Lucinda Williams stated that her album World Without Tears (2003), as well her song "Righteously" were influenced by the album and its hip hop elements.[160] Maroon 5's album Songs About Jane (2002) was also inspired by the LP, most notably on the track "Sweetest Goodbye" which drew from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill song "Tell Him".[161][162] Numerous artists have titled their projects after the album including Freddie Gibbs with his album The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs,[163] Calboy & Lil Wayne on their single "Miseducation",[164] and Lil' Kim on her mixtape track "Mis-education of Lil' Kim".[165]
Music industry[edit]
Following the success of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Hill rose to international superstardom and established herself as a pioneering woman in hip-hop,[166][167] as magazines ranging from Harper's Bazaar to Esquire to Teen People vied to place her on their front covers. In 1999, she was described as a "Hip Hop icon" by Jet.[168] Music Journalist Brandon Tensley argued that she achieved "icon status through the strength of her debut solo album alone."[169]
Radio personality Ed Lover argued that The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill offered a different perspective from other woman in hip-hop, who generally rapped about sex or being "rugged" and "rough" at the time of its release. "Women tuned into her like she was a Ms. Luther King" according to American rapper Redman, while further adding that the album "made women cocky" and empowered them.[170] Journalist Danyel Smith stated that it "dragged rap back to the land of the living after the twin drive-by murders of Tupac Shakur (1996) and Notorious B.I.G. (1997)".[171]
In a February 8, 1999, Time cover-story, Hill was credited for helping fully assimilate hip-hop into mainstream music, and became the first hip-hop artist to ever appear on the magazine's front cover.[172][173] Later that month, Hill broke numerous records at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards.[174] Among the awards she received that night was Album of the Year, which has often been recognized as the most prestigious award in American music,[175][176] and marked the first time a hip-hop artist won the award. According to music executive Clive Davis, the win helped the Grammy Awards become more accepting of rap and hip hop music. Former senior music editor for Amazon, Pete Hilgendorf stated it marked the start of when "the progression of R&B moving into hip-hop became evident".[177]
The Rough Guide to Rock (2003) hailed the album as the "ultimate cross-over album of the hip-hop era".[178] The album has been cited as one of the earliest to fully blend rapping and singing,[179] with Genius dubbing Hill as "the first superstar to excel at both singing and rapping".[180] Writing for The New York Times in 2018, Journalist Jon Caramanica noted that by "the mid-to-late 2000s, singing became a full-fledged part of hip-hop, owing to the success of Drake, one of the first stars —Lauryn Hill got there earlier — who toggled cleanly between rapping and singing and understood them as variations of each other, not oppositional forces. Rappers are singers now, to the point where the framework of singing has been refracted almost wholly through the needs of hip-hop."[181] When speaking to Pitchfork about the album's influence, rapper Vince Staples stated that "Nowadays we get a combination of singing and rapping in a lot of music. But back then, it was a risk. So for her to sing like that early on, combined with the subject matter, the arrangement of the album with its throughline, and how it just flows with you. it's definitely a classic body of work."[182] Janelle Monáe shared a similar sentiment arguing that Hill "was hip-hop and R&B, but nobody had used [the combination] in the way she did. She created something that we had never tasted before."[183] Cyndi Lauper argued that the album "changed everything and everybody. Lauryn Hill changed phrasing. She started a whole new kind of singing, taking church and hip-hop and stirring it with this freaking great feeling and voice."[184]
Along with Brown Sugar by D'Angelo, Erykah Badu's Baduizm, and Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite by Maxwell,[185][186] The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is considered to be one of the most important and definitive releases in the history of neo soul music.[187] According to Ebony magazine, it brought the neo soul genre to the forefront of popular music,[188] and became the genre's most critically acclaimed and popular album.[36] The Encyclopedia of African American Music (2010), noted that "some tracks are based more in hip hop soul than neo soul, but the record is filled with live musicians and layered harmonies, and therefore it is a trendsetting record that connects modern hip hop, R&B, and classic soul music together, creating groundwork for what followed it in the neo soul genre."[36] In conversation with the Los Angeles Times about the success of the 1999 album Black Diamond by Angie Stone, editor Emil Wilbekin of Vibe stated "I think [1998's] The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill changed the way a lot of R&B artists are presenting their music," and added "With Lauryn and Erykah Badu and D'Angelo and Maxwell, there's been a return to live instruments, real singing and real love stories. I think Angie Stone is an outgrowth of that."[189]
Tributes and anniversary projects[edit]
Marvel Comics released a series of variant comic book covers inspired by influential contemporary rap albums, which included a reimagined Miseducation themed Ms. Marvel comic cover.[190] San Francisco Bay Area music collective UnderCover Presents, formed by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, released a Miseducation tribute album entitled UnderCover Presents: A Tribute to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (2017).[191]
On The Miseducation's fifteenth anniversary in 2013, American rapper Nas reviewed the album for XXL, hailing it as a model for artists of all genres to follow. He also called it "a timeless record, pure music", and said it "represents the time period—a serious moment in Black music, when young artists were taking charge and breaking through doors."[192]
In 2018, Hill launched a North American tour to commemorate the album's 20th anniversary.[193] Adele penned a letter referring to the album as her "favorite record of all time", while noting that it represented "an honest representation of love and life", and added "I feel I can relate too but also I know there's elements and levels I never will be able to. Ms. Lauryn Hill was on form in every way possible. Thank you for the record of a lifetime, thank you for your wisdom! Thank you for existing. Happy 20th".[194] American girl group TLC, spoke to Beats 1 about the album's influence, with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas stating "I mean, she be in the videos sometimes pregnant, and sometimes not. She was doing it at a time where they would probably be like, "wait until you have your baby." Whereas these days, a female artist — whether you're an actress or whatever — if you're pregnant, you celebrate that from the moment that you decide to share it with the world. She didn't care, she just did it. Her voice — to be able to rap like that and sing like that, she was and is unbelievably talented. There's nobody like Lauryn Hill."[195]
In celebration of the album's 20th anniversary, Billboard interviewed 16 artists who have been inspired by the album, which included Jazmine Sullivan, Maggie Rogers, Rapsody, Normani, Chloe Bailey, Lizzo, Andra Day, Saweetie, Ella Mai, Teyana Taylor, Anne-Marie and more.[196] The album was also the subject of author and journalist Joan Morgan's 2018 book She Begat This: 20 Years of 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'.[197][198] That same year, Spotify presented the Dear Ms. Hill art installation in Brooklyn, New York which saw fans, including H.E.R. and Kelly Rowland, submit letters about The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and then used those letters to turn them into paper art.[199] Further, the Spotify podcast Dissect launched their first ever mini series, which examined the album and its impact.[200] Hill also collaborated with Woolrich to design Miseducation inspired pieces for their 'American Soul Since 1830' collection, and starred in the accompanying campaign.[201][202]
Legacy[edit]
Rankings and honors[edit]
The album was the first in the history of XXL to receive a perfect "XXL" rating.[109] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame placed it on their list of 200 Definitive Albums (2007).[203] In 2014, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for inclusion in the National Recording Registry;[204] making it the first female rap recording to enter the National Recording Registry.[205] In 2017, Harvard University selected it as one of the first batch of hip hop albums to preserved in the Loeb Music Library.[206] That same year, the album was ranked in second place on the NPR list of '150 Greatest Albums Made by Women';[207] and nearly tied with Blue by Joni Mitchell for the number one position, according to the publication.[208] In 2024, The Recording Academy inducted The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[209] Additionally, the album has also collected by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American history.[210]
While ranking it 314th on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003), Rolling Stone credited Hill with taking 1970s soul and making it "boom and signify to the hip-hop generation".[211] Rolling Stone's placement of The Miseducation at number 10 on a revised edition in 2020 made it the highest ranking rap album on the list.[212] In 2022, the album was placed at number 11 on the Consequence list of the "100 Greatest Albums of All Time", being the second highest ranked album by a woman on the list;[213] the publication later ranked it as the second greatest hip hop album ever on their list of the 50 best hip hop albums of all time (2023).[214] In 2023, it was ranked as the best R&B album of all time by British GQ.[215] That same year, The Recording Academy cited it as one of the 10 essential albums made by women rappers;[216] and the album was also recognized as one of the 5 hip hop albums that "Revolutionized Rap Music" by American Songwriter.[217]
After being asked "What is the best Hip-Hop album of all-time?", the OpenAI created product called ChatGPT, that utilizes artificial intelligence listed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill along with four other albums as its response, according to Rock the Bells.[218]
Footnotes
Bibliography