Lauryn Hill
is a powerful lyricist and singer and her first album, The Miseducation of
Lauryn Hill, gained acclaim with hits like "Ex-Factor" and "To
Zion."
In 1998, Lauryn
Hill (http://www.lauryn-hill.com/) released
her first solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill with Ruffhouse Records.
There are a total of sixteen songs on this album including two bonus songs "Can't
Take My Eyes Off of You" and "Sweetest Thing Mahogany Mix ." "Ex-Factor,"
"Doo Wop (That Thing)" and "Everything is Everything" are
some of the popular songs from this album. Hill's official site shares that
"Lauryn Hill's solo debut sold 8 million copies in the U.S., spawned 4 top
ten singles, and garnered Hill five Grammy (http://www.grammy.com/)
awards." The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was written and arranged by Hill.
Lauryn Hill Started
with The Fugees
Lauryn Hill's voice
was firstly widely recognized through her singing with Wyclef Jean and
Pras in The Fugees.
They delivered the hits "Killing Me Softly" and "Ready Or
Not." Hill was also recognized for the song "Sweetest Thing"
which was featured on the soundtrack from the film Love Jones starring Nia Long
and Larenz Tate (http://www.larenztate.com/). Her stunning
dark face and
afrocentric hairstyles also caught attention as she landed on the covers of
Time and Rolling Stone.
The Mis-education
in the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
The cover of The
Miseducation of Lauryn Hill features a sketch of this talented R&B and Hip
Hop artist. A wooden pencil lays flat on both the front and back cover of the
CD. Hill ties in her mis-education further with the classroom themed interludes
between the songs. A school bell rings and a roll call starts off the
"Introduction" of this powerful album. Names are called and every
student answers until "Lauryn Hill" is called three times with no
answer. The classroom setting is continued at the end of "Lost Ones."
The teacher shares that he will write letters on the board and the students
recite the letters "L-O-V-E". They talk about songs about love and
mention Kirk Franklin's song "Love" and a song from the movie Titanic. The
discussion continues at the end of "To Zion," "Doo Wop (That Thing),"
"When It Hurts So Bad," "Forgive Them Father" featuring
Shelly Thunder and "Every Ghetto, Every City."
Top Hits From
Lauryn Hill First Solo Album
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill features artists
such as Mary J. Blige (http://www.mjblige.com/) and D'Angelo. This album can be
considered a cross between soul, R&B, Hip Hop and a hint of jazz. Some
songs have live instruments in the recording including "To Zion"
featuring Carlos Santana and "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" featuring
the Indigo Quartet.
- "Nothing
Even Matters" featuring D'Angelo: "Nothing Even Matters" has a
soul and jazzy feel and powerful lyrics that sing about love. "I sometimes
have the tendency / to look at you religiously" are lyrics sung by
D'Angelo. Hill assures her lover that no natural catastrophe or the threat of
unemployment could change her feelings towards him.
- "Ex-Factor" is an Ode to the Exes: Lauryn Hill sings the lead and
background vocals on this emotional song. "Ex-Factor" is a painful
yet expressive song that sings about breaking up. "When I try to walk
away, you hurt yourself to make me stay" and "cause no one's hurt me
more than you / and no one ever will" are examples of the lyrics.
"Ex-Factor" contains a sample from Wu-Tang Klan (http://www.wutang-corp.com/)'s
"Can It All Be So Simple." Wu-Tang Kan's song was originally sampled
from Barbra Streisand (http://www.barbrastreisand.com/us/home)'s "The Way
We Were" which was written by Marvin Hamlisch and Alan and Marilyn Bergman
(http://www.alanandmarilynbergman.com/).
- The Title Track
"The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill": "The Miseducation of Lauryn
Hill" is a deep song about finding oneself. Her words "And every time
I try to be / What someone has thought of me / So caught up, I wasn't able to
achieve" show personal struggle. The lines she repeats "I made up my
mind to find my own destiny" reflect that through the soul searching, the
resolution was made to fend for herself to live as she chooses.
- "To
Zion" is a Song to Lauryn Hill's Son: In the 'Shout Outs & Thank
You's' of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Hill states "Zion (you
delivered me)!!! My joy and my light, Mommy loves you." Hill paired with
Carlos Santana on the guitar to present this inspiring song about the love for
her son, Zion. Her chorus is simply "the joy of my world is in Zion"
in expressing her love for her son.
Lauryn Hill is
multi-talented as she can sing, write and arrange music. She is an appreciated
and loved artist. Since her release of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1998,
she released MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 in 2002. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,
which won five Grammy awards, will remain coveted by many upcoming artists and
loved by millions of fans because of its success and timelessness.
