What an accomplishment: 1998 Grammy award-winner for Album of the Year, the first time a hip-hop album has won... and Lauren received 5 Grammies, the most any woman has ever received. When hip-hop superheroes The Fugees dropped their first album, critics said, 'The guys should stop rappin', the girls should go solo.' Well, the guys didn't stop, but the girl, Lauryn Hill, has delivered in this bomb-diggity of a solo album! Not only is her singing voice incredibly beautiful (check her ode to her newborn son Zion, Bob Marley's grandson), but she's got those crazy rhymin' skills.
Doo Wop is the only #1 single this decade to be written, produced, and recorded solely by a woman. And her interpretation of
Can't Take My Eyes Off of You has just
got to be heard. Her lyrics are deep, conscious, and strongly feminist, and are perfectly combined with head-noddin' beats as well as some slow grooves. I'm sure she has some faults; maybe she doesn't roll her toothpaste from the bottom or something. No faults on this album though! Get at it!
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the debut solo album by American musician Lauryn Hill, released August 25, 1998, on Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place from late 1997 to June 1998, and were held primarily at Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica. The album's lyrics deal with Hill's pregnancy at the time, the turmoil in her former group the Fugees, and also love and God, while it incorporates musical elements of R&B, hip hop, soul, reggae, and gospel. 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.Rolling Stone article: "."
Upon its release, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 422,624 copies in its first week, which broke a record for first week sales by a female artist at the time of its release.. USA Today. Retrieved 2010-02-11. The album spawned several hit singles, which helped it achieve worldwide commercial success. In 1999, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill garnered ten Grammy nominations at the 41st Grammy Awards, winning five, making Hill the first female recording artist to receive that number of nominations, as well as awards in one night. On September 29, 1998, the album was certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and on December 17, 2001, it was certified 8X's platinum in the United States.. riaa.com. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
Following its initial reception, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill has perpetuated its acclaim from most music critics and publications, and has been widely recognized as a crucial and influential component of the neo soul sub-genre. The album has appeared on numerous accolades, with many regarding it as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2003, it was ranked number 312 on Rolling Stone magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Background
While on The Score Tour with her former group the Fugees, Hill met Rohan Marley, son of reggae musician Bob Marley. The two gradually formed a close relationship, and while on this tour, Hill became pregnant with his child.Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:112 This pregnancy, along with several other circumstances, would inspire her to make a solo record which would eventually become The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. In late 1996, fellow Fugee member Wyclef Jean began writing and recording his debut solo album The Carnival, which Lauryn would lend a hand with production, as well as guest verses and vocals. After the album was completed, Lauryn took time off from touring and recording Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:132 due to her pregnancy and cases of writer's block.Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:102
This pregnancy, however, would later revive Hill's artistic flow, as she'd recall 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."Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:128 Hill also went on to say "Every time I got hurt, every time I was disappointed, every time I learned, I just wrote a song."Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:129
While in this creative zone, Hill wrote over 30 songs in her attic studio in South Orange, New Jersey. Many of these songs heavily drew upon the turbulence in the Fugees, as well as a past love experience that ended sour. In regards to this, Hill stated "I spent so many years working at a relationship that didn't work, that I was like; I'm gonna write these songs and pour my heart into them."Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:106 In the summer of 1997, as Lauryn was due to give birth to her first child, she was requested to write a song for gospel musician CeCe Winans.
Several months later, she went to Detroit to work with soul legend Aretha Franklin, writing and producing the song "A Rose is Still a Rose." This song would turn out to be Franklin's up-coming single for her album of the same name, and Aretha would later have Hill direct the song's music video.Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:133 Shortly after this, Hill did writing work for Whitney Houston.Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:157 Having now written songs for musical acts ranging from hip hop to gospel, to R&B, Lauryn brought all of these influences and experiences to bear upon an album of her own.Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:138
Recording
Recording for the album began in late 1997 at Chung King Studios in New York,Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:148 and ended in June 1998 at Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica.Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:151 In an interview, Hill described the first day of recording, stating "The first day in the studio I ordered every instrument I ever fell in love with: harps, strings, timpani drums, organs, clarinets. It was my idea to record it so the human element stayed in. I didn't want it to be too technically perfect."Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:141-142 Initially, Wyclef Jean did not support Lauryn recording a solo album, but eventually offered his production help, which she did not accept.Rolling Stone magazine article: "".Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:141
Aside from doing work at Chung King Studios, Lauryn also recorded at Perfect Pair Studios in New Jersey, as well as Sony Studios,Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:149 with some songs having different elements recorded at different studios. The bulk of the album, however, was recorded at Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Jamaica, the studio built by reggae legend Bob Marley.Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:150 Regarding this shift in environment Hill stated "When I started recording in New York and New Jersey, lots of people were talking to me about going different routes. I could feel people up in my face, and I was picking up on bad vibes. I wanted a place where there was good vibes, where I was among family, and it was Tuff Gong."Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:146 Many members of the Marley family were present in the studio during the recording sessions, among them Julian Marley, who added guitar elements to "Forgive Them Father."
In an interview, recording engineer Gordon Williams recalled the recording of "Lost Ones," stating "It was our first morning in Jamaica and I saw all of these kids gathered around Lauryn, screaming and dancing. Lauryn was in the living room next to the studio with about fifteen Marley grandchildren around her, the children of Ziggy, and Stephen, and Julian, and she starts singing this rap verse, and all the kids start repeating the last word of each line, chiming in very spontaneously because they were so into the song."Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:153-154
Music
Musical style
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill incorporates a vast range of musical styles ranging from
R&B, soul and reggae, to hip hop and gospel, with many of its songs containing more than one of these genres. For instance, "When it hurts So Bad" is musically old roots reggae mixed with soul. While mostly in English, "Forgive Them Father" and "Lost Ones" both feature singing in patois, which is the common dialect in Jamaica. Although heavily R&B, the song "Superstar" contains an interpolation of the song "Light My Fire" by the classic rock band The Doors. In an interview, Lauryn described the artistic control her record label granted her, and how she wanted the album to sound, stating "I had total control of the album. Chris Swartz at Ruffhouse, my label, said, 'Listen, you've never done anything stupid thus far, so let me let you do your thing.' I'm sure everybody was skeptical, but this was something I wanted to do separate to the entire sound. I didn't want to come out with a Refugee All-Stars type of sound. I wanted to come out with something that was uniquely and very clearly a Lauryn Hill album."Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:140 Though this formula of mixed genres would prove to be both critically and commercially successful, Lauryn stated in an interview how none of the album's success was intentional, stating "There's too much pressure to have hits these days. Artists are watching Billboard instead of exploring themselves. Look at someone like Aretha, she didn't hit with her first album, but she was able to grow up and find herself. I wanted to make honest music. I don't like things to be too perfect, or too polished. People may criticize me for that, but I grew up listening to Al Green and Sam Cooke. When they hit a high note, you actually felt it."Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:143 Despite early talk of having Wu-Tang Clan member RZA contribute to production,Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:140 this collaboration would prove to be neglected, though some of his music with Wu-Tang would be sampled.
Lyrical themes
The majority of The Miseducations lyrics were written in Hill's attic during her first pregnancy, with much of the content dealing with motherhood, the Fugees, reminiscence, love, heart break, and God. Commenting on the album's gospel content, Lauryn stated "Gospel music is music inspired by the gospels. In a huge respect, a lot of this music turned out to be just that. During this album, I turned to the Bible and wrote songs that I drew comfort from."Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:154-155 Several of the album's songs, such as "Lost Ones," "Superstar," "Ex-Factor" and "Forgive Them Father" were widely speculated as direct attacks at Fugee members Wyclef and Pras.Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:159-160Rolling Stone article: "."
Although a large portion of the album's love songs would turn out to be bitter from Hill's previous relationship, "Nothing Even Matters,"Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:108-109 a duet performed by Hill and D'Angelo, showcased a brighter, more intimate perspective on the subject. The song was inspired by Hill's relationship with Rohan Marley. Speaking about "Nothing Even Matters"' lyrics, Hill remarked "I wanted to make a love song, á la Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, and give people a humanistic approach to love again without all the physicality and overt sexuality."Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:148
"To Zion," among the more personal tracks on the album, spoke about how her family comes before her career, and her decision to have her first child, even though many at the time encouraged her to abort the pregnancy as to not conflict with her blossoming career.Rolling Stone article: "." In an interview, she discussed the song's origin and significance, commenting "Names wouldn't come when I was ready to have him. The only name that came to me was Zion. I was like, 'is Zion too much of a weight to carry?' But this little boy, man. I would say he personally delivered me from my emotional and spiritual drought. He just replenished my newness. When he was born, I felt like I was born again."Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:133 She further stated "I wanted it to be a revolutionary song about a spiritual movement, and also about my spiritual change, going from one place to another because of my son."Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:149
Throughout The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, several interludes of a teacher speaking to what is implied to be a classroom of children are played. The "teacher" was played by Ras Baraka (poet, educator and politician) speaking to a group of kids in the living room of Hill's New Jersey home. Lauryn Hill requested that Baraka speak to the children about the concept of love, to which he improvised in the lecture.
Promotion
Singles
With many charting songs such as "Lost Ones," "Nothing Even Matters," "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" and "To Zion" used for radio play, only three official singles were released for the album. The first of which was the up-beat "Doo Wop (That Thing)," released October 27, 1998. The song features doo wop vocal harmonies, soul horns, hip hop DJ scratches, and an R&B chorus, with lyrics criticizing the many flaws common by both males and females in relationships. "Doo Wop" was an instant success, peaking at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending a total of three weeks at that position, and a total of 21 weeks on the Hot 100 chart.. Billboard. Retrieved 2010-04-24. It also peaked at number 2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and number 29 on the Pop Songs chart, which it stayed for 25 weeks. The song's music video was filmed in Manhattan's Washington Heights, with the video showing two Lauryn Hill's singing side by side at a block party. On the left side of the split screen, she is dressed in full late 1960s attire, complete with a bob cut and a zebra-striped dress, paying homage to older R&B and doo wop, and on the right side of the screen, the present-day Lauryn is shown in a homage to hip hop culture.Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:155 Slant Magazine writer Paul Schrodt praised the "Doo Wop (That Thing)" music video, stating "The resulting split-screen music video is the most flabbergasting testament to what the neo soul movement is all about." The song earned Hill Grammy Awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best R&B Song at the 41st Grammy Awards.. grammy.com. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
The second single released for the album was "Ex-Factor," released December 8, 1998. It was originally intended for a different artist, however, Lauryn decided to keep it after it was completed, due to its personal content.Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:161 The song proved to be less commercially successful than the previous single, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 7 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.. Billboard. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
The album's third and final official single was "Everything is Everything," released May 4, 1999. The song marked the first commercial appearance of R&B musician John Legend, who was still in his late teens upon the song's release.. Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-04-24. Though being less successful in America than the previous singles, it peaked at the 35th position on the Billboard Hot 100, and the 14th position on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song, however, peaked at number 19 on the UK Top 40 chart.. Billboard. Retrieved 2010-04-24. In 2008, About.com ranked "Everything is Everything" number 66 on their 100 Greatest Rap Songs list.Adaso, Henry. . About.com. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
Tour
Initially, there was no immediate tour planned due to the album not needing the promotion, and also, Lauryn was once again pregnant, and the child was due in September 1998.Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:185 Her first live performances of the songs were at Saturday Night Live and the Billboard Music Awards.Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:166 In January 1999, Lauryn recruited a band and began rehearsals for what would become The Miseducation Tour.Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:184 As soon as the tour was announced, tickets immediately sold out.
The Miseducation Tour began at Budokan in Tokyo on January 21, 1999. She performed there again the following night, and played at two other Tokyo venues in the following week. One week later, she flew to London for her performance at the Brixton Academy on February 8, 1999. With 20 U.S. dates total,Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:188-189 the American part of the tour, which featured Outkast as the opening act, started on February 18 in Detroit, and ended on April 1, 1999 at Lauryn's hometown New Ark, New Jersey. After the U.S. dates, she flew to Japan, where the tour was finished.Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:190
Reception
Critical response
Upon its release, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was well-received by most music critics, who complimented the album's themes and genre variance. David Browne from Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A rating, and wrote "Easily flowing from singing to rapping, evoking the past while forging a future of her own, Hill has made an album of often-astonishing power, strength, and feeling." Browne also went on to compliment the album's limited guest appearances by stating "Miseducation is one of the rare hip-hop soul albums without thousands of posse cameos. D'Angelo and Mary J. Blige show up but blend right in." The Village Voice wrote a favorable review of the album, and complimented its cohesiveness, stating "What makes The Miseducation majestic is the seamlessness with which she travels her realm within any given song."Hampton, Dream. . The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2010-04-21. The New York Times writer Ann Powers gave the album a favorable review as well, and labeled it "miraculous." Furthermore, she praised Lauryn's ability to mix gospel content with secular audiences, stating "Her religious fervor is not what makes Miseducation exceptional; it is the way that her faith, based more in experience and feeling than in doctrine, leads her to connect the sacred to the secular in music that touches the essence of soul." John Bush from Allmusic gave the album a 5 out of 5 star rating, and stated "she tailored The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill not as a crossover record, but as a collection of overtly personal and political statements and if her performing talents, vocal range, and songwriting smarts weren't enough, Hill also produced much of the record, ranging from stun-gun hip-hop to smoother R&B." In a retrospective review for the Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Christian Hoard gave the album 4½ out of 5 stars and called it "as earnest, unpretentious, and pleasantly sloppy an album as any woman of the hip-hop generation has ever made".Hoard, Christian. . Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-12-05. Hoard discussed its musical content and impact, stating:
Spin magazine gave the album a 9 out of 10 rating, and praised the album's confidence, vocal layerings, and subject matter. Although describing the album as "striking lyrics in beautiful melodies and driving beats," and rating it 8.0 out of 10, Pitchfork Media's Neil Lieberman stated "Miseducation does have some missteps. Running nearly 80 minutes long, the album has a hard time staying sharp throughout. Ballads like the title track are tiresome after the first full hour of listening, and additionally, Hill's sweet tooth for cheesy '70s tunes rears its ugly head more than once."Lieberman, Neil. . Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2010-04-24. Slant Magazine's Paul Schrodt gave the album 4 ½ out of 5 stars, and stated "Before M.I.A. ever said "I've got the bombs to make you blow," Hill was framing her very personal lyrics in the larger narrative of black history. The album's title is a reference to Carter G. Woodson's The Mis-Education of the Negro, a book about the failures of black education. But Hill isn't trying to make herself a martyr, she adopts Woodson's thesis and makes it part of her own artistic process. Like the songs themselves, the intro/outro classroom scenes suggest a larger community working to redefine itself." Schrodt also went on to say "For being almost 80 minutes long, Miseducation is a surprisingly easy listen The album's simple authenticity is one of its strengths, turning backup vocals into rap refrains." Steve Jones from USA Today gave The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill a 4 out of 4 star rating, and described the whole album as a "listening pleasure," and praised Carlos Santana and Mary J. Blige's contributions. NME gave the album an 8 out of 10 rating, and stated "Essentially, The Miseducation is a document of triumph. The emotional richness, vigour and range is astounding As an article of faith in the possibilities of music to heal and inspire, and an album to convince doubters that late-'90s R&B is capable of measuring up to its classic '60s and '70s precedents, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill is essential." The album also received positive reviews from many hip hop publications, most notably XXL, which awarded it the perfect XXL, making it the first album to ever receive the rating.
Accolades
At the 41st Grammy Awards, Hill was nominated ten times, making her the first female to ever be nominated ten times in one year. She won five Grammys, including Best New Artist, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Album and Album of the Year, making The Miseducation the first hip hop oriented album to ever receive that award. Lauryn Hill set a new record in the industry, as she also became the first woman to win five Grammys in one night. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill also earned her several other awards, including several nominations at the thirteenth NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Female Artist, Outstanding Album, Outstanding Music Video (for "A Rose Is Still A Rose"), and finally, competing against her own self, for Outstanding Song, nominated for both "Doo Wop" and "A Rose Is Still A Rose."Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:183 At the Annual Billboard Music Awards, The Miseducation won for R&B Album of the Year, while at the 20th Billboard Music Awards, "Doo Wop" won Best R&B/Urban New Artist Clip.Nickson, Chris, 1999. P:182-183 On January 11, 1999, at the 26th Annual American Music Awards, Hill won the award for Best New Soul/R&B artist. She also won a Soul Train award, and a nomination for Best International Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards (British Grammy's). Due to the large success of the album, Lauryn Hill became a national media icon, as magazines ranging from Time to Esquire to Teen People vied to place her on their front covers. In a February 8, 1999 Time cover-story, Hill was credited for helping fully assimilate hip-hop into mainstream music, making her the first hip hop artist to ever appear on the magazine's front cover.http Music: Hip-Hop Nation: Lauryn Hill By Christopher John Farleyhttp Lauryn Hill Essay By Burton Glass
Lawsuit
Though The Miseducation was largely a collaborative work between Hill and a group of musicians known as New Ark (Vada Nobles, Rasheem Pugh, Tejumold 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.Rolling Stone article: "." While recording the album, when Hill was asked about providing contracts or documentation to the musicians, she replied, "We all love each other. This ain't about documents. This is blessed."
In 1998, New Ark filed a fifty-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."," Salon, 2000. The musicians claimed to be the primary songwriters on two tracks, and major contributors on several others, though Gordon Williams, a prominent recorder, engineer, and mixer on The Miseducation described the album as a "powerfully personal effort by Hill" and stated, "It was definitely her vision." In response to the lawsuit, Hill claimed that New Ark took advantage of her success.Furman; Leah, Elina. 1999. P:163 New Ark requested partial writing credits, and monetary reimbursement.Rolling Stone article:. Retrieved 2010-02-11. The suit was eventually settled out of court in February 2001 for a reported $5 million.Rolling Stone article: "."
Personnel
Vocalists
*Lauryn Hill - vocals (tracks: 2-16)
*Mary J. Blige – vocals (track: 9)
*D’Angelo – vocals (track: 12)
*Shelley Thunder – vocals (track: 10)
*Kenny Bobien – backing vocals (track: 4)
*Chinah – backing vocals (track: 9)
*Jenni Fujita – backing vocals (track: 5)
*Fundisha Johnson – backing vocals (track: 5)
*Sabrina Johnson - backing vocals (track: 4)
*Jenifer McNeil – backing vocals (track: 9)
*Rasheem Pugh – backing vocals (track: 5)
*Lenesha Randolph – backing vocals (tracks: 4, 5, 9, 13)
*Ramon Rivera – backing vocals (track: 9)
*Earl Robinson – backing vocals (track: 4)
*Andrea Simmons – backing vocals (tracks: 4,9)
*Eddie Stockley – backing vocals (track: 4)
*Ahmed Wallace – backing vocals (tracks: 9,13)
*Tara Watkins – backing vocals (track: 9)
*Rachel Wilson – backing vocals (track: 9)
*Chuck Young – backing vocals (track: 3)
Instrumentalists
*Al Anderson – guitar (track: 12)
*Tom Barney – bass (tracks: 11 – 13)
*Bud Beadle – alto/tenor sax / flute (track: 7)
*Robert Browne – guitar (track: 2)
*Rudy Byrd – percussion (tracks: 3, 6, 8)
*Che Guevara – drum programming (tracks: 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13)
*Che Pope – drum programming (track: 8)
*Jared Crawford – live drums (track: 4)
*D’Angelo – rhodes (track: 12)
*DJ Supreme – DJ (track: 5)
*Francis Dunnery – guitar (tracks: 11, 12)
*Paul Fakhourie – bass (track: 3)
*Dean Frasier – saxophone (tracks: 5, 10)
*Loris Holland – keys (tracks: 12, 14) / clarinet (track: 11)
*Indigo Quartet – strings (tracks: 5, 13, 14)
*Julian Marley – guitar (track: 10)
*Chris Meredith – bass (tracks: 8, 10, 12)
*Johari Newton – guitar (tracks: 2, 3, 8)
*Tejumold Newton – piano (track: 3)
*Vada Nobles – drum programming (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13)
*Grace Paradise – harp (tracks: 4, 6, 8)
*James Poyser – bass (tracks: 2, 4, 9) / keys (tracks: 3, 5, 6, 12)
*Everol Ray – trumpet (tracks: 5,10)
*Kevin Robinson – trumpet / Flugelhorn (track: 7)
*Nambo Robinson – trombone (tracks: 5, 10)
*Matthew Rubano – bass (tracks: 9, 13)
*Carlos Santana – guitar (track: 4)
*Earl Chinna-Smith – guitar (tracks: 2,10)
*Andrew Smith – guitar (track: 7)
*Squiddly Ranks – live drums (track: 8)
*John R. Stephens – piano (track:13)
*Elizabeth Valletti – harp (track: 7)
*Fayyaz Virti – trombone (track: 7)
*Joe Wilson – piano (track: 14)
*Stuart Zender – bass (track: 7)
Production
*Errol Brown – assistant recording engineer (tracks: 2, 10)
*Che Guevara – co-producer (tracks: 2, 4)
*Lauryn Hill – producer / executive producer (tracks: 1-16)
*Matt Howe – recorder (track: 7)
*Storm Jefferson – recorder (tracks: 8, 9, 11, 12) / mix engineer (track: 8) / assistant mix engineer (tracks: 2, 9)
*Ken Johnson – recorder (track: 9) / assistant recording engineer (track: 4)
*Vada Nobles – co-producer (track: 2)
*Tony Prendatt – recorder (tracks: 6, 7, 9, 12 – 14) / engineer (track: 14)
*Warren Riker – recorder (tracks: 4, 5, 8, 12) / mix engineer (tracks: 2, 9)
*Jamie Seigel – assistant mix engineer (track: 4)
*Greg Thompson – assistant mix engineer (track: 3)
*Neil Tucker – assistant recording engineer (track: 7)
*Chip Verspyck – assistant recording engineer (tracks: 3, 7)
*Brian Vibberts – assistant engineer (tracks: 6, 10, 12)
*Gordon "Commissioner" Williams – recorder (tracks: 2 - 6, 8 -12) / engineer (tracks: 9, 14) / mixer (tracks: 2, 4 - 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14)
*Johny Wyndrx – recorder (track: 4)
Chart history
Chart positions
End of decade charts
Certifications
Chart procession and succession
Accolades
*Information regarding accolades is extracted from Acclaimedmusic.net,. acclaimedmusic.net. Retrieved 2010-02-11.except for accolades with additional sources.
*(*) Signifies unordered lists
Notes
References
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This text has been derived from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on Wikipedia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0Artist/Band Information
:For the model, see Lauren Michelle Hill.
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 25, 1975) is an American recording artist, musician, producer and actress. Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The recording earned Hill five Grammy Awards, including the coveted Album of the Year and Best New Artist.
Following the success of her debut album, Hill largely dropped out of public view, in part due to her displeasure with fame and the music industry. After a four-year hiatus, she released MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, a live recording of "deeply personal songs" performed mostly solo with an acoustic guitar.AllMusic entry for . Today, she avoids publicity, and is the mother of five children with Rohan Marley, the fourth son of reggae musician Bob Marley.Earlier this year she released a long awaited new album 'Khulami Phase', although it is thought to consist of material from an unreleased 2004 album. Recently, she announced plans to start a new studio album, twelve years after The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Early life
Lauryn Hill was born in East Orange, New Jersey, the second of two children born to high school English teacher Valerie Hill and computer programmer Mal Hill. As a child, Hill listened to her parents' Motown 1960s soul records. Music was a central part of the Hill home. Mal Hill sang at weddings, Valerie played the piano, and Lauryn's older brother Malaney played the saxophone, guitar, drums, harmonica, and piano. In 1988, Hill appeared as an Amateur Night contestant on It's Showtime at the Apollo. She sang her own version of Smokey Robinson's song "Who's Lovin' You?", where she was booed tremendously,http 13yr old Lauryn Hill sings Who's Lovin' You on Apollo but persevered and ended up with audience applause.
Hill was childhood friends with actor Zach Braff and both graduated from Maplewood, New Jersey's Columbia High School in 1993, where Hill was an active student, cheerleader, and performer. Braff has spoken of Hill attending his Bar Mitzvah in 1988. In February 1992, Hill lost the Columbia High School Talent Show to rock-and-roll band "Southern Cross". Hill enrolled at Columbia University in 1993 and attended for about a year before dropping out to pursue her entertainment career.
Personal life
Hill and Wyclef Jean dated through the majority of the Fugees time together, a relationship that friends have called "complicated". By 1994, Jean married his wife, Marie Claudinette and in the summer of 1996, Hill met Rohan Marley, a son of reggae legend Bob Marley, who himself was already married. Despite his marriage, Hill and Marley started a family. They have now five children together: Zion David-Nesta Marley (3 August 1997); Selah Marley (12 November 1998); Joshua Marley (January 2002); John Marley (summer 2003) and baby girl Marley (January 2008) http Lauryn Hill had a baby girl in the very recent pasthttp Lauryn Hill just had her 5th kid. Rohan Marley told People magazine in August 2008 that although the baby was 7 months old, she was still without a name.People magazine article: "" August 18, 2008; Vol. 70 No. 7 by Tiffany McGee and Alex Tresniowski.FoxNews article: "".
Since 1998, Hill reportedly lived in both the Caribbean and an upscale hotel in Miami,. However, in August 2008, it was reported that Hill was living with her mother and children in her hometown of South Orange, New Jersey,People magazine article: "" by Tiffany McGee and Alex Tresniowski. although Hill's net worth is still reported to exceed $8.7 million dollars from her record sales, tours and investments in Jamaica.
Acting career
Hill began her acting career at a young age, appearing on the soap opera As The World Turns as Kira Johnson. In 1993, she co-starred in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit as Rita Louise Watson, in which she performed the songs "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (a duet with Tanya Blount) and "Joyful, Joyful". It was in this role that she first came to national prominence, with Roger Ebert calling her "the girl with the big joyful voice". Her other acting work includes the play Club XII with MC Lyte, and the motion pictures King of the Hill, Hav Plenty, and Restaurant. After her rise to musical stardom, she reportedly turned down roles in Charlie's Angels, The Bourne Identity, The Mexican, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. She appeared on the soundtrack to Conspiracy Theory in 1996 with "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", and on Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood in 2002 with the track "Selah".
Music career
The Fugees
The Refugee Camp ("Fugees") formed after Prakazrel "Pras" Michel approached Hill in high school about joining a music group he was creating. Soon after, she met Michel's cousin and fellow Haïtian, Wyclef Jean. At some point, Hill was nicknamed "L Boogie", as she began to convert her poetic writing into rap verses. Hill's singing gained worldwide acclaim with the Fugees' remake of "Killing Me Softly with His Song", accompanied by a sample from Rotary Connection's "Memory Band".
The Fugees' first album, Blunted on Reality, peaked at #49 on the U.S. Hot 100. The album sold over two million copies worldwide. Blunted on Reality was followed by The Score, a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning album that established two of the three Fugees as international rap stars. Singles from The Score include "Ready or Not", "Fu-Gee-La", "No Woman, No Cry" (made famous by Bob Marley), and "Killing Me Softly" (made famous by Roberta Flack).
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)
In 1996, Hill began production on an album that would eventually become The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The title was inspired by "The Mis-Education of the Negro" book by Carter G. Woodson and The Education of Sonny Carson, a film and autobiographical novel.Rolling Stone article: "." The album featured contributions from D'Angelo, Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige and a then-unknown John Legend. Songs for the album were largely written in an attic studio in South Orange, New Jersey and recorded at Chung King Studios in Jamaica.Rolling Stone article: "." Wyclef Jean initially did not support Hill recording a solo album, but eventually offered his production help; Hill turned him down. Hill was once an artist on Ruffhouse Records. Several songs on the album concerned her frustrations with The Fugees;Rolling Stone article: "." "I Used to Love Him" dealt with the break-down of the relationship between Hill and Wyclef Jean. "To Zion" spoke about her decision to have her first baby, even though many at the time encouraged her to abort the pregnancy so as to not interfere with her blossoming career.Rolling Stone article: "."
The Miseducation contained several interludes of a teacher speaking to what is implied to be a classroom of children; in fact, the "teacher" was played by Ras Baraka (a poet, educator and politician) speaking to a group of kids in the living room of Hill's New Jersey home. The singer requested that Baraka speak to the children about the concept of love, and he improvised the lecture. Though The Miseducation was largely a collaborative work between Hill and a group of musicians known as New Ark (Vada Nobles, Rasheem Pugh, Tejumold 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.Rolling Stone article: "." While recording the album, when Hill was asked about providing contracts or documentation to the musicians, she replied, "We all love each other. This ain't about documents. This is blessed." Hill, her management, and her record label were sued in 1998 by New Ark, claiming that they either co-wrote or co-produced 13 of 14 tracks on the album. The suit was settled out of court in February 2001 for a reported $5 million.Rolling Stone article: "."
In 1998, Hill released The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which was both critically and commercially successful. It sold over 423,000 copies in its first week and topped the Billboard 200 albums chart for four weeks and the Billboard R&B Album chart for six weeks; it would go on to sell more than 18 million copies over the next decade. The first single off the album was "Lost Ones" (US #27), released in Spring 1998. The second was "Doo Wop (That Thing)", which reached #1 in the Billboard charts. Other singles released in support of the album were "Ex-Factor" (US #21), "Everything Is Everything" (US #35), and "To Zion". At the 1999 Grammy Awards, Hill was nominated 10 times, becoming the first woman ever to be nominated 10 times in one year: Hill won five Grammys including Album of the Year (beating Madonna's critically acclaimed Ray of Light and Shania Twain's bestselling Come on Over), Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist. Hill set a new record in the industry, becoming the first woman to win five Grammys in one night. Between 1998 and 1999, Hill earned $25 million from record sales and touring.
Hill became a national media icon, as magazines ranging from Time to
Esquire to Teen People vied to put her on the cover. In the late 1990s, Hill was noted by some as a humanitarian. In 1996 she received an Essence Award for work which has included the 1996 founding of the Refugee Project, an outreach organization that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk youth, and for supporting well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, as well as for staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. In 1999 Hill received three awards at the 30th Annual NAACP Image Awards. In 1999 Ebony named her one of "100+ Most Influential Black Americans". She was named with Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and others among the "10 For Tomorrow," in the EBONY 2000: Special Millennium Issue.
Self-Imposed Exile and MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 (2000–2003)
After the release of her debut album, she explored other methods of expressing herself, including creating an extensive amount of music, poetry, and clothing designs. She started writing a screenplay about the life of Bob Marley, in which she planned to act as his wife Rita. She also began producing a romantic comedy about soul food with a working title of Sauce, and accepted a starring role in the film adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel Beloved; she later dropped out of both projects due to pregnancy. Hill became dissatisfied with the music industry; she felt she was being unfairly controlled by her record label, and disliked being unable "to go to the grocery store without makeup." She fired her management team and began attending Bible study classes five days a week; she also stopped doing interviews, watching television and listening to music. She started associating with a "spiritual adviser" named Brother Anthony.Urb Magazine article: "". Some familiar with Hill believe Anthony more resembled a cult leader than a spiritual advisor,MSNBC article: "". and thought his guidance probably inspired much of Hill's more controversial public behavior.Contact Music article: "".
In 2000, she dropped out of the public eye. She described this period of her life to Essence: "People need to understand that the Lauryn Hill they were exposed to in the beginning was all that was allowed in that arena at that time… I had to step away when I realized that for the sake of the machine, I was being way too compromised. I felt uncomfortable about having to smile in someone's face when I really didn't like them or even know them well enough to like them." She also spoke about her emotional crisis, saying, "For two or three years I was away from all social interaction. It was a very introspective time because I had to confront my fears and master every demonic thought about inferiority, about insecurity or the fear of being black, young and gifted in this western culture." She went on to say that she had to fight to retain her identity, and was forced "to deal with folks who weren't happy about that."
On July 21, 2001, Hill unveiled her new material to a small crowd, for a taping of an MTV Unplugged special. An album of the concert, titled MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, focused on the lyrics and the message rather than the musical arrangements. "Fantasy is what people want, but reality is what they need", she said during the concert. "I've just retired from the fantasy part." Most of the songs featured only an acoustic guitar and her voice, somewhat raspy from rehearsal on the day before the recording. Hill used the set as an opportunity to give information on why she had been absent from the public for a period of time and what she had found while away. Unlike the near-unanimous praise of The Miseducation, 2.0 sharply divided critics. AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that the recording "is the unfinished, unflinching presentation of ideas and of a person. It may not be a proper follow-up to her first album, but it is fascinating." Rolling Stone called the album "a public breakdown". Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani wrote, "Hill's guitarwork is multi-textured and fine-tuned but her vocals lack confidence and seem to toe the edge of her range throughout the album. And though the stripped-down nature of the show is fitting, many of the songs sound as if they are still in their infancy." Despite the mixed reviews, 2.0 debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum four weeks after its release. Despite Hill's departure from the media and celebrity, she continued to have some success in the music world. Her song "Mystery of Iniquity" was nominated for a Grammy without promotion or radio airplay and used as an interpolation by hip-hop mega-producer Kanye West for his single "All Falls Down" (eventually recorded by Syleena Johnson).
Vatican controversy
On December 13, 2003, Hill made headlines by denouncing "corruption, exploitation, and abuses" in reference to the molestation of boys by Catholic priests in the United States and the cover-up of offenses by Catholic Church officials.MTV News article: "" The statements were made during a performance at a Christmas benefit concert at the Vatican. Reading from a prepared statement, Hill told the crowd of 7,500:
Hill called on the church leaders to "repent" and encouraged the crowd to "not seek blessings from man but from God."Entertainment Weekly article: "" She then performed the songs "Damnable Heresies" and "Social Drugs". High-ranking church officials in attendance included Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Monsignor Rino Fisichella and Cardinal Edmund Szoka.CTV News article: "." Pope John Paul II was not present. The segment was cut from the television broadcast. Both the Vatican and Columbia Records refused to issue official statements regarding Hill's actions.New York Times article: "".Rolling Stone article: "". Monsignor Fisichella told reporters that Hill had acted "in poor taste and very bad mannered. It showed a complete lack of respect for her invitation and for the place where she had been invited to perform".The Age article: "". The Catholic League called Hill "pathologically miserable" and claimed her career is "in decline". Hill responded to the controversy on December 16: "What I said was the truth. Is telling the truth bad manners? What I asked was the church to repent for what has happened."IMDB news article: "". The following day, several reporters suggested that Hill's comments at the Vatican may have been influenced by her "advisor" Brother Anthony.MSNBC article: ".
Short-lived return of the Fugees (2004–2006)
The Fugees performed on September 18, 2004 at Dave Chappelle's Block Party in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. They headlined a bill that included a star-studded cast of hip-hop celebrities. The concert featured Hill's nearly a cappella rendition of "Killing Me Softly". The event was recorded by director Michel Gondry and was released on March 3, 2006 to mostly positive reviews.Metacritic entry for : film maintains an 84% positive rating ("Universal Acclaim").RottenTomatoes.com entry for : film maintains a 92% positive rating and is "Certified Fresh." In 2005, she told an interviewer that "The Fugees was a conspiracy to control, to manipulate and to encourage dependence. I took a lot of abuse that many people would not have taken in these circumstances." The Fugees also appeared at BET's 2005 Music Awards on June 28, 2005, where they opened the show with a 12-minute set. One track, "Take It Easy", was leaked online and thereafter was released as an internet single on September 27, 2005. It peaked at #40 on the Billboard R&B Chart. The song was mostly panned by critics, as The Village Voice wrote, "Turns out that a Fugees reunion wasn't really what anyone was waiting for; we just wanted Lauryn to start rapping again." Tom Breihan, Villagevoice.com, September 26, 2005
The Fugees embarked on a European tour from November 30, 2005 through December 20, 2005. The group played in Austria, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, England, Ireland and Switzerland. On February 6, 2006, the Fugees did a special "Reunion Concert" in Hollywood, that was offered as a live webcast on the Verizon Wireless website. The Fugees were featured in numerous Verizon Wireless VCast advertisements in magazines and on TV around that same time. A new song titled "Foxy" was made available on VCast and a third new song was leaked, unofficially titled "Wannabe", which uses the same hook as the Michael Jackson song "I Wanna Be Where You Are". Old tensions between Hill and the other members of the group soon resurfaced, and the reunion fizzled before an album could be recorded. Jean and Michel both blamed Hill for the split. Hill reportedly demanded to be addressed by everyone, including her bandmates, as "Ms. Hill"; she also considered changing her moniker to "Empress". Her chronic tardiness — sometimes stalling up to 45 minutes after the two had taken the stage to join them — has been cited as another contributing factor to the break up. Michel told the press in August 2007, "Before I work with Lauryn Hill again, you will have a better chance of seeing Osama Bin Laden and George W. Bush in Starbucks having a latte, discussing foreign policies… At this point I really think it will take an act of God to change her, because she is that far out there."."
2004–2009
Hill has been slowly working on a new album and in November 2004 shot a music video. The album had a slated street date of November 2005, and neither it nor the music video have been released.http It was also reported that as of 2003, Columbia Records had spent more than $2.5 million funding Hill's new album, mostly spent on installing a recording studio in the singer's Miami apartment and flying different musicians around the country. In 2004, Hill contributed a new song, "The Passion", to The Passion of the Christ: Songs. Around this time, Hill began selling a pay-per-view music video of the song "Social Drugs" through her website.http Those who purchase the $15 video would only be able to view it three times before it expired. In addition to the video, Hill began selling autographed posters and Polaroids through her website, with some items listed at upwards of $500. In 2005, she told USA Today, "If I make music now, it will only be to provide information to my own children. If other people benefit from it, then so be it."USA Today article: "." When asked how she now felt about the songs on 2.0, she stated "a lot of the songs were transitional. The music was about how I was feeling at the time, even though I was documenting my distress as well as my bursts of joy."
She has toured several times in recent years, though most of her concerts have received mixed reviews.httphttp Hill is often late to concerts (sometimes by over two hours) and reconfigures her well-known hits in to "unrecognizable scat chants" while "sporting frizzy orange hair and exaggerated makeup".httphttp On some occasions, fans have booed her and left early;XXL article: "". some fans have also demanded their money back after concerts. On October 6, 2005, Hill emceed and performed two songs at the Take Back TV concert launching Al Gore's CurrentTV.httphttp In June 2007, Sony records said though Hill has "consistently recorded over the past decade" and has what amounts to "a library of unreleased material in the vault", she had recently re-entered the studio "with the goal of making a new LP."http Later that same year, a new album entitled Ms. Hill, which featured cuts from The Miseducation, various soundtracks contributions and other "unreleased" songs, was released. It features guest appearances from D'Angelo, Rah Digga and John Forté.http Also in June 2007, Hill released a new song, "Lose Myself" on the soundtrack to the film Surf's Up under her new professional name, Ms. Lauryn Hill. The song is also played over the credits.
Reports in mid-2008 claimed that Columbia Records currently believe Hill to be "on hiatus." Rohan Marley disputed these claims, telling an interviewer that Hill has enough material for several albums: "She writes music in the bathroom, on toilet paper, on the wall. She writes it in the mirror if the mirror smokes up. She writes constantly. This woman does not sleep". One of the few public appearances Hill made in 2008 was at a Martha Stewart book-signing in New Jersey, perplexing some in the press.http On November 4, 2008, Hill was scheduled to perform at the Avo Session Basel music festival in Basel, Switzerland. Her concert was canceled "for personal reasons".http In April 2009, it was reported that Hill would engage in a 10 day tour of European summer festivals during mid-July of that year. She performed two shows for the tour and passed out on stage during the start of her second performance and left the stage. She refused to give refunds to angry consumers for the show. On June 10, Hill's management informed the promoters of the Stockholm Jazz Festival, which she was scheduled to headline, that she would not be performing due to unspecified "health reasons."http Shortly afterward, the rest of the tour was canceled as well.
2010-Present
In January 2010, Hill returned to the live stage and performed in stops across New Zealand and Australia on the 'Raggamuffin Festival' - a music festival that celebrates reggae music. She performed songs from the Miseducation album and some Fugees hits. On April 19, Hill appeared at the Tanzania Education Trust Gala And Reception in New York City for a Charity Event. When making this public appearance, she was asked by paparazzi whether she is working on a new album, to which she replied "Yeah, possibly", suggesting that she may be working on new projects, and possibly a sophomore album. On June 8, it was announced that Hill would be the very special guest performer at Rock the Bells Festival series. Five days later, Hill appeared at the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa, California, her first live American performance in several years. In a June interview with NPR reporter/producer Zoe Chace as part of NPR's 50 Great Voices Series, Hill confirmed that she was planning to begin recording againhttp and discussed her hiatus and five children. Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers confirmed he worked with Hill on an upcoming album as well.http On September 8, 2010, Isley and Hill's duet, Close To You, a remake of the classic song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was leaked online.httphttp
An unreleased song called "Repercussions" was leaked via the internet in late July.httphttp On the issue of August 28, 2010 the song debuted at #94 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (which peaked at #83 the next week), making it her first Billboard chart appearance as a lead artist since 1999; last song on the charts being her cover version of Bob Marley's "Turn Your Lights Down Low" which reached #86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #49 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.httphttp In April 2010, all of the songs that Hill had performed and recorded over the past six years were included in an unofficial release titled "Khulami Phase".http The album also features a range of other material found on the Ms. Hill compilation. On August 28, Hill performed at Rock the Bells Hip Hop festival on Governor's Island in Brooklyn. Friends Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Chris Rock, John Legend and Jay-Z also appeared on stage. Hill performed several songs from The Miseducation, including To Zion, during which she brought her five children on stage. On November 5, Hill headlined the University of Miami's annual Homecoming concert. Hill performed several songs in front of a very large and responsive crowd. Her hour long set included songs from the Miseducation album such as, Lost Ones, Ex-Factor, To Zion (during which she brought her son Joshua on stage and allowed him to sing into the microphone), a few Bob Marley songs, and several Fugees tracks. Hill was announced to headline the 6th Annual Jazz in the Gardens, in Miami Gardens, Florida in December 2010. She will perform on the first day of the 2-day concert, March 19, 2011, along with Jazmine Sullivan, Charlie Wilson, Al Jarreau, and Doug E. Fresh with Slick Rick "The Ruler".http
Humanitarian
In the late 1990s, Hill was noted as a humanitarian. In 1996 she received an Essence Award for work which has included the 1996 founding of the Refugee Project, an outreach organization that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk youth, and for supporting well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, as well as for staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. In 1999 Hill received three awards at the 30th Annual NAACP Image Awards. In 1999 Ebony named her one of "100+ Most Influential Black Americans". She was named with Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and others among the "10 For Tomorrow," in the EBONY 2000: Special Millennium Issue.
Legacy and influences
Lauryn Hill has been cited as an influence by many, especially those in the neo-soul movement of the 2000s. Musicians who have acknowledged Hill's importance include Prince, John Legend,http Alicia Keys,http D'Angelo, Mary J. Blige, and Jazmine Sullivan. In 2005, Talib Kweli released a song about the singer, titled "Ms. Hill", on Right About Now.httphttp
Rapper, singer, and song-writer Nicki Minaj has also revealed her influence from Hill.
Michelle Obama, wife of U.S. President Barack Obama, told the BBC that she frequently listens to Hill's music on her iPod, while 2008 Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain's daughter Meghan stated that her father listens to Hill: "I borrowed his car once in D.C., and I was like, looking through CDs, and I was like, 'Oh, Lauryn Hill.'"http Actors Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington are also reportedly fans of the singer. D'Angelo, who appeared on "Nothing Even Matters," referred in an interview to at least one church reportedly having used the song in a service.
Discography
;Studio albums
*1998: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
;Live albums
*2002: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0
Filmography
*1998 - Restaurant .... Leslie
*1997 - Hav Plenty .... Debra
*1996 - ABC Afterschool Specials .... Malika
*1993 - Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit .... Rita Louise Watson
*1993 - King of the Hill .... Elevator Operator
*1992 - Here and Now
*1991 - As the World Turns .... Kira Johnson
See also
* List of awards and nominations received by Lauryn Hill
References
This text has been derived from Lauryn Hill on Wikipedia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0
