Tag Archives: Lauryn Hill

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Song of the Day #6,571: ‘To Zion’ – Lauryn Hill

Continuing my list of best debut albums (with quite a few caveats)…

Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)

By far the most successful debut album that ended up being the only studio album released by its artist, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is a unique and transcendent work of personal art. Winner of five Grammys, including Album of the Year, the album sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and achieved Diamond status (10 million sales) in the U.S.

The album was conceived by Hill after her band the Fugees broke up, and its songs chronicle her relationships with her former bandmates as well as her childhood, love life, and motherhood.

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Song of the Day #4,279: ‘Superstar’ – Lauryn Hill

‘Superstar’ is the seventh of 15 tracks on 1998’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill to appear on the blog. That’s a mix of Random Weekend selections and songs I chose to feature.

Miseducation is definitely one of the best albums of the 90s (I ranked it at #19 on my own decade list) and perhaps the greatest album ever that was the first and last studio release by an artist.

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Song of the Day #4,167: ‘Forgive Them Father’ – Lauryn Hill

Tomorrow I will start a countdown of my favorite albums of the decade. If this were 20 years ago — 1999 instead of 2019 — that list would include Lauryn Hill’s ’97 classic The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill somewhere near the top.

This blend of hip hop, soul and R&B sounds as bold and vital today as it did when it made such a splash 22 years ago. It is even more special for remaining the only solo studio recording Hill ever released (her one follow-up record was a live recording of an MTV Unplugged appearance).

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Song of the Day #2,266: ‘Nothing Even Matters’ – Lauryn Hill

laurynOne-hit wonders are awfully common, but one-album wonders are a bit more rare. And 1998’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill might be the best example.

This thing was a monster hit, a cultural touchstone, a Grammy winner for Best Album. And it was the last memorable thing Lauryn Hill ever did.

In fact, the only other solo album she ever released was a live recording of her appearance on MTV’s Unplugged. That was in 2002.

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Song of the Day #1,881: ‘If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)’ – Nas

nas_it_was_writtenNas’s sophomore album, It Was Written, is described by Wikipedia as more “polished” and “mainstream” than its predecessor.

Those might sound like bad words to most indie or rap music fans, but I see it as a sign of hope. Polish is exactly what the first two songs I featured this week were lacking.

Today’s track is a duet with Lauryn Hill, another fact that has me excited. The song was recorded in 1994, when Hill was starting out with The Fugees, three years before her acclaimed Miseducation.

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