This week’s #WomanCrushWednesdsay is on the one and only Ms. Lauryn Hill. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she is often referred to as the queen and pioneer of female rap music. Ms. Lauryn Hill was always talented, and began her career as an actress — she co-starred in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit alongside Whoopi Goldberg in 1993. She had other minor roles in theatre, television, and film, but eventually branched out to making music professionally. She created the musical group The Fugees with Wyclef Jean and Pras Michael in 1992. This group gained attention because of their unique sound – they combined hip-hop, reggae, and soul beautifully. Most notably, Ms. Lauryn Hill rapped on every album. This was uncommon for women to do in the early days of hip-hop. She mixed rapping with singing, and her distinctive voice and sound paved the way for female artists for years to come.
The Fugees’ major success was in their second album, The Score, released in 1996. This album contains some of the most legendary hip-hop songs of all time, like Ready or Not, Killing Me Softly, and Fu-Gee-La. The sound that The Fugees produced in the tracks on this album was far different than most hip-hop at that point – it blended multiple genres to give a reggae-rap-soul vibe. Lauryn Hill’s raspy, unique voice that so elegantly switches from rapping to singing is one of the reasons she is considered a pioneer for female hip-hop artists. Prior to Hill’s entry to the scene, female hip-hop was not nearly as successful or widespread. She opened doors for other women to pursue rap careers, and showed them it was possible to make a statement and leave a mark on the hip-hop community. As well as making history with The Fugees, she also had singles during this time that were wildly popular – most notably, one she worked on with East Coast rap legend Nas called If I Ruled the World in 1996. This was a socially-conscious rap about what life would look like with equality for Black Americans, and it is known as one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time.
After The Fugees disbanded, Ms. Lauryn Hill went on to create one of the renowned albums of all time: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. This album was released in August of 1998, and made history. At the 41st Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for ten categories, and won five of them. Ms. Lauryn Hill was the first woman to receive that many awards and nominations on a single night, and rightfully so. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill had an incredible range of sounds, placing itself in the rap, hip-hop, R&B, and neo-soul genre. The most popular tracks from this album include Doo Wop (That Thing), Ex-Factor, and Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You. It had features from Mary J. Blige, Carlos Santana, and D’Angelo, and sampled songs from years prior for Hill to rap and sing over. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill tackles many issues that women face in life and in relationships. Her ability of raw storytelling is beyond admirable, and the pure emotion behind all of her tracks is equally so.
In To Zion, she tells the story of her unexpected pregnancy and explains the love she has for her son, Zion, born in 1997. She sings on a raw level about her feelings, other people’s opinions on this pregnancy, and how it ended up for her – something women all over can relate to. Another track, Ex-Factor, is the original breakup song, and its lyrics speak to women everywhere:
You always seem to let me know
It ain’t working (It ain’t working, no), it ain’t working
You’d hurt yourself to make me stay
This is crazy, this is crazy (Oh, this is crazy, uh-huh)
And of course, this song is still sampled in popular music. Drake, a current artist, sampled it recently in his song Nice For What released in 2018. The impact of this album is felt to this day, and it is truly one of the greatest of all time.
Most inspiringly, Ms. Lauryn Hill never made another album after the incredible success of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Despite not making new music, this album is considered one of the greatest of all time, is still streamed consistently on all platforms, and is used as samples in modern music. As one of the first women on the hip-hop world, she showed women that being successful in such a male-dominated scene is possible. 2020 was a very female hip-hop dominated year, with Megan Thee Stallion and other women topping the charts — Lauryn Hill was a major stepping stone for every woman in rap music. Her impact remains to this day, and she is undoubtedly one of the greats.