When I was little, I had a small MP3 I brought with me everywhere. My dad downloaded all the music I liked into it, making it the perfect listening device because there’s something magical about “Doo Wop (That Thing).” I remember the first time I listened to that song was on that MP3.
I didn’t think about that song for a long time after that. Now that I’m in my 20s, I am reliving my childhood and falling in love with Lauryn Hill all over again.
Lauryn Hill is an amazing and interesting woman. She was named one of the best singers of all time by Rolling Stone and the Queen of Hip-Hop by TIME magazine.
Her internationally renowned, and only studio album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is a hip-hop and rap classic with many awards such as eight Grammy Awards. Fun fact, it was recorded in Bob Marley’s home.
This album is a groundbreaking piece and very much a piece of history that documents Lauryn Hill’s experiences and her life. So, for Women’s History Month, we visit and honor Lauryn Hill and her discography. We regard them as an integral piece of music history that offers an important insight into the redefinition of hip-hop and rap, especially as an influential artist in the 90’s.
IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS HILL
Lauryn Noelle Hill, born in 1975 in South Orange, New Jersey, is a Grammy-award-winning American singer, songwriter, rapper, and actress whose soulful voice propelled her to the top of the hip-hop charts at the end of the 20th century.
One day, Hill was asked by her high school classmate, Prakazrel “Pras” Michel, to perform together under the name Tranzlator Crew. They were joined shortly after by Wyclef Jean.
As a teenager, she also acted on the television soap opera As the World Turns, and alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. With the money she earned from her acting jobs, she helped finance her group and renamed them the Fugees in 1993.
EARLY DISCOGRAPHY
The Fugees were eventually signed to Columbia Records, but their 1994 debut album, Blunted on Reality, did not attract a lot of attention. Their second album in 1996, The Score, featured many great songs and an amazing remake of Roberta Flack’s 1973 hit, “Killing Me Softly with His Song.” It was much better received, selling more than 18 million copies and earning two Grammy Awards. Alongside the encouragement from the people, it was her groundbreaking rendition to this song that gave her the push she needed to go solo.
By this time, Hill, who had been pursuing a degree in history at Columbia University, abandoned her studies to pursue her music career.
In 1996, she established the Refugee Project, an organization designed to aid underprivileged youths. The following year, she and Rohan Marley, Bob Marley’s son, had their first child together. In early 1998, she began recording a solo album at the Bob Marley Museum Studio, which would go on to put her on the map.
The success of THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was released August of 1998. Fueled by the success of the single “Doo Wop (That Thing),” the album went multi-platinum in several countries. At 23 years old, in 1999, she became the first woman to win five Grammys in one night, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist.
“I really try every day to be individual, and not just in my style or my look or my music, but in my approach to life.”
HILL’S IMPACT CHANGED HIP-HOP
Hill’s sound is often categorized as “neo-soul” mixed with hip-hop and mainstream popular music. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was also notable for its deeply personal lyrics, which addressed themes such as the meaning of self, family, and community.
She followed her debut solo recording with a two-disc live album taken from her appearance on MTV’s Unplugged series in 2002. The album, which featured an unpolished performance by Hill on acoustic guitar, was punctuated throughout with extended tear-filled meditations on the burdens of celebrity life. For the rest of the decade, however, her recorded output was limited to guest appearances on others’ releases and single songs on film soundtracks.
Hill contributed six tracks to Nina Revisited…A Tribute to Nina Simone in 2015 that showcased her continued power as a singer. She later recorded the song “Guarding the Gates” for the movie Queen & Slim in 2019.
Lauryn Hill also wrote and produced songs for many Black legends such as Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, CeCe Winans, Whitney Houston, and Santana.
Indeed, Lauryn Hill redefined the rap and hip-hop world and paved the way for Black women in the music industry. Without her impact, and without her daring the world with her blues and soulful vocals, we don’t know how different the music world would be. Thanks to her miseducation, we got an education on the possibilities of hip-hop and the endless combinations.
