The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Encyclopedia
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
.
Upon 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. The album spent 81 weeks on the Billboard 200 and topped the Billboard Year-End
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. 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. The album was certified Gold
on September 29, 1998 by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA), for shipments of over 500,000 copies, and on December 17, 2001, it was certified 8x Platinum in the United States. According to Soundscan, the album surpassed 7 million sales in the U.S. in September 2010.
Initially, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill received a great amount of critical praise for its lyric themes and genre variance. Since its release, the album 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
.
, son of reggae musician Bob Marley
. The two gradually formed a close relationship, and while on this tour, Hill became pregnant with his child. 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 due to her pregnancy and cases of writer's block
.
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." 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."
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." 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. Shortly after this, Hill did writing work for Whitney Houston
. 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.
. 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: harp
s, strings
, timpani drums
, organs, clarinet
s. It was my idea to record it so the human element stayed in. I didn't want it to be too technically perfect." Initially, Wyclef Jean did not support Lauryn recording a solo album, but eventually offered his production help, which she did not accept.
Aside from doing work at Chung King Studios, Lauryn also recorded at Perfect Pair Studios in New Jersey, as well as Sony Studios, 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
. 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." 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."
, 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." 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." Despite early talk of having Wu-Tang Clan
member RZA
contribute to production, this collaboration would prove to be neglected, though some of his music with Wu-Tang would be sampled.
and wrote songs that I drew comfort from." 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.
Although a large portion of the album's love songs would turn out to be bitter from Hill's previous relationship, "Nothing Even Matters," 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."
"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. 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." 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."
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.
, spending a total of three weeks at that position, and a total of 21 weeks on the Hot 100 chart. 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. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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. In 2008, About.com
ranked "Everything is Everything" number 66 on their 100 Greatest Rap Songs list.
and the Billboard Music Awards. In January 1999, Lauryn recruited a band and began rehearsals for what would become The Miseducation Tour. 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, 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 Newark, New Jersey. After the U.S. dates, she flew to Japan, where the tour was finished.
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." 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." Despite criticizing its "between-songs interludes and skits", Chicago Tribune
writer Greg Kot
commented that "the arrangements bristle with great ideas" and praised Hill's "out-on-a-limb rawness that rouses the '70s ghosts of Gaye and Bob Marley". 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), Jon Caramanica 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". Caramanica 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." 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.
, 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." 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. 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.
thing," wherein all tracks would be credited as "written and produced by" the artist with little outside help. 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, also her record label, stating that Hill "used their songs and production skills, but failed to properly credit them for the work." 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. New Ark requested partial writing credits, and monetary reimbursement. The suit was eventually settled out of court in February 2001 for a reported $5 million.
Solo album
A solo album, in popular music, is an album headlined by a current or former member of a band. A solo album may feature simply one person performing all instruments, but typically features the work of other collaborators; rather, it may be made with different collaborators than the artist is...
by American musician Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record 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...
, released August 25, 1998, on Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. 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
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
, hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, and gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
. The album's title was inspired by the film and autobiographical novel The Education of Sonny Carson
The Education of Sonny Carson
The Education of Sonny Carson is a 1974 film based on the best-selling autobiography of Sonny Carson, who joined a gang and committed petty crime before being sent to prison...
, and Carter G. Woodson
Carter G. Woodson
Carter Godwin Woodson was an African-American historian, author, journalist and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Woodson was one of the first scholars to study African American history. A founder of Journal of Negro History , Dr...
's The Mis-Education of the Negro
The Mis-Education of the Negro
The Mis-Education of the Negro is a book originally published in 1933 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. The thesis of Dr. Woodson's book is that African-Americans of his day were being culturally indoctrinated, rather than taught, in American schools...
.
Upon release, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill debuted at number one on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, selling 422,624 copies in its first week, which broke a record for first week sales by a female artist. The album spent 81 weeks on the Billboard 200 and topped the Billboard Year-End
Billboard Year-End
Billboard Year-End charts are a cumulative measure of a single or album's performance in the United States, based upon the Billboard magazine charts during any given chart year. Billboard's "chart year" runs from the first week of December to the final week in November...
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. 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. The album was certified Gold
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
on September 29, 1998 by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA), for shipments of over 500,000 copies, and on December 17, 2001, it was certified 8x Platinum in the United States. According to Soundscan, the album surpassed 7 million sales in the U.S. in September 2010.
Initially, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill received a great amount of critical praise for its lyric themes and genre variance. Since its release, the album 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
Neo soul
The term neo soul was originally coined by Kedar Massenburg of Motown Records in the late 1990s as a marketing category following the commercial breakthroughs of artists such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Maxwell...
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
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
Background
While on The Score Tour with her former group the Fugees, Hill met Rohan MarleyRohan Marley
Rohan Anthony Marley is the son of late reggae artist Bob Marley and Janet Hunt.A 1991 graduate of Miami Palmetto Senior High School, Marley played linebacker for the University of Miami football team, where he played alongside players like Dwayne Johnson and Ray Lewis. In 1993 he led the...
, son of reggae musician Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
. The two gradually formed a close relationship, and while on this tour, Hill became pregnant with his child. 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
Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...
began writing and recording his debut solo album The Carnival
The Carnival
"The Carnival" is the debut album released by hip hop writer Wyclef Jean. Released on June 24, 1997, Jean also served as the album's executive producer. The album encompasses many musical genres, including hip hop, reggae, folk, disco, soul, Son Cubano and Haitian music...
, 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 due to her pregnancy and cases of writer's block
Writer's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...
.
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." 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."
While in this creative zone, Hill wrote over 30 songs in her attic
Attic
An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building . Attic is generally the American/Canadian reference to it...
studio in South Orange, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. 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." 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
CeCe Winans
Priscilla "CeCe" Marie Winans Love is an American Gospel singer, who has won numerous Grammy and Stellar Awards.-Early life:CeCe Winans was born in Detroit, Michigan, to David and Delores Winans, on October 8, 1964...
.
Several months later, she went to Detroit to work with soul legend Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, writing and producing the song "A Rose is Still a Rose
A Rose Is Still a Rose (song)
"A Rose Is Still a Rose" is a 1998 single written and produced by Lauryn Hill and recorded and released by singer Aretha Franklin off the album of the same name. Written by Hill for Franklin, the song is feminist-based, focused on a motherly figure giving advice to a younger woman who keeps getting...
." This song would turn out to be Franklin's up-coming single for her album of the same name
A Rose Is Still A Rose
A Rose is Still a Rose is the thirty-sixth studio album by American recording artist Aretha Franklin. Released in 1998, it resulted in the singer's best critically acclaimed and best-selling album of the nineties and her first gold-certified album in twelve years.-Background:By 1997, Aretha...
, and Aretha would later have Hill direct the song's music video. Shortly after this, Hill did writing work for Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
. 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.
Recording
Recording for the album began in late 1997 at Chung King Studios in New York, and ended in June 1998 at Tuff Gong Studios in JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. 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: harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s, strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
, timpani drums
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, organs, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s. It was my idea to record it so the human element stayed in. I didn't want it to be too technically perfect." Initially, Wyclef Jean did not support Lauryn recording a solo album, but eventually offered his production help, which she did not accept.
Aside from doing work at Chung King Studios, Lauryn also recorded at Perfect Pair Studios in New Jersey, as well as Sony Studios, 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
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, the studio built by reggae legend Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
. 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." Many members of the Marley family were present in the studio during the recording sessions, among them Julian Marley
Julian Marley
Julian Ricardo Marley is an English Jamaican reggae musician. He is the son of Bob Marley and a Bajan mother, Lucy Pounder. He is a member of the Rastafari movement.-Biography:...
, 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
Ziggy Marley
David "Ziggy" Marley is a Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He is the oldest son of famed reggae musician Bob Marley...
, and Stephen
Stephen Marley (musician)
Stephen Robert Nesta "Raggamuffin" Marley is a Jamaican American musician and the son of reggae legend Bob Marley and his wife Rita Marley. He is a five-time Grammy award winner as an artist, producer, and member of Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers.-Life and career:Marley was born in Wilmington,...
, and Julian
Julian Marley
Julian Ricardo Marley is an English Jamaican reggae musician. He is the son of Bob Marley and a Bajan mother, Lucy Pounder. He is a member of the Rastafari movement.-Biography:...
, 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."
Music and style
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill incorporates a vast range of musical styles ranging from R&BContemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, to hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
and gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, with many of its songs containing more than one of these genres. For instance, "When It Hurts So Bad" is musically old roots reggae
Roots reggae
Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor...
mixed with soul. While mostly in English, "Forgive Them Father" and "Lost Ones" both feature singing in patois
Patois
Patois is any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. It can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, and other forms of native or local speech, but not commonly to jargon or slang, which are vocabulary-based forms of cant...
, which is the common dialect in Jamaica. Although heavily R&B, the song "Superstar" contains an interpolation
Interpolation (music)
Interpolation in music refers to an abrupt change in musical elements from the main theme.-In classical music:In music and musical composition, especially 20th century and later, interpolation is an abrupt change of elements, with continuation of the first idea...
of the song "Light My Fire
Light My Fire
"Light My Fire" is a song by The Doors which was recorded in August 1966 and released the first week of January 1967 on the Doors' debut album. Released as a single in April, it spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and one week on the Cash Box Top 100, nearly a year after...
" by the classic rock band The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
. 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." 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
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
instead of exploring themselves. Look at someone like Aretha
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, 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
Al Green
Albert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
and Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
. When they hit a high note, you actually felt it." Despite early talk of having Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
member RZA
RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
contribute to production, 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 BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and wrote songs that I drew comfort from." 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.
Although a large portion of the album's love songs would turn out to be bitter from Hill's previous relationship, "Nothing Even Matters," a duet performed by Hill and D'Angelo
D'Angelo
Michael Eugene Archer , better known by his stage name D'Angelo, is an American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is known for his production and songwriting talents as much as for his vocal abilities, and often draws comparisons to his influences,...
, 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
Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
The 1971 Atlantic release Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway is a duet album by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway produced by Joel Dorn and Arif Mardin....
, and give people a humanistic approach to love again without all the physicality and overt sexuality."
"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
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
the pregnancy as to not conflict with her blossoming career. 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." 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."
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.
Singles
With many charting songs such as "Lost Ones," "Nothing Even Matters," "Can't Take My Eyes Off 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 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, spending a total of three weeks at that position, and a total of 21 weeks on the Hot 100 chart. It also peaked at number 2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
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
Bob cut
A "bob cut" is a short haircut for women in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at about jaw-level, often with a fringe at the front.-The beginning:...
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. Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
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
Neo soul
The term neo soul was originally coined by Kedar Massenburg of Motown Records in the late 1990s as a marketing category following the commercial breakthroughs of artists such as D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Maxwell...
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.
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. 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.
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
John Legend
John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
, who was still in his late teens upon the song's release. 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. In 2008, About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
ranked "Everything is Everything" number 66 on their 100 Greatest Rap Songs list.
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. Her first live performances of the songs were at Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
and the Billboard Music Awards. In January 1999, Lauryn recruited a band and began rehearsals for what would become The Miseducation Tour. As soon as the tour was announced, tickets immediately sold out.
The Miseducation Tour began at Budokan
Nippon Budokan
The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in central Tokyo, Japan.This is the location where many "Live at the Budokan" albums were recorded...
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, the American part of the tour, which featured Outkast
OutKast
Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...
as the opening act, started on February 18 in Detroit, and ended on April 1, 1999 at Lauryn's hometown Newark, New Jersey. After the U.S. dates, she flew to Japan, where the tour was finished.
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 WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
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
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
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." The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
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." Despite criticizing its "between-songs interludes and skits", Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
writer Greg Kot
Greg Kot
Greg Kot is an American writer and journalist. Since 1990, Kot has been the music critic at the Chicago Tribune, where he has covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues...
commented that "the arrangements bristle with great ideas" and praised Hill's "out-on-a-limb rawness that rouses the '70s ghosts of Gaye and Bob Marley". 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
Rolling Stone Album Guide
The Rolling Stone Album Guide, previously known as The Rolling Stone Record Guide, is a book that, along with its sister publication Rolling Stone magazine, contains professional reviews of popular music...
(2004), Jon Caramanica 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". Caramanica discussed its musical content and impact, stating:
Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
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
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
'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." Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
'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
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
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
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
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
XXL (magazine)
XXL is a Hip-Hop magazine, published by Harris Publications.In 1997, XXL was founded by former Source staffers as well as other Harris Publication employees, who wanted to create their own magazine about the hip-hop music and culture using the model developed by the founders of The Source...
, 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 ArtistGrammy Award for Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967...
, Best R&B Song
Grammy Award for Best R&B Song
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song has been awarded since 1959. From 1969 to 2000 it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Song, from 1962 to 1968 it was known as Best Rhythm & Blues Recording, and from 1959-1961 as Best Rhythm & Blues Performance...
, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for quality R&B songs...
, Best R&B Album
Grammy Award for Best R&B Album
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre...
and Album of the Year
Grammy Award for Album of the Year
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
, 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." 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. 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
Soul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
award, and a nomination for Best International Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
(British Grammy's). Due to the large success of the album, Lauryn Hill became a national media icon, as magazines ranging from Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
to Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
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.
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 PrincePrince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
thing," wherein all tracks would be credited as "written and produced by" the artist with little outside help. 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, also her record label, stating that Hill "used their songs and production skills, but failed to properly credit them for the work." 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. New Ark requested partial writing credits, and monetary reimbursement. The suit was eventually settled out of court in February 2001 for a reported $5 million.
Track listing
- Notes
Title Samples/Notes "Lost Ones" - Samples "Super Hoe" by Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down ProductionsBoogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the...- Interpolates "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy
Sister NancySister Nancy, aka Muma Nancy, real name Ophlin Russell-Myers, is a dancehall DJ and singer. She is known to the world as the first female dancehall DJ and was described as being a "dominating female voice for over two decades" on the dancehall scene..."Ex-Factor" - Samples "Can It Be All So Simple
Can It Be All So Simple"Can It Be All So Simple" is the third and final single on Wu-Tang Clan's critically acclaimed debut album Enter the Wu-Tang . It features production from RZA that samples Gladys Knight & the Pips' cover of "The Way We Were"...
" by Wu-Tang ClanWu-Tang ClanThe Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group..."To Zion" - Samples "And The Feeling's Good" by José Feliciano
José FelicianoJosé Feliciano is a Puerto Rican singer, virtuoso guitarist and composer known for many international hits including the 1970 holiday single "Feliz Navidad".-Childhood:..."Doo Wop (That Thing)" - Samples "Together Let's Find Love" by The 5th Dimension
"Superstar" - Interpolates "Light My Fire
Light My Fire"Light My Fire" is a song by The Doors which was recorded in August 1966 and released the first week of January 1967 on the Doors' debut album. Released as a single in April, it spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and one week on the Cash Box Top 100, nearly a year after...
" by The DoorsThe DoorsThe Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger..."I Used To Love Him" - Samples "Ice Cream
Ice Cream (song)"Ice Cream", released in 1995, is the third solo single by Wu-Tang Clan rapper Raekwon, from his debut studio album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... ....
" by RaekwonRaekwonCorey Woods , better known by the stage name Raekwon, is an American rapper and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He released his solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... in 1995, and has since recorded four solo albums, as well as work with Wu-Tang and an extensive amount of guest contributions with..."Forgive Them Father" - Samples "Concrete Jungle" by Bob Marley
Bob MarleyRobert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers..."Every Ghetto, Every City" - Interpolates "Heaven and Hell Is on Earth" by 20th Century Steel Band
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" - Frankie Valli
Frankie ValliFrankie Valli is an American musician, most famous as frontman of The Four Seasons. He is well-known for his unusually powerful falsetto singing voice...
cover - Samples "Super Hoe" by Boogie Down Productions
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 saxophone / 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 DunneryFrancis DunneryFrancis Dunnery is an English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as a solo performer , and for fronting the original lineup of the band It Bites between 1982 and 1990 .Dunnery served as a sideman and...
– guitar (tracks: 11, 12) - Paul Fakhourie – bass (track: 3)
- Dean FrasierDean FraserDean Fraser is a Jamaican saxophonist who has contributed to hundreds of reggae recordings since the mid-1970s. He was awarded the Musgrave Medal by the Jamaican government in 1993 in recognition of his services to music.-Biography:Fraser started to play the clarinet at the age of 12...
– 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 PoyserJames PoyserJames Poyser in Sheffield, England is a multi-Grammy winning songwriter, musician and multi-platinum producer.Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists including Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, John Legend, Lauryn Hill, Common, Anthony Hamilton, D'Angelo,...
– bass (tracks: 2, 4, 9) / keys (tracks: 3, 5, 6, 12) - Everol Ray – trumpet (tracks: 5,10)
- Kevin Robinson – trumpet / Flugelhorn (track: 7)
- Ronald "Nambo" Robinson – trombone (tracks: 5, 10)
- Matthew Rubano – bass (tracks: 9, 13)
- Carlos SantanaCarlos SantanaCarlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
– guitar (track: 4) - Earl Chinna Smith – guitar (tracks: 2,10)
- Andrew Smith – guitar (track: 7)
- Squiddly Ranks – live drums (track: 8)
- John R. StephensJohn LegendJohn Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
– piano (track:13) - Elizabeth Valletti – harp (track: 7)
- Fayyaz Virti – trombone (track: 7)
- Joe Wilson – piano (track: 14)
- Stuart ZenderStuart ZenderStuart Patrick Jude Zender is an English bassist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for being the original bass player for Jamiroquai.-Early life:...
– 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 positions
| Charts (1998/1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 2 |
| Austria | 4 |
| Belgium (Flanders) | 10 |
| Belgium (Wallonia) | 3 |
| Canada | 1 |
| France | 3 |
| Finland | 20 |
| Germany | 9 |
| Italy | 3 |
| Netherlands | 11 |
| New Zealand | 5 |
| Norway | 2 |
| Switzerland | 11 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 1 |
| U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop | 1 |
End of decade charts
| Chart (1990–1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 40 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia | Platinum |
| Austria | Gold |
| Belgium | Platinum |
| Canada | 7x Platinum |
| France | 2x Platinum |
| Germany | Platinum |
| Japan | Platinum |
| Netherlands | Platinum |
| New Zealand | 3x Platinum |
| Sweden | Platinum |
| Switzerland | Gold |
| United Kingdom | 2x Platinum |
| United States | 8x Platinum |
Chart procession and succession
Accolades
- Information regarding accolades is extracted from Acclaimedmusic.net,except for accolades with additional sources.
- (*) Signifies unordered lists
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| About.com About.com About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company.... |
United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
100 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums | 2008 | 43 |
| Best Rap Albums of 1998 | 2008 | 1 | ||
| Associated Press | The 10 Best Albums of the 1990s | 1999 | * | |
| Blender Blender (magazine) Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities.... |
500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die | 2003 | * | |
| The 100 Greatest American Albums of All time | 2002 | 75 | ||
| CD Now | The 10 (+5) Essential Records of the 90s | 2002 | * | |
| Ego trip Ego trip (magazine) ego trip was the name of a hip hop magazine started in New York City in 1994. It lasted four years and 13 issues and distinguished itself based on its irreverence and defiant attitude, eventually adopting the tagline, "the arrogant voice of musical truth."-Description:The roots of the publication... |
Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980-98 | 1999 | 4 | |
| Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980-98 | 1999 | 5 | ||
| Entertainment Weekly Entertainment Weekly Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture... |
The 100 Best Albums from 1983 to 2008 | 2008 | 2 | |
| Gear | The 100 Greatest Albums of the Century | 1999 | 88 | |
| Ink Blot | Best Albums of the 90s | 2000 | 9 | |
| Kitsap Sun Kitsap Sun The Kitsap Sun is a newspaper in Bremerton, Washington, that covers general news. It serves the West Sound, covering Kitsap, Jefferson and Mason counties, has a circulation of about 30,000 and reaches over 100,000 adult readers seven days a week.... |
Top 200 Albums of the Last 40 Years | 2005 | 65 | |
| Nude as the News Nude as the News "Nude as the News" is a song by the American singer/songwriter, Cat Power . It is the fourth song on her 1996 album, What Would the Community Think... |
The 100 Most Compelling Albums of the 90s | 1999 | 40 | |
| Pause & Play | 10 Albums of the 90's | 2003 | * | |
| Albums Inducted into a Time Capsule | 2003 | * | ||
| The 90s Top 100 Essential Albums | 1999 | 7 | ||
| Robert Dimery | 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book edited by Robert Dimery, first published in 2005. The most recent edition consists of a list of albums released between 1955 and 2010, part of a series from Quintessence Editions Ltd... |
2005 | * | |
| Rolling Stone Rolling Stone Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J... |
50 Essential Female Albums | 2002 | 32 | |
| The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:... |
2003 | 312 | ||
| The Essential Recordings of the 90s | 1999 | * | ||
| The Source The Source (magazine) The Source is a United States-based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture, founded in 1988. It is the world's second longest running rap periodical, behind United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded as a newsletter in 1988... |
The Critics Top 100 Black Music Albums of All Time | 2006 | 10 | |
| Spin Spin (magazine) Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard... |
Top 100 (+5) Albums of the Last 20 Years | 2005 | 49 | |
| Top 90 Albums of the 90s | 1999 | 28 | ||
| Tom Moon | 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die is a musical reference book written by Tom Moon, published in 2008.It consists of a list of recordings, mostly albums, arranged alphabetically by artist or composer, starting with ABBA's Gold and concluding with ZZ Top's Tres Hombres... |
2008 | * | |
| VH1 VH1 VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly... |
The 100 Greatest Albums of R 'N' R | 2001 | 37 | |
| Vibe | 150 Albums That Define the Vibe Era | 2007 | * | |
| 51 Albums representing a Generation, a Sound and a Movement | 2004 | * | ||
| BBC Radio BBC Radio BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company... |
United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
Stuart Maconie's Critical List | 1999 | 17 |
| Channel 4 Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel... |
The 100 Greatest Albums | 2005 | * | |
| Elvis Costello Elvis Costello Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader... |
500 Albums You Need | 2000 | * | |
| Gary Mulholland | 261 Greatest Albums Since Punk and Disco | 2006 | * | |
| The Gaurdian | 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die | 2007 | * | |
| Hip-Hop Connection | The 100 Greatest Rap Albums 1995-2005 | 2005 | 39 | |
| Metro Times Metro Times The Metro Times is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. Supported entirely by advertising, it is distributed free of charge every Wednesday in newsstands in businesses and libraries around the city and suburbs... |
Top 10 Albums of the 90s | 1999 | 8 | |
| Mojo Mojo (magazine) MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music... |
The 100 Greatest Albums of Our Lifetime 1993-2006 | 2006 | 67 | |
| The Mojo Collection | 2007 | * | ||
| The New Nation | Top 100 Albums by Black Artists | 2003 | 10 | |
| Q Q (magazine) Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology... |
90 Albums of the 90s | 1999 | * | |
| The Ultimate Music Collection | 2005 | 41 | ||
| Top 100 Albums Ever | 2003 | 20 | ||
| The Rough Guide | Soul: 100 Essential CDs | 2000 | * | |
| Aftenposten Aftenposten Aftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007... |
Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
Top 50 Albums of All Time | 1999 | 48 |
| Eggen & Kartvedt | The Guide to the 100 Important Rock Albums | 1999 | * | |
| Helsingin Sanomat Helsingin Sanomat Helsingin Sanomat is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2008, its daily circulation was 412,421 on weekdays and 468,505 on Sundays... |
Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
50th Anniversary of Rock | 2004 | 2 |
| Musik Express | Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
The 50 Best Albums of the 90s | 2005 | 23 |
| Wiener Wiener Wiener is German for Viennese, but may also refer to:* A German sausage named after Vienna * A sausage used in hot dogsWiener is the surname of:* Alexander S... |
Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
The 100 Best Albums of the 20th Century | 1999 | 100 |
| FNAC Fnac Fnac is an international entertainment retail chain offering cultural and electronic products, founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. It is the largest retailer of its kind in France... |
France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
The 1000 Best Albums of All Time | 2008 | 420 |
| Rock & Folk | The Best Albums from 1963 to 1999 | 1999 | * | |
| Dance de Lux | Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
The 25 Best Hip-Hop Records | 2001 | 12 |
| Rock de Lux | The 150 Best Albums from the 90s | 2000 | 132 | |
| Juice Juice (magazine) Juice is a well known German hip hop magazine and the biggest of its kind in Europe. In every issue readers find interviews with rappers and record reviews... |
Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
The 100 (+34) Greatest Albums of the 90s | 1999 | 55 |
| Babylon | Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
The 50 Best Albums of the 1990s | 1999 | 45 |
| Pure Pop Pure Pop Pure Pop is an album released in 2002 featuring some of the most popular acts in Christian music at the time.-Track listing:#Alli Rogers - Boxes – 3:08 #Phat Chance - Sunshine Delight – 3:14 #ZOEgirl - I Believe – 4:07... |
Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... |
The 50 Best Albums of the 90s | 2000 | 40 |
| The Sun | Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
The Best Albums from 1971 to 2000 | 2001 | * |
See also
- List of number-one albums of 1998 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1998 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1999 (U.S.)
- Billboard Year-EndBillboard Year-EndBillboard Year-End charts are a cumulative measure of a single or album's performance in the United States, based upon the Billboard magazine charts during any given chart year. Billboard's "chart year" runs from the first week of December to the final week in November...
External links
- The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Inside The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill at Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
- The Year in Review: Miseducation at New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- Staff Review at SputnikmusicSputnikmusicSputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
- Review at Pitchfork MediaPitchfork MediaPitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
- Review at The A.V. ClubThe A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
- Album Accolades at Acclaimed Music