Lauryn Hill stepped out on her own and changed the rules with the neo soul edification of this cathartic confessional. While touring with the Fugees for their album 'The Score', she began a relationship with Rohan Marley that led to a pregnancy. During this time, she worked with CeCe Winans, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston; and came up with over thirty songs as she began working on her solo debut.
Hill reveals: "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...Every time I got hurt, every time I was disappointed, every time I learned, I just wrote a song...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...The first day in the studio I ordered every instrument I ever fell in love with: harps, strings, timpani drums, organs, clarinets. It was my idea to record it so the human element stayed in. I didn't want it to be too technically perfect...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...It would have been more difficult to articulate to other people. Hey, it's my album. Who can tell my story better than me?...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.'...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."
'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' was recorded at RPM Studios, Chung King Studios, Sony Music Studios, The Hit Factory, and Right Tracks Studios in New York City; Perfect Pair Studios in New Jersey; Marley Music, Inc. and Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston; and House Studios in Miami. Hill was the executive producer with co-producers Vada Nobles and Che Guevara for the sessions that included vocals by Mary J. Blige, D’Angelo, Shelley Thunder; backing vocals by Kenny Bobien, Chinah, Jenni Fujita, Fundisha Johnson, Sabrina Johnson, Jenifer McNeil, Rasheem Pugh, Lenesha Randolph, Ramon Rivera, Earl Robinson, Andrea Simmons, Eddie Stockley, Ahmed Wallace, Tara Watkins, Rachel Wilson, and Chuck Young; Al Anderson, Robert Browne, Francis Dunnery, Julian Marley, Johari Newton, Arun Pandian, Carlos Santana, Earl Chinna Smith, and Andrew Smith on guitar; Tom Barney, Paul Fakhourie, Chris Meredith, James Poyser, Matthew Rubano, and Stuart Zender on bass; Bud Beadle on alto & tenor saxophone and flute; Rudy Byrd on percussion; Che Guevara, Che Pope, and Vada Nobles on drum programming; Jared Crawford and Squiddly Ranks on live drums; D’Angelo on rhodes; DJ Supreme as DJ; Dean Frasier on saxophone; Loris Holland on keys and clarinet; Indigo Quartet on strings; Tejumold Newton, John R. Stephens, and Joe Wilson on piano; Grace Paradise and Elizabeth Valletti on harp; Everol Ray on trumpet; Kevin Robinson on trumpet and Flugelhorn; and Ronald "Nambo" Robinson and Fayyaz Virti on trombone.
With its blending of elements of gospel, soul, reggae, funk, and hip hop; 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' had considerable crossover appeal. The record was a massive critical and commercial success, going to number twenty in Finland; eleven in the Netherlands and Switzerland; nine in Germany; five in New Zealand; four in Austria; three in Belgium and Italy; two in Australia, Norway, and the UK; and number one in Canada and the US. It made its debut at number one in the US and broke the record for first week sales by a female artist. The album was nominated for ten Grammy Awards, winning Best New Artist, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Album, and Album of the Year (a first for a hip hop album). 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' has sold more than eighteen million copies worldwide.
http://www.lauryn-hill.com/
'Ex-Factor' hit fifty-one in France, forty-six in Sweden, forty in the Netherlands, twenty-one on the US hot 100, seven on the US R&B chart, and number four in the UK.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE-bnWqLqxE
'Doo Wop (That Thing)' went to number thirty-nine in Sweden, thirty-five in Australia, twenty-three in France, ten in Sweden, four in the Netherlands, three in the UK, two on the US R&B chart, and number one on the US hot 100.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6QKqFPRZSA
'Everything Is Everything' made it to number fifty-one in the Netherlands, thirty-five on the US hot 100, nineteen in the UK, fifteen in New Zealand, and number fourteen on the US R&B chart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3_dOWYHS7I
'Zion' charted at number seventy-seven on the US R&B chart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktgHNJ4RmIY
'Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You' saw its way to number forty-five on the US R&B chart and number eight in Australia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ5BXfXUYwM
'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'
full album:
01. Intro - 00:00
02. Lost Ones - 00:48
03. Ex-Factor - 06:21
04. To Zion - 11:48
05. Doo Wop (That Thing) - 17:59
06. Superstar - 23:16
07. Final Hour - 28:20
09. When It Hurts So Bad - 32:28
10. I Used To Love Him - 38:09
11. Forgive Them Father - 43:49
12. Every Ghetto, Every City - 49:04
13. Nothing Even Matters - 54:20
14. Everything Is Everything - 1:00:08
15. The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill - 1:05:05
16. Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You - 1:09:19
17. Sweetest Thing [Mohangany Remix] - 1:13:25
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