The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

#300 Heard Before? Many times. Notes: - some of my favorite sounding drums ever. - the mix is delightfully uneven, with stupidly loud bass and kick drum. it's the sound of the obnoxious car stereos of the 90s. - lauryn hill is so embarrassingly talented it hurts. an unparalleled rapper, singer, songwriter in equal proportion. - listening again after so long, the bloom is off the rose a bit. the album is too long, and droops in the final third. i don't think anyone needs that cheeseball Paul Anka cover. Verdict: On release, this taught me what a great rap/r&b album. The star has only dimmed slightly with time. Listen Again? I don't need to, but it is truly wonderful. So maybe, but not for a long time.

This album is a hip-hop, r&b classic. So many of the songs have been sampled by Kanye West, J.Cole, Drake, Method Man and many others, such a great listen, but I just wish it was a bit shorter and more concentrated.

You know what, this album was awesome.

It’s rap, soul, reggae, folk, story-telling, and pop all executed at the highest level. One of “the” records of the 90s, it’s one of those legacy releases that this project is built on. The skits can drag, and it’s probably closer to a 4.5, but c’mon. This is why we listen.

Imagine dropping an all-time great album, then just stopping.

It’s too long and skits continue to add absolutely nothing to hip hop albums, but this slaps.

It’s ever so long but Jesus this is so highly rated for a reason.

Another classic. Brought me back to a different time in my life.

Intensely personal and hugely talented. Perhaps too personal, since she was told, having bared her soul in this one, "all you need to do for the follow-up is bare it all again." It did not go well. For mine, a few too many mid tempo numbers cause it to sag a bit and it's probably too long, but it's quite an achievement.

I’ve been through this album before and find it so overrated. I don’t like Lauren’s voice but I do like her rapping. Maybe because these songs play absolutely everywhere for the past 20 years I just find so many of them annoying.

Really high highs, a few slow lows.

Like with many 90s albums, it's too long and would have benefited by cutting a few tracks. Like many rap albums, it includes a bunch of sketches that most people wish weren't there 30 years later. That said, there's a lot of good shit here! This was a largely enjoyable listen. Smooth, good vocals, well-produced, good beats. 4.2

Not bad, but not brilliant either 😊 Three stars…

GOAT

Sommige mensen hebben nou eenmaal heul veul bevestiging nodig, en moeten dus altijd 'yeah, yeah' zeggen, anders durven ze zich niet te uiten. Want jemig, want wat moet er een boel bevestiging tussen de muziek door worden ge-yeahd. Wat die vervelende Fugees ook al deden, waar daar zat deze mevrouw eerst bij. Maar verder is de muziek interessant en origineel genoeg, er wordt zowaar live op een instrument gespeeld (elektrische gitaar, door Santana!), in plaats van dat het allemaal gesampled moet. Okee, ook hier zijn er stukjes slap geklets tussendoor, en een paar slappe covers, maar de muziek heeft genoeg soul om het allemaal zonder problemen uit te zitten.

De discografie van Lauryn heeft een eigen pagina. Hoe groot is het solo-werk van mevrouw dan? Nou, welgeteld één studioalbum. Dit lijkt mij de symbolische samenvatting van Lauryn Hill: extreem overschat. Dit album laat wat nummers horen die passen in de mal die we kennen van de radio. De bekende rap-stijl wordt aangevuld met soul-zang. Nou ja, soul? De zang trekt vooral energie weg. Buiten dat is het zeker niet onderscheidend.

Een album met 16 nummers waarvan er 9 langer zijn dan 5 minuten. Dat lijkt me toch iets teveel van het goede. Ik kijk ook erg uit naar de review van zure broeder Roel, want die is groot fan van the Fugees zoals we weten. Qua muziek valt me op dat er op zich wel een lekker ritme in zit, met prima bas en beat. Lauryn wil helaas iets teveel laten horen dat ze denkt dat ze kan zingen. Met heel veel extra lettergrepen. Daar is zure broeder Eric dan weer groot fan van. Ik ben bang dat dit geen topper gaat worden. De muziek is zogezegd niet eens zo slecht, maar het is allemaal teveel. Teveel lange nummers, teveel onnodige lettergrepen. Na een paar nummers heb je het wel weer gehoord, maar dan moet je dus nog 45 a 60 minuten (afhankelijk van hoe snel je het zat bent). De voornaamste afwisseling die erin zit is of ze zingt of rapt, maar verder is het veel van hetzelfde. Als ze dit op een minuutje of 35 a 40 had gehouden, dan had er misschien nog een 3 in kunnen zitten, maar nu rond ik het naar beneden af.

This album is good. This album is really good. Despite that though I didn't save any songs from it and probably won't listen again. Great singer and composition but it's all love ballads. Like the hip hop version of Meatloaf, didn't do it for me.

What's there to say about The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill that hasn't already been said? It's an iconic album, and "Ex-Factor" and "Doo Wop (That Thing)" remain catchy tracks to this day.

Too boring, repetitive, with no original melodies

One of my all-time faves. So fucking good throughout. Clear themes throughout, groovy, gospely, jazzy, punchy, just a bop from start to finish. Her vocals and lyrics are just incredible too. Gotta get this bad boi on vinyl. Fave Songs: Ex Factor, Doo Wop, To Zion, Final Hour, honestly just throw the whole album on this list. 5/5

This sound encapsulate my childhood when we weren’t bumping post grunge and pop punk. I’m not sure if this album created this particular sound, but most of the R&B and hip-hop I liked in the early 00s has this vibe. To me this has always been the kinda music I bump when I wanna feel good and nostalgic. I don’t bump R&B that much these days, but there’s no denying the beauty of the record. I do think it’s madly overrated though. (I’m looking at you Apple Music) oh well, they only talk about popular records anyways. I like the back and forth of R&B and rap, the fusion of some jazzy elements etc, but I can’t help to think it sort of overstays its welcome a bit. I think this one could’ve benefited by having shorter songs or just a shorter track list in general.

This album is a true testament to love and what we are taught love is. How we make mistakes in our love and we are forced to reconcile with it. Lauren hill takes the youth and asks them simple questions about love and they don’t even realize the complexity of it all but at its basic level it’s just love indescribable. She talks about freedom for all and a world we should All strive for even if we were taught different we can learn how to truly love. For that alone it’s a masterpiece it also helps that every song is unique and written with so much intensity and emotion while also being well written. This is a perfect album that does its concept to the tea and then some. Left it all On the table I love it get it haha

Music is above avg

Not my thing

Good album, not really music I listen to often. For the music itself in its genre it was good!

Nuostabus balsas, gražus tekstas, gera muzika

This album is great but it could've been a bit shorter. I loved it for the first 50 minutes, then I noticed I kept looking at the time just waiting for it to end so I could move on with my day. I know that's not generally a criteria for deciding if an album is good or not, but I feel I need to knock off a star.

Good album. Didn’t love every song, but there are some masterpieces in this. 3.5 Top tracks: Ex-Factor, Doo Wop (That Thing), Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You, Tell Him

Favorite Song: When It Hurts so Bad Least Favorite: To Zion

Great

Not my thing

я люблю Lauryn Hill, хоча тут всього декілька бенгерів, а решта не такі сильні

I can identify the talent here and I get why this was so popular, but it just wasn't resonating with me when I listened. It was more about me. Would love a recommendation for a situation where I should sit with this album.

A lot of these songs were really long. Doo wop (that thing) is a great hit. She is talented for sure!!

The rhythm and flow of 90s hip hop and R&B is unmatched. When Doo Wop came on it took me right back to high school. Add in some gospel, and I enjoyed. I don't know if I could ever throw it on repeat for a day and lose myself in it, so it doesn't quite get to 5*, but it was good. Further reinforcing that it's not quite 5* is that right after this album, amazon autoplayed Killing Me Softly, and reminded me what 5* tier is.

Great voice! The guitar work was incredible. I liked the classroom interactions. What really threw me was the vinyl glitches added to a couple of the songs. I thought was from my system. They got me! LOL!

A good album, if a touch long. "Doo Wop" is a great single. However, the crown jewel of the album is the cover of "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You". I think this is the greatest cover ever. I'm giving the album an extra star because of this. It's so good I almost gave it two extra stars.

Pleasant listening experience, love her voice

Ett album som växte

For once, not a Rock album

ehh

Yeah, it’s a 5. It’s crazy how consistently great the tracks are and how cohesive it feels—the whole concept is great as well . Her vocals are great, and, To Zion and Tell Him are some of my favourite songs ever. Tell him is such a beautiful track. It’s a proper shame this is the only actual studio album we got from her. Literally released an album as good as this and just dipped! 😅 What blows my mind is how an album can be this long—it’s over 70 minutes with the interludes—and still keep your attention the entire time. No skips at all. It’s a massive testament to Lauryn Hill's talent; she was just in her bag. Excellent album.

A huge lack of female artists on this list but the gals who are on here are some of the best the list has to offer Playlist add: “Final Hour” is the one that stuck out to me the most for its timely political critique even 28 years later

this album is on constant rotation in my house. like, i've listened to it straight through in multiple listening sessions this year alone. if i could give 6 stars, i would. as i've listened through the years, diff tracks stand out to me. but Everything is Everything will always be my #1

yeah, still perfect. next

always a good listen

Vocales excepcionales realmente, me encantó escuchar esto completo porque apenas conocía 3 o 4 canciones; mi fav es "Superstar" y la q menos me llamó la atención pero es re linda "I Used To Love Him" Con Mary JBlige (as i said, good enough)

It's got some great moments.

Queen.

Mola un huevo LEL!

4 - BAD

This really is beautiful. I've always loved Lauren Hill and this is an all time classic.

I've been hearing how great this album is for 25 years and never tried it because I was sure I wouldn't find anything to like about it. There's definitely more to it than I expected. The different styles make it something unique. Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy much about the first 5 tracks. Everything seems to go on a little too long and I quickly got tired of the classroom discussion stuff. Things get a little better with Superstar and especially Final Hour... a track that finally sports a nice driving groove, some nice jazz instrumentation, and thick bass and beats to go with a great lyrical turn and some nice singing. It's easily the best song on the record. The next best song is Every Ghetto, Every City, which has some great funk and singing and a tune that sticks. There's just not enough stuff like this on the incredibly long runtime. She has a track with D'Angelo that has the exact problem I had with every song on that record -- too long, not enough ideas to justify even half its length. As intrusive as the classroom skits were in the beginning, I'm not sure why they were dropped without bringing it to any sort of a conclusion to them. There's too much good stuff going on here to flat out say I didn't like it, but I wouldn't play the whole album again.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill (1998) This album was actually a little better than I anticipated. It's definitely not my usual cup of tea, but there was enough going on to keep me interested for most of it. What I really appreciate is how Lauryn Hill speaks from the heart. Her lyrics are thoughtful, deeply personal, and emotional without feeling forced. Everything flows together really nicely, and I especially enjoyed how effortlessly she switches between rapping and singing, experimenting with different styles along the way. I also liked the little classroom segments scattered throughout the album, which really help tie together the overarching theme of understanding love. It's a clever concept, and the album stays remarkably consistent with it. My biggest issue is really just a personal preference: I'm not a huge fan of long albums, and this one stretches itself a little too thin. By the final third, I could feel my interest starting to fade, even though the quality of the music hadn't necessarily dropped. Still, I'm glad I gave this one a listen. I can certainly appreciate the artistry and the emotion behind it, even if it's probably not something I'll revisit. A pleasant surprise overall, and I'd give it somewhere around a 3.3 or 3.4 out of 5.

Some artists make one or two albums that are so amazing that people wonder why they stopped or couldn’t repeat the process. Lauren Hill produced an album that speaks to anything and everything. This hit hard especially after The Fugees. Who cares if she never produces anything else? Most artists would be proud to have such an accomplishment. What a masterpiece.

I listened to this a few times trying to determine whether it was a 4.5 or five. It's a fucking five. Rapper and soul singer rolled into one. Doo Wop video says it all. Also, John Legend recording debut alert!

Real rnb sh*t

First Listen Favorites: Nothing Even Matters Lost Ones Superstar Honorable Mentions: I Used to Love Him Doo Wop (That Thing)

Her voice! Skit at the beginning is compelling - school roll call with artist absent. Ex Factor, is it bad that I love it b/c of the sample in Drake's Nice for What? Doo Wop (That Thing) - soo 90s! Sucker for the claves in When It Hurts So Bad. Maybe I shouldn't be listening to these when I'm at work and the vibes are off. I should give this one another spin, feels like a bit of slower burn. Long tho. Thinking a solid 3.

She's not the genius she thinks she is

The fact that she was just 23 when she released this is so wild to me. While I completely understand and respect her choice to not make another album, I can’t help but wonder what kind of album she would have made later in her life.

Essential, everyone needs to hear this.

Best album of all time?

I realised that Doo Wop ( that thing ) that has been on my favourite YouTube mix is her song!!

Always a solid listen. Timeless. Makes you wonder what could have been next but maybe we just have to be thankful that she released this one off. We can't wait any longer. There's no way she'd relocate anything this good. Expectations are too high.

I'm not usually drawn into this style of music, and that is mostly the case here. I liked some songs and others were meh.

“Best album of all time” according to Apple Music? yeah no. Not absolutely awful but didn’t do much for me anyways.

Ziemlich solide, hat mich positiv überrascht. Auch, wenn es nach dem starken Start etwas nachlässt.

Das scheint mir ein starkes Album zu sein, aber es erreicht mich emotional nicht.

This is such a fabulous album, beautiful lyrics and vocals, I bought it in 1998, and didn’t fully appreciate it at the time, however Ex- Factor” , “Doo wop”, and “Everything” omg, just wonderful

obra maestra

Mediocre rap. Not great singers.

I can see why Kanye west was uninspired when Lauryn hill retired

Perfect!!

I didn't dislike it, is a fair way to describe my personal experience listening to this record.

First time I’ve actually got all the way through this Perfect blend of singing/rapping, too much of the latter would grate for such a long album I love the “Miseducation” concept running through it, and that it’s all kind of off-the-cuff “from the mouth of babes” Ex Factor is a phenomenal bit of neo soul and really stood out to me this time where I only really liked That Thing before now, the “care for me, care for me” bit is so addictive Need some more listens to appreciate the back half maybe, so long for this style of album that I started to tune out a bit. I know there's goodness in the proper live instrumentation throughout #1 on Apple Music feels too high for me but what do I know, maybe its genius has yet to reveal itself

Aye pretty solid I liked this a lot more when I listened to it for the AM top 100, feel like the repeated listens since then has dragged it down a little bit but it’s still really really good 4

#neverskipasongfromthequeen

Manšķiet, nav neviens cilvēks kam nepatīk šis albums

1. 3.5 2. 4.5 3. 5 4. 5 5. 5 6. 4.5 7. 4 8. 4.5 9. 5 10. 4.5 11. 5 12. 4.5 13. 5 14. 4.5 15. 5 16. 4.5

I like this one

Ich mag keinen Rap

7.9/10. A rap album that helped to mix reggae, soul, R&B, and hip hop all into one, creating a masterpiece that led to the neo-soul movement. It covers lots of topics deeply, most of all about love, and the lyricism portrays it well, with the music showing the feeling behind it perfectly. I enjoyed it, and I can see why it won five Grammys in a night.

Listened to this album a year or two ago for the first time, and listening to it again twice I feel like I might be slightly overrating it, probably closer to a 4/5, but I think this rating is justified. 4.5/5

classic

- Too long - Full of filler - Musically indistinct - Skits = shit - Good lyrics and delivery - RnB just doesn't excite me

One of those 90s albums I had heard of because it was popular, but never actually listened to it because I wasn't an adventurous listener back then. I was missing out.

Favourite Tracks: To Zion Everything is Everything Lost One

4.5. Very good album, but didn't have any real stand out songs for me.

Chatting at the end of the tracks is super aggravating.

7.0/10

She singa beautifully, can rap, music is solid. I should like this but find it a bit meh. Not sure why. Will need to reliayen when i have more time to think.

Weekend listen on vinyl.

The first song had me kinda worried but after that this was pretty solid throughout. Didn't like her rapping all too much but there were some tracks where it worked. Her actual singing was the highlight here, along with the super pleasing/ smooth production with plenty of punch to it. 3.5/5

Funny timing by getting this album. I actually just watched a video about Lauryn Hill's MTV unplugged session 3 years after this, and it was..... bizarre to say the least. Although it did provide a bit of insight into what Lauryn Hill's demeanor was during the time in which we thought we were getting the sequel to this album.... dare i say, a lecture (ha get it, its a school pun!) It really cant be understated just how much this album truly did impact hip hop, I mean, when you only release 1 solo album and everyone pretty much agrees you are amongst the queens of hip-hop if not the one with the crown? You dont really see an album this ambitious artistically get as popular as this did in 1998, and it was EVERYWHERE, and deservedly so. This isnt a great Rap Album, this isn't a great 90s album, this a great album historically and point blank period. 5/5

It's a classic for a reason. Really loved this. It's super soulful, Lauryn Hill's voice is perfect and so are the lyrics, incredibly influential for hip-hop and R&B, but you already knew that. Everything that I've said about this has already been said before about this, and that's because it's perfect. To Zion was my fav song and first listen of the album. Ex-Factor and Everything Is Everything were my other highlights

Rap des années 90 Moins pire que ce que je pensais Certain bout font penser à Billy Joel La voix ressemble à une chanteuse pop des années 70

Many people have tried fusing hip hop and soul, but none have done it quite as elegantly as Lauryn Hill. Primarily because very few people are as talented in both fields as she is. As a singer, she hits the perfect balance between technical proficiency and raw emotion, with a real knack for harmonies and hooks. As a rapper, she's rough and rugged, pulling out clever rhyme schemes and wordplay while maintaining a bruising force behind her bars. She uses both of these talents to explore one of music's most well-trod topics (love) from every angle she possibly can. Both falling in love and out of love are dissected with a level of detail and passion few could rival. On the musical end, her production matches her vocals with its ability to switch from lush and sensual to hard hitting on the turn of a dime. Absolutely deserving of the reputation it deserves, and it's truly sad that we'll likely get another studio album from her.

This one is interesting for me. I loved it when it came out. I have continued to enjoy it over the years and have watched as it has gone through periods of intense critical promotion to controversy to promotion once again. Listening to the album, apart from all the talk around it, I am struck by what a feat it really is, how coherent its vision, and I am struck by sadness that it remains Lauryn Hill’s primary solo accomplishment. 5 Boolean: True