Lauryn Hill in my opinion is one of the most underappreciated female artists of her time. She has never truly fit in with any of her other female counterparts because she exudes a style all her own. When she released her first solo album in 1998 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill she was newly separated from the group that had made her famous The Fugees.
Releasing a solo album in an industry that is so competitive and in many ways very unforgiving must have been daunting for young Lauryn. Especially with the style of music that she was releasing this could have proven to be disastrous. She took a gamble and in my opinion it proved to be extremely worthwhile.
When I first heard the album I immediately loved the whole project. This was a type of music that I was unfamiliar with having a background of mostly gospel music. However Lauryn has a way of singing that speaks to your very existence and lets you know that she shares your experiences. Since gospel music does similar things I could definitely relate to her music.
All of the songs are full of soul and one can feel the experiences she’s faced through her lyrics. She sings about the birth of her newborn son, her childhood, and she also includes several love ballads.
Of all the songs on the album the one that spoke to me the most is the song that shares the same name as the album title. “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”.
While most female artists in that era were singing mainly about loving a man or how their man wasn’t treating them right. Lauryn however was singing about how she had found self-love and that she intended to be the captain of her own destiny. She speaks about how she was made to feel insufficient in her past but has come to the realization that she was created to be self-sufficient.
Listening to this song, one can’t help but feel an influx of emotions. You go from feeling empowerment to love to anger, and finally courage.
With such a simple song Lauryn was able to send a greater message to the young women in America and eventually around the world that you don’t have to rely on anyone else for help when you possess the power within yourself. It’s truly a song that serves a dual purpose; not only to entertain but also to inspire and inform.
http://youtu.be/QRUba8smRj0?list=PLmIL5pjHzXC_-TmsLh5iQamfjIW9OQEkl
Got A Million Rhymes 