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Download the track in question here.
On August 25th, 1998, Miss Lauryn Hill, formerly of the Fugees, dropped an album called The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The song, Doo-Wop That Thing was a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998. She followed that tune with Ex-Factor, a song seemingly about her affair with Wyclef Jean, a Fugee, that continued well into Lauryn's marriage with a football playing son of Bob Marley. 4 more singles followed that, but none had the charting power of the first two.
At the Grammy's that year, Hill received an amazing 11 nominations. Ultimately, she won Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album, setting a new record of the most grammy's ever won by a female artist. This album appeared in position 312 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.
The final track on the first edition of the album was a deceptively simple song called The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, a title referencing Carter G. Woodson's book, The Miseducation of the Negro. The song, as aforementioned, is deceptively simple in its arrangement, but somewhat complex in its delivery.
The song opens with a needle scratching a slow tattoo. A piano then does a beautiful intro, going up and down the scale. The sound is lush, captivating. Hill's voice rings out crisply and clearly in the middle of the mix. An organ throws out ringing notes. Gentle strings can be heard.
Hill sings these lyrics:
"My world it moves so fast today
The past it seems so far away
And I squeeze it so tight, I can't breathe
And every time I try to be
What someone has thought of me
So caught up, I wasn't able to acheive
But deep in my heart the answer it was in me
And I made up my mind to find my own destiny
I look at my environment
And wonder where the fire went
What happened to everything we used to be
I hear so many cry for help
Searching outside of themselves
Now I know His strength is within me
And deep in my heart the answer it was in me
And I made up my mind to find my own destiny
And deep in my heart the answer it was in me
And I made up my mind to find my own destiny"
Famously, Hill rejected fame and embraced an unwavering spirituality that is evidenced on Hill's MTV Unplugged album. But these ascetic tendencies were foreshadowed by the spiritual and heartfelt lyrics found on this song and her martial ode to her son, To Zion.
Hill's voice itself is a powerful, powerful instrument. It seems to this listener that American Idol's preferred style of singing requires an incredible mobility of notes, going up and down the register within a single breath; Lauryn Hill is a master of this technique. On the line, "So caught up", Hill makes the "so" last almost a second while she manipulates the single note into a melody. Same with the "what" on the line "What happened to everything..." On every utterance of "heart," Lauryn twists the word, creating heartbreak and optimism simultaneously.
The second to last singing of the chorus comes from way back in the mix, while the front Hill sings the final words of the previous chorus. The effect is like Hill rushing from streets, eager to tell you of her destiny.
Lyrically, this song means a lot to me. While Hill found religion after releasing this album, she still retained a bit of independence in life. She thought she could create her own path, and she did. She forged the way for other serious-minded hip-hop artists and female rappers. This album is one of the best soul, R&B, or rap albums ever, in this listener's opinion. Every emotion seems to be contained on the CD, and this song is the emotion of self-discovery and enlightenment. I made up my mind: I love this song. |
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