The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill

Description

A bad education that, defying all morality, bears fruit. Lauryn Hill, who broke away from the hip hop trio Fugees, put all her irreverence into a first solo album that is intelligent and innovative. Too pretty, too much the “Fugees singer,” Lauryn Hill could have given in to the easy formulas that made her group successful, or relied on her good looks to put out a lazy album, a copy of The Score that would, in any case, have been well received. But Lauryn Hill proved that she was much more than the “singer of.” Brilliantly gifted and with absolute strength of character, she managed to break away from the Fugees and find her own footing. Lauryn Hill writes, composes, and creates a sound all her own, an impeccable blend of soul, hip hop, reggae, and R&B. From soothing melodies (“When It Hurts So Bad,” “Ex-Factor”) to Motown pop on “Doo Wop (That Thing),” to old-school hip hop tinged with reggae with “Lost Ones,” and a languorous soul duet with D'Angelo (“Nothing Even Matters”), Lauryn Hill lays her rich, full-bodied voice over perfect compositions that are always moving. Instrumentation, melodies, arrangements, production, she masters it all. And, contrary to what she announces in the title, with grace and elegance.