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#FMTrends: 19 Years Later The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

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9 years ago

August 31, 2017

19 Years Later The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

If you were a young adult during the late 1990s, you probably learned a lesson or two about love, self-respect, and endurance from Lauryn Hill’s debut solo album – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. On August 25, 1998, the album debuted at No.1 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart and sold more than 422,000 copies its first week out.

The single, Doo Wop – That Thing, which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200, gave young women advice that still holds true today.

“Showing off your ass cause you’re thinkin’ it’s a trend.
Girlfriend, let me break it down for you again
You know I only say it cause I’m truly genuine
Don’t be a hard rock when you really are a gem
Baby girl, respect is just a minimum.”

Young ladies discreetly seeking attention on social media, you may want to take note. No need to take backside selfies. Just sayin’.

Now if you managed to find yourself in an on-again off-again relationship, well then Ex-Factor is the ballad that may have helped you to call it quits for good.

“I keep letting you back in
How can I explain myself?
As painful as this thing has been
I just can’t be with no one else
See I know what we’ve got to do
You let go, and I’ll let go too
‘Cause no one’s hurt me more than you
And no one ever will.”

This is a fitting lesson of love and heartache. I wonder if Rob Kardashian and Black Chyna has Ex-Factor on their playlist.

And if you’re a success seeker Lauryn Hill drops knowledge of encouragement through the lyrics of Everything is Everything.

“Sometimes it seems
We’ll touch that dream
But things come slow or not at all
And the ones on top, won’t make it stop
So convinced that they might fall
Let’s love ourselves, and we can’t fail
To make a better situation
Tomorrow, our seeds will grow
All we need is dedication.”

I won’t continue to bore you with all the lessons I learned from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, but I highly recommend you add the album to your collection.

However, you don’t have to take my word for it. Music critics from Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times and several others publications, also applaud Hill’s view of love, heartache and life. After several months at the top of the charts, Lauryn Hill took home five Grammy Awards for:

Best New Artist
Best R&B Song
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance; and
Best R&B Album

The R&B singer and female rapper broke barriers when The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill took home the Grammy for Album of the Year. It was the first time in history a hip-hop record earned a Grammy for Album of the Year. After the historic milestone, Hill went on to add several awards to her trophy case, including Billboard Music Awards, and Soul Train Award.

In 2015, the Library of Congress added The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill to its collection, which they described the album as a fusion of “soul, rhythm and blues, rap and reggae.”