I’ve gradually come to the full understanding that The Score is among one of the absolute finest hip-hop albums of all time and I’ve also come through with the feeling that The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill has to be one of the finest R&B/Hip-Hop albums of the entire 90s. Seminal albums in their own regard, Lauryn Hill was a jack of all trades. She could sing like a modern day Billie Holiday but with the rawness and creativity of Nina Simone behind her, she’s beautiful and sexy and downright stunning and she could also rap with impeccable skill. And so I felt I should share these feelings, and more, on here.
I think what really hit me about an album like The Score, was that after so many listens and so many years in existence, what else can surprise you? We knew the beats and music were so well placed that it made even those silly skits that much better. We knew that as musicians, each member of The Refugee Camp (a strong camp at that) was able to not only hold their own but bring out the very best in the others. Maybe it was a competitive thing or for two of them, a romantic thing, but whatever it was, it was Lauryn Hill’s voice that shone all over that album. And lately, I’ve been playing it and just waiting in excitement for whenever it is that her voice will appear: in singing or MCing. And man, could she rap; she would string such words along and then rhyme them in such a fashion that it made a lot of the rappers (male or not) seem so much more inferior. On “Ready or Not” you really get a sense of what’s going on: her layered voice on top of each other (“no, instead of hiring background singers, let’s just play with her gorgeous voice”), then when the beat kicks in, allow her to roam in the back joining in every now and then, and lastly, let her rip off her own rapping and hear a line like “So while you imitating Al Capone, I’ll be Nina Simone and defecating on your microphone,” and let it shock and awe you.And I especially love her ability at positioning those most tender, most brutal and also, most difficult moments in love where everything just hurts. Her debut and masterpiece, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was all bout the teaching of love and the genuine feeling behind it. And speaking of skits, this album features some of the best way to use them: Hill had children sit in her living room and recorded Ras Baraka speak to them as a teacher would, except only about LOVE. On “When It Hurts So Bad,” she goes from a smooth Jamaican vibe, to a sweet Brazilian jazz samba, back to a rock-steady song that is front-paced with harp and guitar before going back to her laid-back groove. And her words, she sings, “But how could this be love, that made me feel so bad. Gave her my power, 'I existed for you,' but whoever knew the voodoo you do.” Ouch, that hurts and yet, for some us, we know exactly what she is talking about. Still though, I’d be lamented if I didn’t bring up her preaching on “Doo Wop (That Thing)”. She’s not just advising the females but in equal fashion, advising the males on what they should be doing too. Because of course, in this tango that requires so many twists, turns and bends, it’s nice to get any kind of guidance.
And this song, that I’m currently in love with, is listed as “Sweetest Thing [Mahogany Mix][*]” on the actual CD but is famously known as “Tell Him” everywhere else, is such a hard hitter. It’s about being at that moment in your life where you’re ready to just give your entire heart, along with everything else, to that one person and admitting that “I love him [her], that everything’s gonna be all right.” As if all that could and ever matter in life would be someone else’s love; that kind of true love where it hurts when you’re not around that person. And it’s such a compelling song because that feeling has to be one of the utmost best feelings any one person can ever experience and it’s just pretty awesome, when you can say, “I know I’m imperfect and not without sin but now that I’m older, all childish things end.” Such an amazing voice and an amazing musician, whatever happened? – Bryan
