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PHILL BOOGIE’S TAKE:
reading ew.com a few months back, i realized that 'the miseducation of lauryn hill' was released 10 years ago. 10 years? damn.
i would possibly feel better about lauryn not releasing another studio album if someone else had come close to matching 'miseducation...'.
it almost makes sense that she hasn't followed it up. it adds to her legend. could you imagine lauryn being part of this commercial machine now? she'd be fighting for radio play alongside jordin sparks and the jonas brothers.
to put it in context...lauryn hill has one studio release in the past decade and rihanna has had three. mariah's had five. t-pain's on his third. hell, solange has had two releases. that just doesn't seem right.
i remember listening to 'miseducation...' for the first time. i sat on the floor of my living room, pressed play and just sat there, transfixed. i was there for hours. it felt like one of those scenes from old movies, when teens gather around, as a new 45 spins on the record player.
i must've played 'ex-factor' twenty times in a row. i wasn't in a situation like the one she sings about, but listening to her, i knew that she had gone through some things.
sure, there have been some great albums over the last decade, but i i don't think anyone's come close to matching the fire of 'miseducation...'
check out an oral history of the record in
rolling stone.
reading ew.com a few months back, i realized that 'the miseducation of lauryn hill' was released 10 years ago. 10 years? damn.
i would possibly feel better about lauryn not releasing another studio album if someone else had come close to matching 'miseducation...'.
it almost makes sense that she hasn't followed it up. it adds to her legend. could you imagine lauryn being part of this commercial machine now? she'd be fighting for radio play alongside jordin sparks and the jonas brothers.
to put it in context...lauryn hill has one studio release in the past decade and rihanna has had three. mariah's had five. t-pain's on his third. hell, solange has had two releases. that just doesn't seem right.
i remember listening to 'miseducation...' for the first time. i sat on the floor of my living room, pressed play and just sat there, transfixed. i was there for hours. it felt like one of those scenes from old movies, when teens gather around, as a new 45 spins on the record player.
i must've played 'ex-factor' twenty times in a row. i wasn't in a situation like the one she sings about, but listening to her, i knew that she had gone through some things.
sure, there have been some great albums over the last decade, but i i don't think anyone's come close to matching the fire of 'miseducation...'
check out an oral history of the record in
rolling stone.
Click pic to hear podcast
RANDY BANDIT’S TAKE:
Lauryn Hill is one of the most talented artists that I have ever come across, but she has not delivered an album that truly reflects the extent of her talent. And, no, Miseducation was not it. Don’t get me wrong; I jammed it, just like everyone else, but when I really listened to it, I realized that Lauryn Hill was just giving us a fraction of her ability. To be such a talented vocalist, she sings on that album as if she was produced by people who don’t normally produce singers. There was no vocal coach telling her to go for it. She just did whatever it was that she felt, turning in something that would be great if it were done by any other emcee/singer, but for her, was just not enough to cover the bases she exposed in Sister Act 2. The sista could blow, but with Miseducation, she was loose and slack with her approach.
Because that’s all we really have to judge Lauryn by, since the Unplugged fiasco, I have to admit that she’s left a lot to be desired. A Porche should go above 100 mph, and Lauryn’s a Porche. She only hits 55 with that album.
As far as Lauryn Hill having to compete with current radio favorites, I would say that all of that is just a matter of the independent record promoters doing their job. Talent is clearly not the measuring stick for radio these days, and guess what? It never was. The theory is simple: if you hear it a million times, it’ll grow on you and you’ll buy it. That’s business, not art. But Lauryn could easily release an album online that could restore her image. The way I see it, if MF Doom can be constructed from the ashes of Daniel Dumile’s former rap career, then Lauryn Hill can be a phoenix rising from the ashes of her career and show us that Miseducation was just a step in the staircase of her legacy.
2 comments:
I have to agree with Randy on this one! Ah! Lauryn Hill. I remember going to a Lauryn Hill concert with my mom when i was about twelve. I was absolutely in love with Lauryn Hill. I knew every word to every song. I think that was my first CD that I owned matter of fact. To me Lauryn Hill delivered with no other artist ever delivered, soul and real life lessons and experience. These other artist talks about this and that life. I believe she actually lived it. Being that she was raised in Jersey i became and big fan of hers. The Miseducation of Lauryn had to be the BEST album I ever listened to and to this day I scroll through my iPod and listen to her album. Her songs are so deep and have great meaning. As far as her competing with other artist for radio time I personally don’t think it will be a problem. If any other artist can go missing for 10 yrs and come back and get radio play so can she. Her music has meaning and I’m sure everyone would love to listen to some music with significant meaning. However, even though she has not put out and album in a while, she does have some underground songs that I have heard. I mean everyone goes through a little something in their career and then when we least expect they pop back out with something.
Personally I believe Lauryn Hill is the best and one of the only natural singers. Her voice is amazing as we can see from the roll she portrayed in Sister Act II. She is very talented and what she has shown is nothing compared to all she has to offer. Hopefully, she will back on the scene soon giving us something good to listen to.
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is her last album in 10 years and it is still revered a classic. Anytime anyone says anything about Lauryn Hill, the first thing that comes out of their mouth is how great “miseducation…” was. In creating an album like this, she had done something that most other artists will never do. Classic albums are hard to come by and are always easy to name. I’ve talked to my friends about this album before and before we got past the first sentence of the conversation their eyes glazed over and they had these looks on their faces as if remembering a great experience. And they were. They were so adamant in describing to each other how good that album was, like they were speaking to someone who had never heard the album or heard of Lauryn Hill. After a long conversation, the end result is always “man… why did she stop??” They always look nostalgic at this point as if remembering a long lost friend. The impact this album had on people is amazing to me. Everyone gets so passionate about Lauryn Hill. I think it’s great personally. I don’t see people get excited like this about anyone else. She had so much soul. I haven’t seen anyone like that in a long time myself, and this was 10 years ago. I think she could definitely come out with another album and have equal success. If she puts the proper time and work into it, she could easily produce another gem. As for selling the record, that would be no problem. The legend that is Lauryn Hill will do that. But because of the legend, some may say she should leave it at her last album. I don’t agree with that. I want to see what she can do. I want to experience “Miseducation” all over again.
Nickntm
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