The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
by Lauryn Hill · music · 1998
unverified
debut solo album by lauryn hill, released august 25, 1998, on ruffhouse and columbia. recorded september 1997 to june 1998, initially in new york and new jersey, before relocating to tuff gong studios in kingston, where hill collaborated with musicians known as new ark to write and produce the songs. live instrumentation was incorporated into the recordings to avoid mainstream trends and an overproduced sound. "lost ones" features an interpolation of sister nancy's reggae classic "bam bam."
what shaped this
the makers, scenes, and predecessors this work came out of, grouped by how the influence reached it
lineage
- Can It Be All So Simple · Wu-Tang Clan
interpolated
ex-factor replays the chord progression and melodic elements from wu-tang clan's 1993 track. hill's producers recreated the instrumentation rather than sampling the audio directly, which itself drew from gladys knight's cover of the way we were.
“It features replayed elements of 'Can It Be All So Simple' by Wu-Tang Clan”
source ↗ - Bam Bam · Sister Nancy
interpolated
lost ones uses the melody and hook structure of sister nancy's 1982 dancehall track. recorded at tuff gong with members of the wailers present, the song draws a direct line from kingston reggae to late 90s hip hop.
“features an interpolation of the reggae classic 'Bam Bam' by Sister Nancy”
source ↗ - Jack Your Body · Steve 'Silk' Hurley
sampled
every ghetto, every city samples hurley's 1986 chicago house anthem. hill references the track directly in the lyric 'jack ya, jack ya, jack ya body,' nodding to a foundational dance music record within a hip hop context.
“When she says, 'Jack ya, jack ya, jack ya body' in 'Every Ghetto, Every City,' she is referencing the 1986 club anthem 'Jack Your Body' by Chicago DJ/producer Steve 'Silk' Hurley”
source ↗ - Together Let's Find Love · The 5th Dimension
sampled
doo wop (that thing) contains audio from the 5th dimension's track. the sample provides part of the sonic foundation for hill's dissection of gender politics and casual sex.
“'Doo Wop (That Thing)' contains samples of 'Together Let's Find Love' by The 5th Dimension”
source ↗ - Concrete Jungle · Bob Marley and the Wailers
interpolated
forgive them father recycles the instrumentation from marley's concrete jungle, speeding up the tempo and adding acoustic guitar. julian marley played guitar on the track, recorded at his father's tuff gong studios in kingston.
“'Forgive Them Father' is an interpretation of 'Concrete Jungle' by Bob Marley and the Wailers”
source ↗ - The Mis-Education of the Negro · Carter G. Woodson
referenced
hill cited woodson's 1933 book as the inspiration for the album title and conceptual framework. the book's thesis about cultural indoctrination became hill's lens for examining life lessons outside formal education.
“In a 2013 interview with The Guardian, Hill cited Carter G. Woodson's 1933 book The Mis-Education of The Negro as an inspiration”
source ↗