In praise of... Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill first found success in New Jersey rap/r'n'b group the Fugees (the name adapted from "refugees") as the confrontational voice probably most familiar from their wonderful over of Aretha's Killing me Softly. Their 1996 record The Score was a huge crossover success, making number 1 in the USA and number 2 in the UK, probably due mainly to the aforementioned cover. Lauryn was undoubtedly a big part of their success, but I like her more on her own crossover smash The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill released two years after The Score. The album opens with some recorded dialogue apparently from an American classroom, with the teacher and students debating the subject of love. Snippets of the debate recur throughout, which irritates after a while, but when you've made an album this good, you can get away with it.

Rapping and singing, Lauryn talks about love, loss, religion and motherhood. In Zion is beautifully eloquent on becoming a mother, having taken the decision not to have an abortion. "How beautiful if nothing more, than to wait at Zion's door, I've never been in love like this before." Obviously, I have no idea what it's like to be a parent, but you believe her when she tells you that nothing comes close to that bond. It's couched in religious language, but that's less interesting or important than the spirituality (and I hate that word) evident. The beat is cool, with an unusual dragged snare roll, and Carlos Santana contributes Spanish guitar throughout.

The soulful Ex Factor charts a messy break-up, with Lauryn harmonising with herself nicely throughout. The vocal performance is so convincing, particularly from 3:25 with some hypnotic chanting. I love the way this song pushes and pulls (particularly at 1:49 and 3:00): the dynamics are really engaging. The guitar solo near the end sounds like Santana again, but I've no idea if it's him... either way it's hella good and contributes to a sound which is multi-faceted and pretty unique - he bassline sounds vintage, but the production is modern in a good way. She's even punned on a popular TV show... sheeeeeeeit.

Ex Factor and To Zion are numbers 2 and 3 on the album, but I don't think it's front-loaded at all - the quality of this record is outstanding.

Lauryn Hill - To Zion

Lauryn Hill - Ex Factor