Let's take it back for a moment, and remember the album which won the last Grammy of a millennium. That's right. ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,'' won album of the year, the last award given at the ceremony that night, in 1999.
We know by now Lauryn's got a lot going on. Taxes, jail, kids, Marleys, incoherent unplugged albums, Wyclef, label issues, an affinity for clown makeup, a tendency to rant, the list goes on. As I'm listening to the album now, it's just as fresh as it was nearly 15 years ago, even if L-Boogie is not. I'm not here to pass judgement on Lauryn, but when I listen to the messages of this album, I'm wondering if she stopped to take a listen. Typically I'm all for artist progression, I'm happy when artists challenge who they were on the last album, who they may have been last night. Still, I can't help but wish for this Lauryn to return. Where IS SHE!? We want her back.
Lauryn was a triple threat musically, and professionally. She raps like a monster, sings like a cherub, writes, acts, she probably can dance too. I don't know. This is not an article that will attempt to breathe life into the idea that ''music isn't what it used to be'' or discuss previous artists vs. the new artists coming out and making their way. I come from the common sense school of critique and I don't believe ''there's no good music anymore.'' That brand of passive-aggressive crap is not inside the soapboxes I will be standing on. This post is simply here as a meditation on something amazing that seems to be lost at sea.
Right now "Final Hour" is on.
This song shows the philosophical rap of Sister Lauryn, her voice lacing the song with melodic undertones. To be able to do both so well, in an approachable way makes her a diamond in the rough. She teaches, she evangelizes, she energizes and empowers in 4 minutes.
You leave feeling like you can be someone.
Later on I'll make it to ''Nothing Even Matters,'' the duet with her and D'Angelo. *let us bow our heads for that one*
Each song has so much life, so much pain, depth, story. Aren't we all here for the stories?
This was the most complete (modern) album I had heard. It was something that you turned on, let play, and never wanted to turn off. It still sends chills through my limbs to this day. It was critically adored by mainstream sources, the hood loved it, hip hop heads, and r&b lovers. When an artist can release a project like this it is truly a gift, with divine implications. So I urge you to find your copy (buy it, borrow it, rent it, get it on YouTube in it's entirety) and take a listen as soon as you can.
That's all.
Favorite Songs: Lost Ones, Ex-Factor, Final Hour, When It Hurts So Bad
Songs that send you spinning: Nothing Even Matters, Ex-Factor
Fav. Verse: Doo Wop (That Thing)
Best Interlude: When the boy is trying to convince the teacher that there is indeed a song called ''Love''...by Kirk Franklin
Ah, yes. You got me listening right now. I can't even imagine what that kind of success does to one's everything. (Although, at this point in my life, I think I'd like to find out. Cuz I'm ready)!
ReplyDeleteMan, that's the thing with Lauryn, and with having that level of talent. It's difficult to navigate. There's often something in their pendulum that swings too far some way or another. Hopefully she'll come back, focused, better. Hopefully.
DeleteI love this album. I've loved it from the first time I heard it, to when I bought the cd, to when I was able to transfer it to my computer, and finally to my iPad and it's currently in a common rotation. I can't quite explain it, but the songs speak to me. I think it's a mix of how I was raised, and the fact that many songs from the 90's are significantly attached to events in my life. I don't care what she's going through at the moment because being a real artist is tough. I know she's a talented woman. Eventually she'll find her way again, but as far as that album goes, she had a clear vision of what she wanted to say and got the message across loud and clear.
ReplyDeleteSo so true. She definitely got the message across.
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