AOTY 2023

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Critic Score
Based on 14 reviews
1998 Ratings: #4 / 130
User Score
1998 Ratings: #1
Liked by 902 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
AllMusic

If her performing talents, vocal range, and songwriting smarts weren't enough, Hill also produced much of the record, ranging from stun-gun hip-hop to smoother R&B with little trouble.

100
Entertainment Weekly

On the Fugees’ The Score, Hill rapped of having ”inner visions like Stevie.” At the time, the line seemed like hollow bluster from a trio who leaned so heavily on the past. But on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, she’s begun to deliver on that boast, and it truly is the sweetest thing.

100
The Needle Drop
Lauryn Hill's sole solo album is a masterful fusion of R&B, hip hop, and soul music.
95
Pitchfork
Calling on her obvious comprehension of an expansive range of music, Hill deftly moves through moods and influences, sometimes transforming a song in a mere moment.
90
SPIN

The confidence with which Hill sings and raps herself into black music's mammoth tradition is balanced by the vulnerability of one of Miseducation's two themes: a love gone wrong, untangling itself painfully and slow.

90
Sputnikmusic
Most R&B albums nowadays are terribly rushed together efforts, with 2 or 3 singles and 20 tracks of filler. This, on the other hand, is a rare thing nowadays - an R&B album that actually stands up as a whole, and as such, will be remembered for a long, long time.
90
Slant Magazine

For being almost 80 minutes long, Miseducation is a surprisingly easy listen, coasting mostly on Hill's simple repetition of phrases to emphasize a mood. 

80
NME
Imagine a rap LP made in 1975 with the kind of political and personal scope of 'What's Going On': or the idea of a young Stevie Wonder hitting his peak in 1998. That's what we're dealing with here.
80
Rolling Stone
Lauryn is the sort of young woman whom the old women smile at lovingly, their eyes saying, "With people like you around, this generation, and your music, might just be all right, after all." Maybe it wasn't a deal with the devil. Maybe it was with an angel.
80
Q Magazine
Hill handles production and singing with lyrical ease, while the flow of her rapping is exemplary.
60
NOW Magazine
While Hill's vocal chops are well above the R&B average, she has that annoying tendency to excessively bend and stretch notes like invited guest Mary J. Blige. Still, she knows singing, not rapping, is her forte and wisely employs real live musicians to lay down bold grooves over the programmed beats.
BradTasteMusic
95

Turns out it’s very fucking good. The music on this is incredible. The switch between soulful singing and hip hop perfection is stunning. Quite an amazing project. I can see why people were upset this didn’t get a follow up.

Luckily it supplies over an hour of material with no skips. Wonderful album.

halbery
97

how the fuck did it take me so long to hear this??????????????????

UltimateLifeFrm
95

SURPRISE 1.5k SPECIAL

Thanks for all the ongoing support yous have shown me these last number of months, I truly appreciate every bit of it. In just the space of 8 months, I feel each day just gets better; I enjoy reviewing and it's fun for me to be able to share that said passion with many people that I've met along the way who have shown me the support ever since, which I can't thank yous all enough.

With that being said, let's get onto the review, for an album I've been quite ecstatic to ... read more

Kyle_Cortes
100

The first time I listened to this, I was absolutely shocked at the quality of the tracks. From front to back, these are ALL classics.

100

yeah fuck if you listen one of this song then u will have a urge and just play all the track

lauryn hill is one hell of a drug

99

Haha 99

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Added on: January 30, 2013