Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill

The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Lauryn Hill, originally released in August 1998 via Ruffhouse and Columbia Records.

Lauryn Hill is an American singer, songwriter and rapper and founding member of the American hip hop group Fugees.

The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill is a neo soul and R&B album with some songs based in hip hop soul and reggae. Its lyrics touch upon Hill's pregnancy and the turmoil within her former group the Fugees, along with themes of love and God.

After touring with the Fugees, Hill became involved in a romantic relationship with Jamaican entrepreneur Rohan Marley, and shortly after, became pregnant with their child. This pregnancy, as well as other circumstances in her life, inspired Hill to make a solo album.

Recording sessions for the album took place from late 1997 to June 1998 mainly at Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, as Hill collaborated with a group of musicians known as New Ark in writing and producing the songs.

The album debuted at #1 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, and was promoted with three hit singles: "Doo Wop (That Thing)", "Ex-Factor", and "Everything Is Everything".

Critics generally praised The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill for Hill's presentation of a woman's view on life and love, along with her artistic range. At the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill earned 10 nominations, winning five awards, making Hill the first woman to receive that many nominations and awards in one night. The album's success propelled Hill to international superstardom, and contributed to bringing hip hop and neo soul to the forefront of popular music.

Since its original release, the record has been ranked in numerous best-album lists, with a number of critics regarding it as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2013, the album reached sales of 8 million copies in the US and over 19 million copies worldwide. Two years later, it was included by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry. It remains Hill's only studio album.

This double album 2LP record set is a 2016 reissue on black vinyl housed in a single pocket sleeve with printed inner sleeves, pressed in Europe via Ruffhouse and Columbia Records.