Barbra Chin and Marta Werbanowska

Presentation Handout for ENGG 258-01

03/21/2016

Lauryn Hill

- b. 1975 in East Orange, New Jersey

- early acting career incl. As the World
Turns (1991), Sister Act 2 (1993)
- The Fugees (1994-8): with Wyclef
Jean and Pras Michel; albums
Blunted on Reality (1994) and The
Score (1996). Breakthrough single
was cover of Roberta Flacks Killing
Me Softly (1996, no. 1 worldwide)
- solo career: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998), MTV Unplugged No. 2.0
(2002). Sporadic singles, collaborations, compilations, and live performances
afterwards.
- singles: Doo Wop (That Thing) (no. 1), Ex-Factor, Everything Is
Everything
- reception of Miseducation: debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard 200, won 5 Grammy
Awards (incl. Album of the Year and Best New Artist), sold over 19 million
copies worldwide to date

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 Barbra Chin and Marta Werbanowska
Presentation Handout for ENGG 258-01
03/21/2016

How is Lauryn Hills work post-soul? Think about the following elements:
o the titles of her albums (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Unplugged 2.0)
o samples (The Fifth Dimension, Wu-Tang Clan, The Doors, Bob Marley and
the Wailers, Frankie Valli, etc.) and guest appearances/collaborations on
Miseducation (Mary J. Blige, DAngelo, Carlos Santana, Ras Baraka)
o the skits/interludes on Miseducation, both their form and content
o the visual aspect: her look/style, the cover art on Miseducation, the videos,
e.g. Doo Wop (That Thing)
o the lyrical content

In The Grey Album, Kevin Young

o calls Miseducation a classic post-soul album, and discusses Hills voice in
the context of the post-soul aesthetic (388). What does he say about her
voice, its relation to the tradition of black women performers, and the
question of artificiality?
o criticizes Hills unplugged album as a failure to recognize the need of the
performative; she makes the classic mistake that soul is the full expression of
emotion (307-8). How do you understand this critique? Do you agree with
it?