Ms. Lauryn Hill is one of the most widely celebrated musicians of all time, an impressive feat for an artist who only ever released one solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Before she released the iconic album, though, she was part of the equally iconic Fugees. The New Jersey–based group founded by Ms. Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras, would release two studio albums and a collection of remixes, including the Grammy Award–winning album The Score.
On both The Score and their debut, Blunted on Reality, Ms. Hill was a standout, from her bars on “Vocab” to her rendition of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly With His Song” to her ill rhymes on “Ready or Not.” The success led Hill to release her solo effort, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
The project, which effortlessly blends Ms. Hill’s powerful voice with her sophisticated and unpredictable rhymes, would bring a series of brilliant singles like “Everything is Everything” and “Doo Wop (That Thing).” It would go on to win five Grammy Awards, making her the first woman to achieve that feat. Although Ms. Hill has yet to release another full-length, she’s released a series of loose singles, collaborated with other artists, and shared intimate raw songs accompanied only by a guitar for her 2002 MTV Unplugged album.
Ms. Hill’s work has taken on new forms, too, including being sampled in hit songs like Kanye West’s “All Falls Down” and Method Man’s “Say.” She also penned Aretha Franklin’s hit song “A Rose is Still a Rose” and Mary J. Blige’s “All That I Can Say.” Most recently, of course, her music has been sampled in Drake’s smash hit “Nice For What” and Cardi B’s “Be Careful,” which speaks to her continued impact. In honor of the 20th anniversary of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, these are the best songs by Ms. Lauryn Hill.
20. Ms. Lauryn Hill, “Vocab”
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Album: Bootleg Versions
Producer: Wyclef Jean & Pras
The album version of “Vocab” leads with Wyclef Jean, but the group made a wise decision in letting Hill bring in “Vocab (Refugee Hip-Hop Remix).” This is an early example of Ms. Hill’s head nod-worthy flow and its ability to create a carefree vibe. Although “Nappy Heads” is more popular, “Vocab” is where Ms. Hill flexes her rhyming skills—“Cause I've been wild since I was a juvenile/Afrocentric profile, back when righteous rap was your style.”
19. Ms. Lauryn Hill, "Just Want You Around"
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Album: MTV Unplugged 2.0
Producer: N/A
In this MTV Unplugged cut, Ms. Hill makes a simple but profound statement as she sings about yearning for her lover. Although she plucks a repeated chord on her guitar and invokes the phrase “I just want you around” multiple times, the breaks in the music and the way she changes up her vocals each time make it one of the best tracks on the project.
18. Fugees, “How Many Mics”
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Album: The Score
Producer: Pras, Jerry Duplessis, Shawn King, Wyclef Jean, & Lauryn Hill
This song is a straight up bop, with Wyclef Jean kicking off the song with the question, “How many mics do we rip on the daily?” But it’s Ms. Hill who bodies this song—or should we say, rips the mic. Although she was new in the game at the time, Ms. Hill approaches the track like an O.G. as she rhymes about wack rappers. She makes you believe she’s an old head, with rhymes like, “Laced with malice, hands get calloused/From gripping microphones from here to Dallas.”
17. Ms. Lauryn Hill, “When It Hurts So Bad”
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Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Producer: Lauryn Hill
Not many people can sing about heartache like Hill, and “When It Hurts So Bad” is a shining example. Ms. Hill croons about unrequited love and shows off her infrequently showcased (and stellar) low register. Together, these skills make a smooth track that allows listeners to really feel Hill’s hurt.
16. Ron Isley f/ Ms. Lauryn Hill, “Close to You”
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Album: N/A
Producer: N/A
Ron Isley enlisted Hill for this rendition of “Close To You.” The song, which was originally recorded by The Carpenters, shows off Ms. Hill’s vocal skills, even alongside the legend. It’s one of the rare tracks where she isn’t singing over ‘90s R&B or hip-hop sounds, and that’s what makes it special.
15. Ms. Lauryn Hill f/ Mary J. Blige, "I Used To Love Him"
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Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Producer: Lauryn Hill
If there are two women who can help you overcome pain through song, it’s Ms. Lauryn Hill and Mary J. Blige. The two paint pictures of just how in love they were with their partners, and Ms. Hill juxtaposes that love beautifully with her brash “I used to love him/Now I don’t,” proving that getting over someone is possible.
14. Ms. Lauryn Hill, “The Sweetest Thing”
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Album: Lauryn Hill: Unreleased
Producer: Wyclef Jean & Lauryn Hill
This song appeared on the Love Jones soundtrack, and for good reason. Its imagery alone—“a kiss on the collarbone,” “fingertips on the small of my back,” kisses that “taste like Amaretto”—will have you feeling some type of way, even today. Ms. Hill’s voice soars over the beat and hits your soul.
13. Ms. Lauryn Hill, “Tell Him”
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Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Producer: Lauryn Hill
In the closing track of Miseducation, Ms. Hill sings about a different kind of love—love for God. After the ups and downs of Miseducation, she winds things down with the easy-going, affirming song, letting us know that it’ll be alright in the end. Between her soothing voice and the choir at the end, you might just believe it by the time the song concludes.
12. Fugees, “Fu-Gee-La”
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Album: The Score
Producer: Salaam Remi
Who didn’t have “ooh laa laa laa” stuck in their head after hearing this one? Ms. Hill added her flare to Teena Marie’s original “Ooo La La La” to create this classic hip-hop track.
11. Ms. Lauryn Hill f/ Carlos Santana, “To Zion”
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Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Producer: Ché Guevara & Lauryn Hill
Dedicated to her son Zion, who’s now 21 years old and has a son of his own, “To Zion” tackles the power of choice and motherhood. While most of the tracks on Miseducation center on love and heartbreak, on this track Ms. Hill offers perspective on a different kind of love. The choir’s chant of “marching” propels the song to another level of intense devotion. Carlos Santana’s incredible guitar playing only deepens the sonic connection.
10. Nas f/ Ms. Lauryn Hill, "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)"
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Album: It Was Written
Producer: Rashad Smith & Trackmasters
Ms. Hill’s interpolation of The Delfonics’ "Walk Right Up To The Sun” works beautifully with Nas’ “If I Ruled The World (Imagine That).” While Nas was returning to the rap game with It Was Written after the explosive Illmatic, Hill was gearing up to release her solo project, making this a notable collab. Although Ms. Hill doesn’t rap on the track, her effortless vocals are the perfect contrast to Nas’ rough rhymes.
9. Ms. Lauryn Hill f/ D'Angelo, “Nothing Even Matters”
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Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Producer: Lauryn Hill
On this track, D’Angelo and Ms. Hill’s voices blend together and make the world melt away as they sing about effortless love. It’s a classic R&B record that will make you feel gooey inside.
8. Ms. Lauryn Hill, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You”
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Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Producer: Lauryn Hill
Originally a Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons song, Ms. Hill combined soft vocals and a drum-heavy beat to create an uber-soulful track that sounds all her own.
7. Fugees, “Ready or Not”
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Album: The Score
Producer: Mario Winans, Pras, Jerry Duplessis, Lauryn Hill, & Wyclef Jean
With a sample from The Delfonics’ "Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love),” this eerie track comes with another ill verse from Ms. Hill. The beat, produced by the Fugees and Jerry Duplessis, evokes a feeling of imminent danger that’s perfect for the theme of the track. While original was about getting someone to love you, in this version the Fugees were warning their enemies that they were ready to take them down—this is hip-hop, after all. Along with being one of Barack Obama’s favorite songs, the track is also home to one of Hill’s most popular lines: “I can do what you do, easy/Believe me, fronting n***as give me heebie-jeebies/So while you're imitating Al Capone/I'll be Nina Simone, and defecating on your microphone.”
6. Fugees, “Killing Me Softly With His Song”
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Album: The Score
Producer: Pras, Jerry Duplessis, Wyclef Jean, & Lauryn Hill
Aside from Wyclef Jean adlibs in the background, Ms. Hill handles this Roberta Flack cover solo—a cover that stands up rather well against Flack’s 1973 original. Before this song, she had already proved herself to be a formidable rapper, but here she proved that she was a vocalist to be reckoned with as well.
5. Ms. Lauryn Hill, “Doo Wop (That Thing)”
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Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Producer: Lauryn Hill
Questionable respectability politics aside, this song (and video!) is one of Ms. Hill’s greatest pieces of work, the perfect blend of her ability to slay rhymes and sing. It was her only single to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. Not only is it a bop, it had many of us (this author included) singing “that thing” before we knew what “that thing” was.
4. Bob Marley f/ Ms. Lauryn Hill, “Turn Your Lights Down Low”
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Album: Chant Down Babylon
Producer: Stephen Marley
It’s difficult to take on a Bob Marley song and make it into something just as enjoyable as the original. In “Turn Your Lights Down Low,” Ms. Hill not only uses her signature sultry vocals, she adds a rap verse that contains maybe one of the sweetest lines ever: “Loving you is a like a song I replay/Every three minutes and thirty seconds of every day...” We dare you to listen to it and not automatically sway side-to-side.
3. Ms. Lauryn Hill, “Lost Ones”
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Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Producer: Lauryn Hill, Ché Guevera, & Vada Nobles
On Miseducation’s opening cut, Ms. Hill comes out swinging and she cuts down her former bandmate and lover Wyclef, letting him know that he “might win some, but you just lost one” of the illest in the game. Hill takes no prisoners and addresses her personal and professional split head-on, proving that she’s not to be fucked with: “It’s funny how money change a situation/Miscommunication lead to complication/My emancipation don't fit your equation/I was on the humble, you on every station.”
2. Ms. Lauryn Hill, “Everything is Everything”
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Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Producer: Lauryn Hill
WIth one of Hill’s best verses, “Everything is Everything” definitely deserves a top spot. John Legend’s powerful piano chords give this track a sound heavy enough to carry the weight of Hill’s lyrics about overcoming struggle. Hill’s verses bridge together Biblical references and Afrocentric themes, and even manages to use the word “begat.”
1. Ms. Lauryn Hill, “Ex-Factor”
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Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Producer: Lauryn Hill
There’s a reason this song has been sampled in Drake’s “Nice For What” and Cardi B’s “Be Careful,” and covered by Beyoncé. Hill plunges into the complexities of loving someone whose behavior is toxic and manipulative, and the questions one asks while trying to break the cruel cycle of this type of relationship. The bridge is where we truly hear Hill’s hurt, in a sentiment that’s powerfully heartbreaking: “You said you’d die for me/ Why won’t you live for me?” The themes of the song are (unfortunately) familiar to many, making this not only Hill’s best song, but perhaps her most relatable.
