Hill may be miseducated, but still sounds brilliant

Lauryn Hill

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Ruffhouse/Columbia

On her solo debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the female third of the Fugees gets personal.

The much-anticipated album contains more singing than rapping, which may be slightly disappointing for some fans since her rhyming skills are just as stellar as her alternately gruff and smooth singing voice.

Hill, who wrote, produced and arranged the entire album, explores love and love lost, her childhood and her child and, of course, the problem of wack performers in the industry.

The first two singles, the bad ass reggae-tinged "Lost Ones" and the energetic, MTV favorite "Doo Wop (That Thing)" misrepresent the rest of the album to a certain extent, but many of the songs stay true to hip-hop as far as beats and scratching are concerned.

When the Fugees released their first album, Blunted on Reality, in 1993, critics suggested that Hill break away from the group and go solo. She proved that not only can she sing and rhyme, but she's also smart: Hill stuck with fellow Fugees Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel to co-write and co-produce their next effort,The Score, which sold over 17 million albums and made the Fugees the biggest-selling rap group of all time. It also led to two Grammy awards in 1996.

Since then, Refugee Camp Entertainment has released several albums, including Wyclef Jean's solo, The Carnival, and projects by the Refugee Allstars. After much hype, it's Lauryn's turn to do her thing, and she's doing it well.

In the age of corny R&B, it is refreshing to hear a female singer with both an amazing voice and real lyrics.

Much respect to Aaliyah, Monica and SWV, but singers like Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu and, what the hell, even Fiona Apple, take it one - no, several steps forward.

For those of us who long to be moved, who wonder where the soul went in "soul" music, Lauryn Hill has something to offer. It can be found on both Fugees albums, on various singles and finally on her much-hyped solo release.

Aretha Franklin has also discovered what Hill has to offer; the 23 year-old wrote Franklin's latest single "A Rose is Still a Rose" and directed the video. When you're working with the Queen of Soul, you know you got something.

Unfortunately, none of the songs on this album quite measure up to Hill's "The Sweetest Thing" from last year's Love Jones soundtrack. A song whose sweet and sexy charm made us all anxious for her album to drop and may have been too tough an act to follow.

The strongest tracks on the new album include "Ex-Factor," a classic break-up ballad with a dope bassline, and "When It Hurts So Bad," which perfectly captures the painful contradiction of loving someone who doesn't love you in return.

"To Zion," which is for her new baby boy, is not only musically brilliant, featuring Carlos Santana on guitar, but also poignantly honest: "Woe this crazy circumstance/ I knew his life deserved a chance/ But everybody told me to be smart/ Look at your career they said/ 'Lauryn, baby, use your head'/ But instead I chose to use my heart."

Some of the other tracks, though, seem relatively weak after hearing what Hill can do. "Nothing Even Matters," her duet with D'Angelo, somehow comes off as a little boring. "I Used to Love Him," featuring Mary J. Blige, contains a Method Man sample which makes it sound sloppily thrown together. If you are a Fugees fan, "Forgive Them Father" is most similar to the group's sound.

And don't forget about the two hidden tracks at the end, the first of which, "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," can be added to the growing list of Hill's incredible remakes.

The title of the album may be misleading. Lauryn Hill hardly has received what some would consider "miseducation." She completed her first year at Columbia University before leaving for obvious career reasons.

Hill explains that the term refers to "the things that you've learned outside of school, outside of what society deems appropriate and mandatory."

The title is related to interludes that come between many songs. The scenes take place in a classroom, where a teacher is leading teenagers in a discussion about love. The kids' wise, and surprisingly accurate, comments make you smile, and the way they flow in and out between the songs ties the album together smoothly. When the teacher calls Lauryn Hill's name during attendance and she's not there, it doesn't mean that she is "miseducated"; she proves in her songs that she has learned a lot, and that she wants to share her knowledge with her audience.