About this episode
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was one of the BIGGEST records of the 90s. When you sell 20 million records, like Lauryn Hill did, you're into mass market territory; you're selling records all over the world and reaching across genres. With Miseducation , Lauryn Hill struck a nerve with humanity. How did she do it? As you'll hear in this episode, the album sounded unlike other chart-topping hits at the time. It features tons of acoustic instruments, beautiful chord progressions, Stevie Wonder vibes, palatable melodies, a D'Angelo cameo and deeply personal storytelling. And Lauryn Hill herself has the presence of an actor with the soul of an underground musician. Listen with us as we parse through Lauryn Hill's only album track-by-track to answer the question: What makes this album great? Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: https://osjazz.link/yhi 00:00 - Intro Jam: "Doo Wop (That Thing)" 02:05 - A Concept Album About Love 04:55 – The Fugees, Sister Act II & Stardom 07:40 - "Intro" + "Lost Ones" 10:50 - “Ex-Factor” 13:15 - "To Zion (Feat. Carlos Santana)" 20:05 - "Doo Wop (That Thing)" 21:45 - "Superstar" 23:30 - “When It Hurts So Bad” 25:50 - "I Used to Love Him (feat. Mary J. Blige)" 33:00 - Hitting a Nerve with Humanity 37:20 - "Every Ghetto, Every City" 40:20 - "Nothing Even Matters" 42:50 - "Everything Is Everything" 45:10 - "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" 47:30 - "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You - (I Love You Baby)" 52:35 - Desert Island Tracks + Apex Moments 1:01:50 - Up Next Play better in 2026 and beyond at Open Studio. Join today with our last BIG savings of the year at openstudiojazz.com/yhi