The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Is Still the Best Women’s Rap Album Ever 26 Years Later
It's been 26 years since Ms. Lauryn Hill dropped her first and only solo studio album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, on Aug. 25, 1998. However, in a world in which women are now so prominent in the hip-hop space, the diamond-certified LP still reigns supreme as the best rap album from a female artist to ever be recorded.
After finding mainstream success with Pras and Wyclef Jean as The Fugees in the mid-1990s, Lauryn took a brief break from the spotlight to focus on her then-blossoming family in 1997. When she returned to the game the following year, the result was a masterfully crafted work of art. Across 16 tracks, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill finds the East Orange, N.J. native delivering a universally relatable deep dive into subject matter such as love, grief, spirituality and motherhood.
With the core elements of rap as the album's driving force, Ms. Hill accompanies her gracefully rugged MC skills with sweet yet powerfully soulful melodies. Her unmatched versatility is on display throughout the entire magnum opus as The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill plays out as a timeless symbol of female empowerment. Spending four straight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, Miseducation spawned gold-certified singles "Doo Wop (That Thing)" and "Everything Is Everything," both of which provide messages of triumph over tragedy in rhyme form.
Aside from the album's ageless appeal, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill has allowed the lyrical songstress to rack up accolades far beyond even the most talented artists' wildest dreams. At the 1999 Grammy Awards following the LP's release, Lauryn became the first female artist to ever take home a total of five golden gramophones including awards for Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and the coveted Album of the Year. In 2021, Miseducation was certified diamond by the RIAA, an achievement that finds Lauryn Hill the only woman in hip-hop who is a member of the elite club.
Over the past decade-plus, plenty of female spitters have reached superstar status through their incredible music. Nicki Minaj has an undeniable discography that includes five platinum albums. Like Lauryn Hill, Cardi B has reached diamond-certified status but only with singles like "Bodak Yellow" and "I Like It" featuring J. Balvin and Bad Bunny. Bardi's only studio album, Invasion of Privacy, has not yet sold over 10 million units.
Between seemingly unfathomable accolades, undeniable influence on the rap genre as a whole and songs that will continue to have an emotional impact on listeners for generations to come, it's no question that The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill remains as the greatest hip-hop album from a female artist of all time.
