A fine debut album.

Her big solo debut made quit a stir back in 1998 everyone from the critics to the public immediately compared her to everything from “Aretha Franklin” to “Chaka Khan” and in 1999 the album took home 8 Grammy awards. Well, on to the album. “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” is a fine mix of soul, r’n’b, pop and hip hop. The single “Doo Wop (That Thing)” is a fine sample of her amazing capability as a performer, while “The Ex-Factor” proves her as a gifted singer along the lines of Mariah Carey and Shanice. The album is just so wide in diversity, everything from the hip hop beats of “Every Ghetto, Every City” to the acoustics on “To Zion” (which by the way is back by Carlos Santana himself), everything just sounds great and very polished. The problem lies within her arrogance, to be honest; she’s just so full of herself sometimes. It seems like she tries so hard to convince the listener of what she’s singing; which by the way is okay, if just she would stop whining. We all know what talents she possesses. The single “Everything Is Everything” is however a fine piece of soul/ funk, a mixed bag of old style r’n’b and straight hip hop, the latter is perhaps one of her best efforts on the album. The piano work on the title song is annoying and her cooing in “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” is downright pathetic. Despite of its obvious flaws “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” remains a fine debut album from a lady who seems to have lost her “thang” in recent years, maybe this was all she had to offer as a solo artist? It’s fine, but in my opinion its way too overrated.