Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the debut solo album by American recording artist Lauryn Hill, released on August 25, 1998, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. After touring with her former group Fugees, Hill became involved in a romantic relationship with Jamaican entrepreneur Rohan Marley, and shortly after, became pregnant with his child. This pregnancy, as well as other circumstances in her life, inspired Hill to make a solo album. Recording sessions for the album took place from late 1997 to June 1998 mainly at Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, as Hill collaborated with a group of musicians known as New Ark in writing and producing the songs.

Primarily a neo soul album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill incorporates musical styles from R&B, hip hop, soul, and reggae. Its lyrics touch upon Hill’s pregnancy and the turmoil within the Fugees, along with themes of love and God. The album’s title was inspired by the film and autobiographical novel The Education of Sonny Carson, and Carter G. Woodson’s The Mis-Education of the Negro.