1. Lauryn HillThe Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
I would have been 12 when this came out and I think it’s probably one of the only albums I can think back on from childhood that’s quite a cool one. I didn’t have a very musical family, I didn’t have a bunch of muso friends, so I dunno how I stumbled upon it. I would have heard something on Top of the Pops or it would have been on the wall advertised in HMV because it was a really big album and that’s the one you go to.
I knew every word to every song on the album, even the rapping. I’ve been banned from rapping in isolation by my boyfriend which is quite frustrating because I love rapping. I remember being really proud of myself and knowing all the lyrics, but there’s a lot of stark political commentary in her words too, and maybe I wouldn’t have noticed that at the time. There’s beautiful nostalgia attached to it from my childhood but I think it still stands out compared to so much stuff I’ve listened to. Whenever I listen to new music I find it interesting to go back to old favourites, and that still stands out as unique and quite revolutionary.
It’s a really coherent piece of work. It’s amazing, there are all these segues between songs which take place in a classroom, and there’s a teacher talking to the kids. They’re really sweet, lovely, gentle moments, and there’s that one song ‘Doo-Wap (That Thing)’ – it’s quite retro even for the time – and there are these silky songs sung by Lauryn Hill and she just has such a beautiful singing voice. It’s the album I’ve given to people and never got back the most. I swear I’ve replaced it at least 12 times saying, ‘you’ve got to listen to this!’
There wasn’t much after that. You wonder, when you make such a pivotal album, whether an artist feels pressurised and thinks they can’t make anything else like that. And in a way, if you feel within yourself that you can’t make anything better then just leave it at that. You’ve accomplished what you set out to do. Retire as heavyweight champion, why not?
