A decade ago (has it really been that long?), Lauryn Hill was on top of the world. Blessed with the rare double talent of being able to sing beautifully and rap skillfully-I dare you to name a better female MC EVER-she had superstar juice all over her. After initially gaining notoriety as an actress (“Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” and “As the World Turns”), Lauryn broke through for real as the most talented third of the Fugees, a group that smashed together hip-hop, R&B and Caribbean flavors and scored the most left-field hit of 1996 with “The Score”. This album turned out to be the biggest hip-hop seller of the year, not a small feat during the year in which we lost Tupac.
Lauryn Hill performing live. Photo by Lisa Liang.
There had been some internal drama within the group for some time. The rumor mill had Lauryn and bandmate Wyclef Jean dating (something that’s been confirmed by Wyclef’s wife, although both Wyclef himself and Lauryn have more or less stayed mum on the topic), while Lauryn was immediately singled out for her beauty and talent, which led to some discontent on the behalf of Wyclef and third member Pras, the Andrew Ridgeley of the group. ‘Clef struck first, reaching Platinum status with his album “The Carnival”, but Lauryn struck best, releasing her stunning record “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” on 8/25/98. Despite A-list support from the likes of D’Angelo and Mary J. Blige, “Miseducation” was all about Lauryn. The album sold 7 million copies, registered the highest first week totals for a female artist at the time, became the first hip-hop record to win the Grammy for Album of the Year, and was arguably the best R&B record of the entire decade. Lauryn was the entire music world’s “it” girl. Gorgeous, brainy, talented, and seemingly grounded. (more…)
As I stated in February, I decided to stop buying actual CDs and buy all my music through iTunes. Let me update you on my iTunes journey.
The month of April saw me purchase three full albums through iTunes. The first was Diddy’s anti-bitchassness group Day26. The album was standard R&B fare and earned Diddy another number one record, but failed to set the world on fire. But what does these days? Marketed as a new New Edition, the boys from Making The Band put together a few songs that worked like Silly Love, the first single Got Me Going, the dreamy Co-Star, and hard hitting Exclusive.
Next was Mariah Carey’s not so fulfilling E=MC², which should’ve been titled The Emancipation of Nick Cannon. Just kidding Nick. Actually, I’m impressed that the dude had it in him. Before, I remembered him most from giving the movie audience that serious drumming face in the movie Drumline, but now he’s the guy that put that ring on Mimi’s finger. Though I didn’t like the album much and thought it was smack dab in the middle of her career works, iTunes did give me one extra song that wasn’t on the CD version. Though, I’m not sure if it was a truly bonus or not because it was the track 4real4real featuring Da Brat and though she might’ve been cool in 1994, the words “featuring Da Brat” might be the worst marketing in music today. Ok, that was wrong of me. But actually, at least we know that Da Brat is still working. Also included with the extra song was a digital booklet (iTunes version of the physical CD booklet) and the Touch My Body video, which is impressive for how well a late 30s Mimi looks.
The third full album was the best of the bunch. Before I even tell you what it is, I have to ask, “Who is the most consistent music group in the game today?” You probably wouldn’t answer The Roots, but if they aren’t the most consistent, they are close. Their latest gem is called Rising Down and it’s probably the best album I’ve bought all year. From the killer Rising Up, with Chrisette Michele on the hook to the Talib Kweli assisting I Will Not Apologize, there’s not a bad song on the record. While they might not have the one or two head turning tracks on this album like they usually have, it’s still just damn good. Also included as an iTunes bonus is their duet with Fall Out Boy, Birthday Girl, which was vetoed off the original album and as first single for not sounding Roots enough. I kind of dig it, but I understand where they’re coming from.
I also bought a bunch of one off songs. If you remember, April was the month of “Idol Gives Back” and instead of donating money, I bought a few tracks including Carrie Underwood’s George Michael cover of Praying For Time, the group version of Rihanna’s Don’t Stop The Music (my kids can’t get enough of this one), and Snoop Dogg’s Can’t Say Goodbye featuring Charlie Wilson. On that same day, I also purchased Bon Jovi’s Bad Medicine and Fuel’s Leave The Memories Alone with the latter being the theme song to the Nature Boy’s Ric Flair retirement. I just had to throw one wrestling reference in.
Lastly, I purchased Digital Underground’s silly song Kiss You Back. One day, it was in my head and I decided to get it so I could hear it a few times. Without iTunes, I would’ve had to find a used copy of Sons Of The P, and that wasn’t going to happen without making a trek to a used record store some 30 miles away.
The next edition of “No Plastic” will feature the return of some Boston boys and a man on a mission to get some grown assed respect.
Much like The Boomtown Rats, I don’t like Mondays. Most people don’t. After a couple of days to shake off the stress of the work week, you throw yourself right back into the fire again.
Hip-hop has long been criticized for, well…a lot of things. But the thing that made me a fan back in the hip-hop glory days of ’87 and ’88 was the emotion. Ultimately, the best music comes as part of an active listening experience in which you actually feel something. Whether it was Chuck D’s impassioned political talk or LL Cool J’s overblown ego, the best of hip-hop provides some sort of emotional outlet for the artist and provides an emotional response for the listener. It’s something that’s missing from a lot of today’s music (not just hip-hop), as everyone seems to be rushing to create what basically amounts to a temporarily ear-pleasing jingle.
Not to say I didn’t like Talib Kweli prior to this, but “Get By” was the song that turned me into a fan for life. His rapping is forceful, impassioned, and it speaks to everyone out there who keep their heads up despite life being a struggle sometimes.
“Even when the condition is critical, when the livin is miserable
Your position is pivotal, I ain’t bullshittin you”
One listen to this and I feel a lot better about facing everything that lies ahead. Thanks to Talib (as well as Kanye West and Nina Simone, whose “Sinnerman” gets expertly chopped up here) for this song. I’ll admit that I’m being completely selfish and posting this here for my own personal reasons (geez, Mike. Don’t you have a personal blog for this?). Hopefully those of you who have the Mondays (or any day when things just aren’t getting off to the best start) can get something out of this as well.
