The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Turns 25 Berklees Arun Pandian and Danielle Queen D. Scott talk about the groundbreaking album and its impact on their lives.
By
Colette Greenstein
August 15, 2023
Danielle Queen D. Scott
Image courtesy of the artist
It's hard to believe that 25 years have passed since the release of the iconic album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Hill's critically acclaimed debut and only solo record to date was released on August 25, 1998, and has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, making it the bestselling album by a female rapper, the bestselling neo-soul album of all time, and one of the bestselling albums in history. In 2021, it was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for estimated sales of 10 million copies in the United States, making Hill the first female rapper to accomplish this feat. Rolling Stone ranked the album no. 10 on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.
Miseducation had a transformative effect on faculty member Danielle Queen D. Scott, a Berklee student at the time of its release. Scott was the first woman MC in the college's Jazz Hip-Hop Orchestra and the first woman MC to teach at the institution. She says the album became tangible evidence of a future for me as a female MC who also had other talents (I produce beats, play keys, and sing). The album also encouraged me to remain uncompromising in my desire to write/rap/sing about social justice issues as well as personal stories. Through Ms. Hill's work I saw I could present my full humanity as an artist and be accepted.
The album also had a profound impact on Arun Pandian, assistant program director at Berklee NYC. He played lead guitar on the 1999 Miseducation of Lauryn Hill world tour, and is featured on Tell Him, the last song left to record on the album when he joined. The gig completely altered the trajectory of his life. It was a dream come true, says Pandian, who went on to share stages with Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige, and Nas, and to perform on the Grammy Awards, the MTV Video Music Awards, and Saturday Night Live.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill celebrates its 25th anniversary on August 25. Why was the album considered so groundbreaking? Danielle Scott: One, this was a solo female hip-hop album, and this Black woman presented herself as a multifaceted complex human, which is something that still has to be fought for by women in general, and Black women in particular, in the music industry and other aspects of daily life.
Two, the album demonstrated hip-hop culture beyond rap. Ms. Hill goes from a straight-up diss record with Lost Ones to showing the connection between hip-hop and soul music with Doo Wop (That Thing) to further demonstrating the musicality of hip-hop with the display of her own musicality: harmonies, rhythmic complexity of rap ad-libs, and lead-singing vocals.
And three, the subject matter of this hip-hop album was love. While love had previously been the premise of one song on a full album (perhaps most notably LL Cool J's I Need Love or Queen Latifah's How Do I Love Thee ), love with all of its complexities (unrequited love, toxic relationships, platonic love, betrayal), applications (love of people, love of hip-hop), and tenderness had never been the overall theme of an entire album in this way. I think the subject of love as expressed through hip-hop culture made hip-hop accessible to a broader audience.
Do you recall where you were when you first heard the song Doo Wop (That Thing) on the radio? Do you have a favorite song from the album? Are there any lyrics that blew you away?
Arun Pandian
Arun Pandian: I heard most of the songs for the first time on an audition cassette tape, which was handed to me when I showed up for the audition at two in the morning at Kool and the Gangs rehearsal space in New Jersey. Lauryns family and the entire band were there, and the music director led me to another room and watched as I learned the parts. It was the most nerve-racking experience of my life. I spent the rest of the week auditioning with the band and fell in love with the music, realizing it was something special that I had never heard before. My favorite song on the record is Tell Him, for more sentimental reasons, because it was my first experience working closely with Lauryn, and we spent about 48 hours in the studio together working on it. I really got an understanding of her creative process as an artist and really got to put my fingerprint on the song. It went through many iterations over those two days before it ended up where it is.
Scott: My absolute favorite cut from Miseducation is Lost Ones. The minimalist beat with the cutthroat lyrics served hot over it made me sit up. Each line was so tough that it required an answer- It's funny how money changes situa-tions. The answer: -tions!! Lost Ones made me understand the power of rap delivery and the power of call-and-response for both artist and audience. We're not just rapping into the ether . . . talk back to us! Lost Ones led me to Doo Wop (That Thing). I thought it was so powerful that we all sing along gladly to a song that, when you actually sit with the lyrics, it's deeply spiritual. She's dealing with self-esteem, integrity, self-respect . . . it's a sermon that's also a bop, even to this day.
At the time of the recording, did you have a feeling that you were working on something special? Did anyone realize how much of an impact the album would have not only in the music industry but in pop culture? Pandian: You never fully realize the potential of something until its out in the world, but it did feel special. Lauryn seemed to have a creative connection with herself that I had never experienced wor
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The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Turns 25 Berklees Arun Pandian and Danielle Queen D. Scott talk about the groundbreaking album and its impact on their lives.
