Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is often credited for breaking barriers for female rappers, popularizing melodic rap, and pioneering neo soul for mainstream audiences. In addition to being named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR, Hill was listed as one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone. In 2015, she was named the greatest female rapper by Billboard. Her other accolades include eight Grammy Awards—the most for any female rapper. With over 50 million records sold worldwide, she is one of the best-selling female rappers of all time.
The Fugees are an American hip hop trio formed in 1990 in South Orange, New Jersey. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to prominence in the mid-1990s for their pioneering blend of reggae, R&B, funk and hip hop, which eschewed gangsta rap and made them one of the most significant alternative hip hop acts. They occasionally rapped in Haitian Creole, and were one of the first hip hop bands to incorporate live instrumentation during their performances, along with the Roots.
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the debut solo studio album by American rapper and singer Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 19, 1998, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. Recorded after the Fugees embarked on a hiatus, the album was almost entirely written and produced by Hill. It is a concept album about educating oneself on love, with lyrical themes encompassing relationship complexities, interpersonal conflicts, motherhood, and faith. Predominantly a neo soul and R&B record, it incorporates genres such as hip hop, reggae, and soul, and features guest appearances from Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige, and D'Angelo.
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an award presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales, chart position, or critical reception." Commonly known as "The Big Award", Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammy Awards, and is one of the four general field categories alongside Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year that have been presented annually since the 1st Annual Grammy Awards in 1959.
MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 is a live album by American singer Lauryn Hill. The performance comes from her 2002 MTV Unplugged special recorded on July 21, 2001, at MTV Studios in Times Square, New York City. Hill abandoned the hip hop sounds of her debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) in favor of folk and soul songs. It was recorded while she was pregnant with her third child YG Marley. The songs were written solely by Hill, who performed them unaccompanied by a live band, while playing an acoustic guitar. It features lyrics about religion, police brutality, mental health and abuse of authority, along with spoken interludes about her personal and artistic struggles.
"Doo Wop (That Thing)" is a song by American rapper and singer Lauryn Hill from her debut solo studio album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). It was written and produced by Hill. The song was released as her solo debut and lead single from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on August 10, 1998, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. No commercial release was originally intended for the single in the US, but limited-quantity physical formats were issued two months later, on October 27.
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine Rolling Stone. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in a special issue of the magazine in 2003 and a related book in 2005.
"Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio, and first recorded and released as a single by Gaudio's Four Seasons bandmate Frankie Valli. The song was among his biggest hits, earning a gold record and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week, making it Valli's biggest solo hit until he hit No. 1 in 1975 with "My Eyes Adored You".
"Everything Is Everything" is a song recorded by American recording artist Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). It was written by Hill and Johari Newton, and produced by Hill. During the recording sessions, Hill wanted to write about injustice and struggles amongst youth communities in inner city areas of the United States. The song contains R&B, 1960s soul, and hip hop influences. It marked the first commercial appearance of singer and pianist John Legend, who was 19 years old when he played the piano on the song. The song was released as the third and final single from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on May 3, 1999, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records.
"Ex-Factor" is a song by American recording artist Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). Written and produced by Hill herself, it incorporates elements of R&B, neo soul and hip hop soul. The song features a sample of "Can It Be All So Simple" by Wu-Tang Clan. It has been claimed to be about Hill's former Fugees groupmate Wyclef Jean. The song was released as the second single from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on December 14, 1998, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records.
"My Best Friend's Girl" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their 1978 self-titled debut album on Elektra Records, released on June 6 of that year. Written by Ocasek as a song about something that "probably ... happened to a lot of people," the track found radio success as a demo in 1977.
The discography of Carlos Santana, a Mexican-American rock guitarist, consists of seven studio albums, three live albums, six compilation albums and five singles.
"Nothing Even Matters" is a song recorded by American rapper and singer Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). It was written and produced by Hill herself, and features a guest appearance from American singer D'Angelo. The song is an electric piano-driven neo soul, R&B and quiet storm ballad. Lyrically a love song, it discusses falling in love and exploring an idyllic romantic relationship, presumably in reference to Hill's relationship with Rohan Marley.
"Lost Ones" is a diss song by American rapper and singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 25, 1998, through Ruffhouse and Columbia Records. The song was written by Hill and produced by Hill, alongside Vada Nobles and Che Pope. It features an interpolation of "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy. Despite not naming him in the song, the song is widely presumed to be about Hill's former Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean.
Anthony Samuel Lane was an American graphic artist best known for his album art for various musicians and bands. He began his career as an assistant to Alexey Brodovitch at Harper's Bazaar, and became an early art director for Rolling Stone magazine. He was the designer of iconic album covers for Simon & Garfunkel, Michael Jackson (Bad), and Creedence Clearwater Revival. His cover for Carly Simon's Boys in the Trees earned him a Grammy Award. He provided art direction for major record labels Columbia, Fantasy and Elektra, and developed branding for Pacific Telesis, LaCroix Sparkling Water, Wrangler and Kia. For two issues he was art director of Gnosis magazine.
"My Church" is the debut single by American singer Maren Morris. It was released in January 2016 as the lead single from her first studio album, Hero (2016). Morris co-wrote and co-produced the song with busbee. The song won the award for Best Country Solo Performance and was nominated for Best Country Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
Ryan James Hurd is an American country music singer and songwriter. In addition to writing number one singles for Blake Shelton, Lady A, and Luke Bryan, Hurd has recorded for RCA Records Nashville.
Invasion of Privacy is the debut studio album by American rapper Cardi B. It was released on April 6, 2018, through Atlantic Records. Originally planned as an EP and primarily a hip hop record, it also includes elements of trap, Latin trap and R&B. It features production from 30 Roc, Andrew Watt, Benny Blanco, Boi-1da, Craig Kallman, Cubeatz, DJ Mustard, Frank Dukes, J. White Did It, Keyz, Murda Beatz, Needlz, Tainy, and Vinylz, among others. The album features guest appearances by Migos, Chance the Rapper, Kehlani, SZA, 21 Savage, J Balvin, Bad Bunny, and YG.
Girl is the second studio album by American country music singer Maren Morris, released on March 8, 2019 through Columbia Nashville. It was preceded by the single "Girl". The promotional single "Common", featuring Brandi Carlile, was released alongside the album pre-order on February 8. The track was later nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, while the album's second single "The Bones" was nominated for Best Country Song at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. Morris embarked on the Girl: The World Tour in support of the album.
