this weeks throwback isnt THAT much of a throwback when you first think about it, but lauryn hills “the miseducation of lauryn hill” was actually released 11 years ago. how crazy is that? the former fugee frontwoman has kind of disappeared from the spotlight after some controversy and was set to make some sort of a comeback this year with a mini-tour, but that was cancelled for unspecified health reasons. but at least we have this classic album to fall back on, because it is a good one. and one of my favorite tracks from the album was always “ex-factor”. it definitely was not as much of a huge hit or as radio ready as some of the other tracks, but i think it does a great job of showcasing hills one of a kind voice. its a pretty good breakup song too with its “no one loves you more than me and no one ever will”s and its “no ones hurt me more than you and no one ever will”s.

apparently this song samples wu-tangs “can it all be so simple”, which seems to make sense since the song starts out with “it could all be so simple”. its nice to take a song title with a question, sample it, and answer that question right away. very efficient. its kind of weird thinking back on it how the fugees became so huge and then sort of all just had solo projects that lasted a while and then all just disappeared. for some reason i have a weird memory of a school trip to europe back in ’98/’99 and hearing lauryn hills version of “too good to be true” at some random cafe in italy. sometimes i remember random insignificant things 10 years after the fact.

lauryn hill – ex-factor

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