The best rapper from all 50 states

New Jersey

Artist – Lauryn Hill

Years Active – 1993-Present

Notable Album – The Miseducation of Lauryn  Hill

Sample Rhyme:

“It’s been three weeks since you were looking for your friend

The one you let hit it and never called you again

Member when he told you he was bout the Benjamins?

You act like you ain’t hear him, then give him a little trim”

—

The primary emotion many people have these days in regard to Lauryn Hill is some combination of regret and nostalgia.

She got her start in East Orange, New Jersey. While still in high school she joined a group that would eventually become known as the Fugees. The band would go on to become one of the standout names of mid-90s R&B and hip hop.

Riding on the wave of fame Fugees offered her, Hill broke off to record a solo record in 1997. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was released the following year and became an instant classic.

Her style owed itself to many early 90s female MCs like Salt-n-Pepa as well as male rappers like Ice Cube, and her ability to seamlessly transition between singing and rapping made her music stand out all the more.

Songs like “Doo-Wop (That Thing)” are now iconic 90s songs, and by all rights should have been followed by further songs that helped define the era they came out in. But Miseducation was the last true album Hill ever produced, barring a poorly received MTV Unplugged album in 2001.

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