For this week’s HFLS we’ll be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the release of Ms. Lauryn Hill’s seminal masterpiece The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

The album arrived in August of 1998, amidst the ascendancy of hip hop into the mainstream. At that point, it was dominated by a largely misogynistic boys club, firing off lyrics that objectified and belittled women almost as often as they glorified guns, violence and money. So when Miseducation dropped, it put the whole genre on blast.

From start to finish, we hear a 22-year old Hill, pregnant with her first child at the time of writing and recording the album, grapple with love, heartbreak and how to navigate the world as a Black woman. Using influences from reggae, hip hop, Motown and beyond, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is a soul record through and through. It bobs and weaves in and out of these styles, anchored by some of the best lyrics and coldest flows ever put to tape.

We can’t wait to hear this one in all its glory on the hi-fi.