Two of the earliest recordings Hill and New Ark worked on—"Ex-Factor" and "Loved Real Hard Once", which was later retitled "When It Hurts So Bad"—were originally intended for other artists, before being retained due to their personal content.

[1] The majority of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, however, was recorded at Tuff Gong, the studio built by Bob Marley, in Kingston, Jamaica,[3] where the album would be completed in June 1998.

The teacher was portrayed by American poet and politician Ras Baraka, who was recorded speaking to a group of children in the living room of Hill's New Jersey home.

A funk track redolent of Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City", it replays elements of David Axelrod's "Tony Poem" and Steve "Silk" Hurley's "Jack Your Body".

"[61] "Everything Is Everything" discusses life changes, and expresses dissatisfaction with adult cynicism prevailing over adolescent idealism, while the album's title track, built on the Hammond organ, piano, and strings, encourages self-examination and pursuing one's individual destiny, branding traditional education insufficient.

The cover of Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" merges 1960s soul with contemporary hip hop, featuring beatboxing,[24][63] and offers an optimistic view on the album's recurring theme of love.

[73] Tamara Palmer wrote for The Recording Academy that the "masterful" accompanying music videos for the album's singles "showed Hill as a woman who transcends the ages".

[8] "Doo Wop (That Thing)" was then released as the album's official lead single on August 10, 1998,[81] debuting atop the US Billboard Hot 100 and breaking numerous chart records.

[d] Stephanie Gayle, senior director of marketing at Columbia Records, retrospectively analyzed: "'Lost Ones' set the tone for how Lauryn the solo artist would be embraced at Black radio (and anywhere hip-hop was being played).

[90] "Ex-Factor" was released as the second single on December 14,[91] but failed to replicate the success of its predecessor, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100,[92] while reaching the top five in Iceland and the UK.

[103] Notable attendees included Harrison Ford, Natalie Portman, Star Jones, Casey Affleck,[104] Nina Simone, John Galliano,[105] Rosie O'Donnell, Mary J. Blige, Sean Combs,[106] and a young Adele.

Nas, Dave Chappelle, M.I.A., Santigold, ASAP Rocky, SZA, Big Boi, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, and Shabazz Palaces, among others, were announced as the tour's special guests.

[132] In a review of the Arena Birmingham show, published via The Guardian, Kitty Empire criticized alterations of the song's arrangements, but commended Hill's "lucid and engaged" stage presence.

[146] However, on August 7, Hill issued a statement elaborating the abrupt cancellation of the North American leg the previous day, citing low ticket sales, which she attributed to media sensationalism over the November 2023 tour postponement.

[154][155] According to Los Angeles Times journalist Geoff Boucher, it was the most acclaimed album of 1998, with reviewers frequently praising Hill's presentation of a woman's perspective on life and love.

[50] In The New York Times, Ann Powers found it "miraculous" and "exceptional" for Hill to use "her faith, based more in experience and feeling than in doctrine", as a means of connecting "the sacred to the secular in music that touches the essence of soul.

"[156] AllMusic's John Bush was impressed by Hill producing most of the album "not as a crossover record, but as a collection of overtly personal and political statements", while demonstrating "performing talents, vocal range, and songwriting smarts".

[148] Dream Hampton of The Village Voice said Hill seamlessly "travels her realm within any given song",[157] while Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot deemed the record a "vocal tour de force" with arrangements which "bristle with great ideas".

[47] Citing "Lost Ones" and "Superstar" as highlights, The Village Voice music editor Robert Christgau deemed it the "PC record of the year", featuring exceptionally understated production and skillful rapping but also inconsistent lyrics, average singing, and superfluous skits.

[161] In the Los Angeles Times, Soren Baker believed Hill was more effective as a critical rapper than a singer on the more emotional songs, where her voice was "too thin to carry such heavy subject matter".

[171] David Opie of Highsnobiety declared that The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill has educated "pretty much everyone who's recorded music since", as well as "inspiring both newer artists and hip-hop stalwarts alike.

"[172] Writing for The Guardian, Kitty Empire called the record a "game-changing cri de coeur" and a predecessor to Beyoncé's Lemonade (2016) and Janelle Monáe's Dirty Computer (2018), proclaiming that it "channelled some precious learning for a generation or more of young women, black and white alike; one in which a ferociously talented artist preached self-determination and self-respect, self-knowledge and getting one's due".

[236] Additionally, the album has also been collected by the National Museum of African American History and Culture,[237] while The Recording Academy inducted it into the 2024 class of the Grammy Hall of Fame.

[277] In The New York Times, Danyel Smith stated that The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill "dragged rap back to the land of the living" after the twin drive-by murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.

"[35] In conversation with the Los Angeles Times about the success of Black Diamond (1999) by Angie Stone, editor Emil Wilbekin of Vibe stated that The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill introduced new practices to contemporary R&B, such as recording with live instruments.

[297] Writing for The New York Times in 2018, Jon Caramanica noted the influence the performance style had on Drake, adding: "Rappers are singers now, to the point where the framework of singing has been refracted almost wholly through the needs of hip-hop.

"[298] When speaking to Pitchfork about the album, rapper Vince Staples called it "a classic body of work", and credited Hill for her innovative singing-rapping style, lyricism, and arrangements.

"[300] Kathy Iandoli recognized how the album touching upon themes of love, distrust, pregnancy, and self-actualization introduced emotionally charged lyricism to hip-hop, allowing rappers such as Kid Cudi and Kanye West to showcase vulnerability in their music.

[301] A multitude of artists have cited The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill as an inspiration for their work, including Omar Apollo,[302] H.E.R.,[303] Ella Mai,[304] Rachel Platten,[305] Maren Morris,[306] Jay-Z,[307] Alicia Keys,[308] Tierra Whack,[309] and Macy Gray.

[321] The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill has been credited with influencing the albums The College Dropout (2004) by Kanye West,[322] Confessions (2004) by Usher,[323] 4 (2011) by Beyoncé,[324] Daytona (2018) by Pusha T,[325] and Immunity (2019) by Clairo.