In the midst of hip-hop’s reinvention as a commercially viable genre, Miseducation showed that rap music could tackle wider themes beyond gangsta culture and eventually sold 18 million copies as a result. L-Boogie had already proven herself to be a superstar before she left the Fugees, but as a solo artist, Lauryn continued to defy all expectations when she also became the first hip-hop artist to win Album of the Year at the Grammys, beating out the likes of Madonna and Shania Twain for the trophy. Torn between a desire for street authenticity and mainstream appeal, hip-hop was stuck at a crossroads, searching for a new way forward following the loss of its icons. Hill imparted that still resonate with us even now, over twenty years later. What follows are just a few of the most valuable teachings Ms. What became a miseducation of sorts for Lauryn became an education for fans and the industry alike, teaching us something new about life and music too. Why that might be is tough to quantify in universal, objective terms, but what’s clear is that everyone who’s listened to Hill’s debut album has taken something different away from the experience. In fact, the former Fugees star went on to (mis)educate pretty much everyone who’s recorded music since, inspiring both newer artists and hip-hop stalwarts alike. It’s no exaggeration to suggest that Miseducation changed music in ways that still impact the industry today and no, we’re not just talking about the records it broke or the Grammys it won either. Back when Lauryn Hill released her first and only studio album on August 25, 1998, a young Janelle Monáe bought two copies because “I had a feeling I would wear out one and I wanted a back-up." Nas later told XXL that The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill “had the soul of Roberta Flack, the passion of Bob Marley, the essence of Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson and the essence of hip-hop wrapped up in one thing.” Almost two decades later, Nicki Minaj even cried when she first met the groundbreaking superstar.