Music Industry
As a member of The Fugees, Hill contributed to the globalization of hip-hop music. Rolling Stone, In its Women Who Rock: Greatest Breakthrough Moments list, stated that she became "the biggest star in the hip-hop universe" regardless of gender, with the Fugees' album The Score. However, it was her debut studio album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998), that made the most significant impact, with Time declaring her as the "Queen of Hip Hop". Hill later became the first rapper to appear on the cover of their publication. In 2000, Nicole Martin of The Telegraph cited her and Sean Combs as the artists who popularized hip-hop music.
Hill was also deemed a role model by the media. Journalists such as Danyel Smith have credited her with reshaping hip-hop's image from its negative and violent perception following the East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry that led to the Murder of Tupac Shakur, and later the Murder of the Notorious B.I.G. In the description of a writer from Fast Company, "popular culture embraced Hill and plastered her face on more magazines than Tupac and Biggie combined".
Over the years, Hill and The Miseducation have gained significant acclaim. The Miseducation has been recognized as one of the greatest albums by various publications, and ranked atop the list of 100 Best Albums by Apple Music. Writing for Time, music critic Brandon Tensley argued that "few artists have marked culture as profoundly as Hill did with her solo debut." Paste named her the greatest one-album artist ever. Broadcaster Trevor Nelson called her "the single most important female artist" of his generation, and further characterized her as "the second coming". Commenting on Hill's influence, Kendrick Lamar said that she "took space" for women in music, bridging the divide between mainstream success and underground credibility in R&B.
Hill is often credited as the artist who popularized and helped pioneer the technique of rap-singing, which contributed to the mainstream success of melodic rap, with many modern artists like Beyoncé, Drake, Nicki Minaj and Kanye West emulating it. According to Da Brat, Hill's "sound shifted the whole game." In the wake of The Miseducation, Billboard announced it would be renaming its R&B charts to R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in 1999, while noting the overlap between rap and R&B audiences. Hill was the only act mentioned when citing a reason for the change, with the publication describing her as "the prime example" of an artist that blurred genre distinctions. That year, MTV introduced a hip-hop category at the Video Music Awards, separate from rap, and cited acts with both rap and R&B elements such as Hill and TLC as examples. Former RIAA president Hilary Rosen, also recognized Hill as a leading contributor to the blurring of lines that distinguished hip hop and R&B.
Writing for The Ringer, author Musa Okwonga wrote "Decades before the ubiquity of the MC who could also croon, she could channel the greatness of Nina Simone and Rakim in the same set." In Complex, Andy Gee commented that "the modern music landscape is dominated by artists like Drake and Nicki Minaj, who fall in the Lauryn Hill archetype as traditionalist-appeasing MCs who have records where they're singing their hearts out." XXL argued that "she set the bar high, not just for woman creators, but for anyone who wanted to rap or sing."
Minaj alluded to Hill's impact on melodic rap on the song "Can Anybody Hear Me," where she mentions that prior to fame, Def Jam Recordings wouldn't sign her because she wanted to integrate rapping and singing on her album, but the record label told her she "wasn't Lauryn Hill." Lizzo who started her career as a rapper, later incorporated singing into her debut record. She stated in an interview in 2018, "I was always afraid of being a singer, but then when I heard Lauryn Hill, I was like, maybe I can do both," further adding that her debut album drew influence from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, "rapping, singing, being political."
Hill was also crucial in the development of neo soul, helping expand its traditional soul boundaries to include hip-hop. In 2001, Hits credited Hill with having "opened the door of neo soul" with her work on The Fugees' The Score. Billboard later cited her alongside Maxwell, Erykah Badu and D'Angelo, as the "harbingers of a soul music renaissance in both music and urban culture" in the early aughts.
Her success led to wider recognition for other artists. In 1999, Billboard considered Hill's achievements to be a breakthrough for female rappers, which resulted in a brief increase of female rappers in the music industry at the time, which the publication dubbed "The Lauryn Hill Effect". Author Nelson George noted increased visibility for female rappers, while Missy Elliott stated "Latifah opened the door for doing TV, and she might have opened it for Brandy. Now, it's open for everybody. This is just the beginning."
Talent manager Nick Shymansky acknowledged The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill prompting him to search for an artist similar to Hill, which led him to discover Amy Winehouse, who eventually began working on her debut album Frank (2003) with Miseducation producer Commissioner Gordon. In a letter to Oprah Winfrey, Clive Davis requested that Alicia Keys be booked to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show, describing her as "the next Aretha or Whitney or Lauryn Hill". John Legend attributes his early career success and his launch into the music industry to Hill, who gave him his first major opportunity as a pianist on the song "Everything Is Everything." Hill has also been described as playing a role in the early exposure of singer Akon, who joined her Fugees musical collective Refugee Camp All-Stars. Akon later signed Lady Gaga to his label after hearing her early recordings.
Hill has often been cited as one of the most influential entertainers of her generation. In 2021, Pitchfork named her as one of the 200 most influential artists since 1996. Many artists have named Lauryn Hill as an inspiration to their careers, including pop artists Adele, Beyoncé, Dua Lipa, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Mumford & Sons, Doja Cat, H.E.R., P!nk, Alessia Cara, Kelly Clarkson, Babyface, Summer Walker, Jack Antonoff, rappers Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, Nicki Minaj, Nas, Lil' Kim, Brent Faiyaz, Rapsody, Lizzo, Doechii, Afrobeats singers Tems and Wizkid; and K-pop artists Jennie of Blackpink, CL of 2NE1, and RM of BTS.
Minaj has made mention of Hill's influence on her on multiple occasions, including on the 2020 U.S. No. 1 single "Say So Remix," In which Minaj raps, "Spittin' like Weezy, Foxy, plus Lauryn." Minaj has also referred to Hill as her idol and quoted the artist in her high school yearbook. Rapsody and Bebe Rexha have both cited Hill as their biggest musical inspiration, as well as UK grime rapper Stormzy naming her his biggest female musical influence.
Furthermore, musicians Erykah Badu and Jazmine Sullivan have both mentioned her as their musical hero. In addition Kehlani, once had a tattoo of Hill on her arm. After performing with Hill, The Weeknd described the experience as the "most important experience of my life." During her 2018 Grammy award acceptance speech, Spanish singer Rosalía thanked her for being influential to her.
The 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton was heavily influenced by Hill, with creator Lin-Manuel Miranda naming Hill as one of his favorite rappers. Miranda also referenced the track "Lost Ones" during the song "We Know," and Hill's verse from the Fugees single "Ready or Not," on the song "Helpless" from the musical.
Billboard stated that Hill "is to hip-hop as a gardener is to soil," and added that "the rapper/singer planted classic gems in her catalog — especially her pristine 1998 debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill — that have become samples for many rap game MVPs." Her single "Doo Wop (That Thing)," was sampled by Drake (on the song "Draft Day"), Kanye West (on "Believe What I Say"), and interpolated by Lizzo (on the song "Break up Twice" from her album Special). In 2018, Hill became one of the most sampled artists of the year, when her single "Ex-Factor" was sampled on Cardi B's "Be Careful" and Drake's "Nice for What," while A$AP Rocky and Frank Ocean released "Purity" which sampled "I Gotta Find Peace of Mind." J. Cole's songs "Cole Summer" and "Can I Holla at Ya" from his EP Truly Yours, both contain samples of songs from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Hill's vocals from her work with the Fugees has been sampled or interpolated by countless artists, including DJ Khaled and Nas, Busta Rhymes, the Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar, Meek Mill, Jay-Z, and Mariah Carey (on the single "Save the Day," from her compilation album The Rarities). Furthermore, multiple artists have sampled Hill's songs from her live album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 including Frank Ocean (on the Jazmine Sullivan-featured "Rushes" from his 2016 album Endless), Method Man ("Say"), and most notably Kanye West ("All Falls Down" featuring Syleena Johnson).
