As it turns 20, 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' is still relevant to power and pain of womanhood

It’s an unintentional-yet-fitting tribute to the genius of Lauryn Hill that, on the 20th anniversary of her classic album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” two of America’s biggest singles sample a track from the album -- Drake’s “Nice for What” and Cardi B’s “Be Careful,” both of which draw from Hill’s “Ex-Factor.”

Released on Aug. 25, 1998, “Miseducation” is Hill’s first and only solo studio album and was a defining release of its era in multiple ways. It was the album that made Hill a star, breaking the record for first-week sales by a female artist with its 400,000-plus copies, and earning Hill 10 Grammy nominations and five wins, the most for a female artist at that time.

Its most enduring hits include “Ex-Factor,” a song that’s now taken on new life among a generation that was too young to experience “Miseducation” the first time around; and “Doo Wop (That Thing),” a song that has remained ubiquitous in its 20 years of existence as a near-perfect song.