Izdavač: Ostalo
Žanr: Fank i Soul, Pop
Poreklo: Strani izvođač

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knjizica 5 Cd-ovi 5

Live album by Lauryn Hill
Released May 7, 2002
Recorded July 21, 2001
Venue MTV Studios in New York
Genre
Acoustic popfolksoul
Length 106:36
Label Columbia
Producer
Lauryn HillAlex Coletti
Lauryn Hill chronology
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
(1998) MTV Unplugged No. 2.0
(2002)

MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 is a live album by American singer Lauryn Hill. It was released on May 7, 2002, by Columbia Records. The performance was recorded on July 21, 2001, at MTV Studios in Times Square and directed by Alex Coletti for the television series MTV Unplugged. Hill played a set of previously unreleased, newly written acoustic songs and a cover of Bob Marley`s `So Much Things to Say` performing without a band, while playing guitar and pregnant with her third child, YG Marley. It was produced by both Hill and Coletti.

Its lyrics center on themes of religion, personal growth, mental health, and abuse of authority, alongside spoken interludes. Songs such as `I Find It Hard to Say (Rebel)`, written in response to the 1999 police killing of Amadou Diallo, and `Mystery of Iniquity`, address police brutality and inequality in the justice system, while `I Gotta Find Peace of Mind` depicts a search for inner peace.

Upon release, the album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 122,000 copies, marking the highest debut for an Unplugged release by a female artist until Alicia Keys` Unplugged (2005).[1] It was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Additionally, the album reached the top ten in several international markets, including Japan and Canada. It was promoted with a headlining set during the 2002 Smokin Grooves Tour, with Questlove opening for Hill.

The performance marked a sharp shift in Hill`s musical style and public image. Critics were initially divided, with some reviewers describing the performances as `too raw` and unpolished, while others praised its sincerity and self-examination.[2] Over time, the album received retrospective critical praise. The New York Times identified the album`s lyrics as a precursor to the modern sociopolitical understanding of `woke`,[3] while scholars and journalists such as Kathy Iandoli have described it as `ahead of its time` in relation to movements like Black Lives Matter and MeToo.[4] It has been widely cited as an influence by a range of hip hop, R&B, and pop artists and sampled by musicians including Kanye West, Frank Ocean, A$AP Rocky, and Method Man. `Mystery of Iniquity` received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rap Solo Performance.

Background and release
MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 was recorded on July 21, 2001, at MTV Studios in Times Square, New York City.[5] Hill performed onstage wearing denim and a baseball cap, playing original material and Bob Marley covers on acoustic guitar without a backing band. During the performance, Hill announced her pregnancy with her third child, Joshua.[6] According to her longtime partner Rohan Marley, MTV approached him directly about having Hill appear on their MTV Unplugged series, and he later encouraged her to participate independently of her record label. Marley recalled that Hill frequently carried a bookbag filled with reading material and said she was deeply inspired by both the Bible and other works of literature.[7]

Series creator Alex Coletti explained that the performance deviated from the shows` typical format by featuring entirely new, unreleased material solo on acoustic guitar, stating, `The concept was always to take songs we know and break them down to their beginnings, but we don’t know these songs. It`s like being in Lauryn`s bedroom watching her write the stuff`. He described the material as `bossa nova to acoustic hip-hop to Joan Armatrading-type music and Bob Marley influences`.[8] In a separate interview, Coletti remembered first hearing from the pregnant singer while on vacation, saying, `She said, `I taught myself how to play guitar, I`ve written a bunch of new songs and I want to do them acoustic". Coletti relayed the proposal to MTV`s then-president Van Toffler, who agreed to move forward. `We did it, and it was pretty special`, he said. `There were some definite 4 A.M. phone calls in the remix phase and some things got a little weird, but it`s definitely a standout show that people still talk about`.[9]

Originally scheduled for a fall 2001 release, MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 was delayed due to the September 11 attacks.[10] The album was later released on May 7, 2002, debuting at number three on the Billboard 200, and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[11] It was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) the following month,[12] and remained on the charts for several months. Internationally, MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 also saw notable chart success. It reached the top five in Austria, France, and Switzerland, and entered the top ten in Japan, Norway, and Sweden. The album also peaked at number 10 on the European Top 100 Albums chart and performed strongly in Canada, where it topped the R&B chart and reached number nine overall.

The track `Mystery of Iniquity` was nominated at the 45th Grammy Awards for Best Female Rap Solo Performance.[13]

Music and lyrics
For MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, Hill departed from the hip hop sounds of her debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) in favor of austerely performed acoustic soul and folk-based songs. She jokingly described herself as a `hip-hop folk singer`,[14] and according to Robert Hilburn, assumed the role of a folk singer accompanied only by her acoustic guitar.[15] Rather than singing any of her previous hits, Hill debuted all new songs in a folk style and, in between songs, spoke at length about her personal and artistic struggles.[16]

In a 2001 interview, Hill explained her musical choices, stating, `I had to work through that voice telling me, `People don`t want to hear that. You ain`t got no beat. Who do you think you are, playing that guitar?` I had to talk back to that voice and say, `You know what? Just because I have a guitar, it doesn`t mean that changes me. I still rhyme, I still sing.` The means that God gave me to express myself with right now — it`s very freeing. I don`t have to check with nobody. I can stop. I can pause. I can mess up. I can start again. I can go to another song. I can do anything.`[17]

All tracks are written by Lauryn Hill, except `So Much Things to Say`, a cover of the Bob Marley and the Wailers song written by Bob Marley.

Disc one
No. Title Length
1. `Intro` 2:28
2. `Mr. Intentional` 6:58
3. `Adam Lives in Theory` 7:26
4. `Interlude 1` 1:55
5. `Oh Jerusalem` 8:54
6. `Interlude 2` 1:21
7. `Freedom Time` 4:59
8. `Interlude 3` 3:18
9. `I Find It Hard to Say (Rebel)` 6:50
10. `Just Like Water` 6:09
11. `Interlude 4` 1:41
12. `Just Want You Around` 4:36
13. `I Gotta Find Peace of Mind` 9:19
Disc two
No. Title Length
1. `Interlude 5` 12:12
2. `Mystery of Iniquity` 5:11
3. `Interlude 6` 1:42
4. `I Get Out` 5:17
5. `Interlude 7` 0:20
6. `I Remember` 3:46
7. `So Much Things to Say` 5:59
8. `The Conquering Lion` 3:20
9. `Outro` 2:57
Total length: 106:36
Personnel
Lauryn Hill – acoustic guitar, vocals, production
Julian Alexander – art direction
Adam Blackburn – recording, mixing
Alex Coletti – mixing, editing, film production on video broadcast
Joe DeMaio – direction on video broadcast
Max Feldman – recording assistance
Scott Gries – photography
Christopher Koch – audio post-editing technician
Mel Papaterpou – guitar technician
Sue Pelino – audio post-mixing technician
Herb Powers Jr. – mastering
Van Toffler – executive production on video broadcast