For the podcast assignment, I have chosen Lauryn Hill’s song “Mystery of Iniquity,” specifically the version off of her MTV Unplugged 2.0 version(2002). Most people know this song even if they don’t know they know it, because the chorus of this song is the hook for Kanye West’s “All Falls Down” from Graduation(2007). I became a huge fan of Lauryn Hill a few years back after listening to Miseducation of Lauryn Hill(1998). After finding her MTV Unplugged album, I fell in love with a handful of songs that were all
doing more with lyrics than I had heard before. When I heard “Mystery of Iniquity” I was surprised I had never heard much about it before, especially since I had listened to “All Falls Down” so much when I was younger. It seemed like an obvious choice for this assignment because I have listened to it so many times, but never fully absorbed all of what the lyrics were saying. Every time I listen to it, I get more meaning out of it. I think it will be difficult to deeply analyze the meaning of all of the lyrics, but it will be worth it.
This song isn’t on any top ten lists for protest songs, but to me it fulfills all of the requirements. The lyrics alone touch on several subjects that are not usually addressed in popular music. She discusses topics such as the U.S legislative system, racism, and the political climate. Her performance of the song is driven by passion for the subject matter, and it’s almost completely acapella besides the occasional strumming of an acoustic guitar. The song has a murky genre, because the entire album is folk like with hip-hop undertones throughout. Because it is not on many top ten lists, and this album is seemingly unpopular, especially in comparison to Miseducation, it will be very difficult to do research on this song alone, which is my biggest concern. However, there is research that can be done for this, by looking at what was happening in the world in 2002, when it was released. Also by looking at Lauryn Hill, and her history with some of the subject matter of this song.
I personally love this song, and think that lyrically it is one of Lauryn Hill’s best. She says so much in this piece, and it connects to countless frustrating moments in history, as well as relating to most of what is going on in today’s world. If this song was preformed today, almost every line would relate to the audience.
February 7, 2019 at 3:10 am
Allie,
I think this is a great choice and I like that you’re using the Unplugged version as your vehicle into it. But, like with Born in the USA, you’ll need to look at the original, too. And it’s not just when the song was released in 2002, it’s when the song was written, which may have been years prior (I’m not sure). And hip-hop and folk has quite a bit in common and share lineage dating back to the early southern blues artists.
Looking forward to it!
Bill