“Doo Wop (That Thing)” – The Ms. Lauryn Hill Classic, Revisited

February 22, 2021

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Ms. Lauryn Hill was the soundtrack to my high school years. Whether it was her with the Fugees or her solo project, she held a special place in my heart. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the only album to date that I’ve ever purchased multiple copies of, but not multiple copies just for me, copies for other people so that they could partake in the GENIUS that was that album, from beginning to end.

“Doo Wop (That Thing)” is such a dope song because it doesn’t only sound great, it’s also tryna teach you something. Of course at the time it was released I was much less concerned with the lyrical content and far more concerned with what boy was gonna ask me to dance to it, but listening to it now with adult ears….woo child! Ms. Hill was giving a whole word. “Don’t be a hard rock, when you really are a gem. Baby girl, respect is just a minimum…” words to live by, to this day.

When you hear this song, your initial reflex is to want to hear the album. Well, at least it is for me. If I ever had to name one of my musical idols, other than Stevie Wonder, it would be Lauryn Hill, and with a body of work like The Miseducation it’s not hard to see why.

One of the best memories I have of my teenage years was going to see her in concert with one of my good friends. I remember us both being in the crowd when this played, going back and forth with each other singing, “Watch out, watch out…look out, look out” at the top of out lungs. We had it in out mind that we were going to meet her and get her autograph before we left that night, and believe it or not, after waiting for hours for her tour bus to leave the venue… we did! I still have it in a frame. Ms. Lauryn Hill didn’t let us down that night, and “Doo Wop (That Thing)” never let’s me down when it plays.