# Lauryn Hill — Ex-Factor

Lauryn Hill’s Ex-Factor (1998) appears on 3 of our lists — Neo-Soul, The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred, and The Waxonia Desk — The Soulquarians Room, highest at No. 4 in Neo-Soul. Every verdict, in full.

- **Released:** 1998
- **Label:** Ruffhouse
- **On:** Neo-Soul, The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred, and The Waxonia Desk — The Soulquarians Room
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Artist:** [Lauryn Hill](https://waxonia.com/artist/lauryn-hill/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/lauryn-hill--ex-factor/

## What 3 lists say

### No. 4 in [Neo-Soul](https://waxonia.com/genre/neo-soul/)

A Wu-Tang sample, a gospel structure and a lyric with no interest in protecting anyone's dignity, least of all its author's. The most-covered song of the era, and nobody has improved on it.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/)

A Wu-Tang sample, a gospel structure, and a lyric with no interest in protecting anyone's dignity. The most covered song of its era and nobody has improved on it.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — The Soulquarians Room](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-soulquarians-room/)

Made just outside the collective and unmistakably of the same moment. The competition between these records is audible on all of them, and it made every one of them better.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Lauryn%20Hill%20Ex-Factor) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=cE-bnWqLqxE)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.