Recording
Ex-Factor
Lauryn Hill
Independently chosen for3 of our lists. Here is what each of them said.
- Released
- 1998
- Label
- Ruffhouse
- On
- Neo-Soul, The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred, and The Waxonia Desk — The Soulquarians Room
- Updated
- 2026-08-29
Ranked No. 4 in 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
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
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.