MTV Unplugged No. 2.0

MTV Unplugged No. 2.0
Live album by Lauryn Hill
Released May 7, 2002
Recorded July 21, 2001
Genre Acoustic, hip hop, soul, poetry
Length 106:31
Label Columbia
Producer Lauryn Hill, Alex 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 hip hop/soul artist Lauryn Hill. The performance comes from her 2002 MTV Unplugged special recorded on July 21, 2001 at MTV Studios in Times Square, New York City. The album has sold over one million copies in the United States and over 1.5 million copies worldwide. Additionally, it was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance for "Mystery of Inequity", at 2003 Grammy Awards.

Contents

Album theme and content

The album is lyrically driven where Lauryn shares her thoughts on religion, society, God, and love. All songs are written by Hill except for "So Much Things to Say" (Bob Marley) and "The Conquering Lion" (traditional adaptation).

Chart performance

MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's 200 albums chart, and peaked at No. 2 on the magazine's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[1] In the UK, it charted at No. 50. The album was certified Platinum in June 2002. The song "Mr. Intentional" reached No. 63 on the French Singles Chart.

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Entertainment Weekly (B)[2]
Guardian.co.uk [3]
New York Times (mixed)[4]
Newsweek (mixed)[5]
NME (5/10)[6]
Q [7]
Rolling Stone [8]
Slant [9]
Village Voice (favorable)[10]
Brotherspork (88%) [11]

Unlike the near-unanimous praise of Miseducation, 2.0 sharply divided critics. Allmusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that the recording "is the unfinished, unflinching presentation of ideas and of a person. It may not be a proper follow-up to her first album, but it is fascinating."[12] Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani wrote, "Hill's guitarwork is multi-textured and fine-tuned but her vocals lack confidence and seem to toe the edge of her range throughout the album. And though the stripped-down nature of the show is fitting, many of the songs sound as if they are still in their infancy."[13] Despite the mixed reviews, 2.0 debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 and went Platinum four weeks after its release.

Track listing

Disc 1
  1. "Intro" – 2:28
  2. "Mr. Intentional" – 6:58
  3. "Adam Lives in Theory" – 7:26
  4. "Interlude 1" – 1:56
  5. "Oh Jerusalem" – 8:54
  6. "Interlude 2" – 1:21
  7. "War In The Mind or 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" – 1:40
  12. "Just Want You Around" – 4:36
  13. "I Gotta Find Peace of Mind" – 9:21
Disc 2
  1. "Interlude 5" – 12:12
  2. "Mystery of Iniquity" – 5:10
  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" – 3:19
  9. "Outro" – 2:58

Charts

Album

Year Chart Peak positions
2002 Billboard 200 (U.S.) 2
2002 Top R&B/hip Hop Albums 1
2002 Top Canadian Albums 9
2002 French Albums Chart 124

Certifications

Region Certification
Canada[14] Platinum
United States[15] Platinum

Notes

  1. ^ Ruhlmann, William. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  2. ^ Browne, David. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  3. ^ Petridis, Alexis. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Guardian. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  4. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  5. ^ MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 Review. Newsweek. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  6. ^ Needham, Alex. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  7. ^ Columnist. "Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0". Q : 121. June 2001. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  8. ^ Columnist. "Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Rolling Stone : 78. May 23, 202. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  9. ^ Cinquemani, Sal. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Slant. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  10. ^ Lewis, Miles. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Village Voice. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  11. ^ Anderson, Femi. Profile: Lauryn Hill - Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Brotherspork. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
  12. ^ Allmusic Review allmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  13. ^ Slant Magazine Music Review: Lauryn Hill: Unplugged No. 2.0
  14. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named CRIAA; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text
  15. ^ United States Certifications The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. riaa.com. Retrieved 2010-02-11.

External links

Lauryn Hill
Studio Albums
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)  · TBA (2012)
Other Albums
MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 (2002)  · The Best of Lauryn Hill, Vol. 1 (2007) · Ms. Hill (2007)  · Khulami Phase (2010)
Singles
"The Sweetest Thing"  · "Can't Take My Eyes Off You"  · "Doo Wop (That Thing)"  · "Ex-Factor"  · "To Zion"  · "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill"  · "Everything Is Everything"  · "Turn Your Lights Down Low"  · "Mr. Intentional"  · "Repercussions"
Concert tours
The Miseducation Tour  · MTV Unplugged Tour
Motion pictures
Related articles
MTV series albums
Amp
Amp • Amp 2
The Grind
Party to Go
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • Platinum Mix • '98 • '99 • 2000 • Remixed
MTV Unplugged
VH1 Unplugged/ Storytellers