MTV Unplugged No. 2.0

This article is about the album by Lauryn Hill. For the album by Dashboard Confessional, see MTV Unplugged 2.0.
MTV Unplugged No. 2.0
Live album by Lauryn Hill
Released May 7, 2002
Recorded July 21, 2001, MTV Studios, New York City, New York
Genre Folk, soul
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 recording 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.

With the album, Hill departed from the hip hop beats of her debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) for austere acoustic soul and folk songs, which she performed solely on acoustic guitar. She jokingly described herself as a "hip-hop folk singer."[1] Rather than singing any of her previous hits, Hill debuted all new songs in a folk style and, in between songs, spoke at length about her personal and artistic struggles.[2]

Although some critics found Hill's drastic redirection on the album courageous, most panned its lack of creative discipline, and the album did not perform well with consumers. It fell quickly on the charts after entering the Billboard 200 at number two on May 15, 2002.[3]

Music and lyrics

On the album, Hill assumed the role of a folk singer and accompanied herself on acoustic guitar.[3]

The album is lyrically driven, where Hill 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 the Billboard 200 albums chart and peaked at No. 2 on the magazine's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[4] 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 reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [5]
Robert Christgau D–[6]
Entertainment Weekly (B)[7]
The Guardian [8]
The New York Times (mixed)[9]
NME (5/10)[10]
Q [11]
Rolling Stone [12]
Slant Magazine [13]
The Village Voice (favorable)[14]

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."[15] 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."[16] 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

Chart (2002) Peak
positions
Billboard 200 (U.S.) 2
Top R&B/hip Hop Albums 1
Top Canadian Albums 9
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 4
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 3
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 30
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[21] 40
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 34
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 24
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 10
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[25] 5
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[26] 28
Australian Albums (ARIA)[27] 16
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[28] 35

Certifications

Region Certification
Canada[29] Platinum
United States[30] Platinum

References

  1. ↑ "Picks and Pans Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0". People 57 (18). May 13, 2002. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ Bauder, David (May 10, 2002). "The misstep of Lauryn Hill?". Associated Press. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hilburn, Robert (July 15, 2002). "Hill Continues Her Lofty Course". Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  6. ↑ Christgau, Robert (April 22, 2003). "Not Hop, Stomp". The Village Voice (New York). Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  7. ↑ Browne, David. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  8. ↑ Petridis, Alexis. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  9. ↑ Sanneh, Kelefa. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  10. ↑ Needham, Alex. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. NME. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  11. ↑ Columnist. "Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0". Q : 121. June 2001. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  12. ↑ Columnist. "Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Rolling Stone : 78. May 23, 202. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  13. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Slant. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  14. ↑ Lewis, Miles. Review: MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. Village Voice. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  15. ↑ Allmusic Review allmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  16. ↑ Slant Magazine Music Review: Lauryn Hill: Unplugged No. 2.0
  17. ↑ "Lauryn Hill – MTV UNPLUGGED NO. 2.0". Lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Lauryn Hill – MTV UNPLUGGED NO. 2.0" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Lauryn Hill – MTV UNPLUGGED NO. 2.0". Swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Lauryn Hill – MTV UNPLUGGED NO. 2.0" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Lauryn Hill – MTV UNPLUGGED NO. 2.0" (in Dutch). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Lauryn Hill – MTV UNPLUGGED NO. 2.0" (in French). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Lauryn Hill – MTV UNPLUGGED NO. 2.0". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Lauryn Hill – MTV UNPLUGGED NO. 2.0". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Lauryn Hill – MTV UNPLUGGED NO. 2.0". Danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Lauryn Hill – MTV UNPLUGGED NO. 2.0". Australiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Lauryn Hill – MTV UNPLUGGED NO. 2.0". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  29. ↑ "CRIAA"
  30. ↑ United States Certifications The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. riaa.com. Retrieved 2010-02-11.

External links