Day 12: Lauryn Hill, Ex-Factor | 30-Day Song Challenge 🎶

Lauryn Hill takes me back to my preteen years with “Ex-Factor,” perfectly suited to Day 12 of the 30-Day Song Challenge.

Embracing the trendiness of social media, The Musical Hype unleashes its own, month-long version of the 30-Day Song Challenge.

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Day 12 Prompt: A song from your preteen years

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“Tell me, who I have to be / To get some reciprocity.” Ah, YES, those timeless lyrics hail from one of the great classics about exes, “Ex-Factor” by Grammy-winning hip-hop/R&B musician, Lauryn Hill.

Even north of two decades since the release of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998), both the album, and that particular song carry ample weight.  Worth noting, “Ex-Factor” was sampled in Drake’s “Nice for What”, which appeared as the song of the day for Day 11 of the 30-Day Song Challenge (A song you never get tired of). Focusing only on “Ex-Factor,” it is a prime example of the plight of love, as well as how potent songs incorporating break ups can truly be.  It’s role in the 30-Day Song Challenge? Well, it fits Day 12: a song from your preteen years (more on that a little later).

At one point, Hill sings, “And when I try to walk away / You’d hurt yourself to make me stay / This is crazy.” Crazy indeed Ms. Lauryn Hill, but, again, exes and broken-off relationship serve among the preeminent topics in music regardless of genre. Yes, “Doo Wop (That Thing)” remains the crowning achievement (and number one hit) from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, but you can totally feel Hill’s struggle with love – it’s so relatable on “Ex-Factor.” My favorite section of the song is the ‘breakdown’:

“(Care) Care for me, care for me
I know you care for me
(There) There for me, there for me
Said you’d be there for me
(Cry) Cry for me, cry for me
You said you’d die for me
(Give) Give to me, give to me
Why won’t you live for me?”

“Ex-Factor” previously appeared on Throwback Thursday from Weekly Gems 💎 No. 3: Week of 4-13-2020.  Also, it was another song I curated as a track of the week on Music to Atone to. And, showing my age (ugh), the song and album arrived when I was 12 years old – that’s a preteen!

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Lauryn Hill, “Ex-Factor” • The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill • Ruffhouse • 1998

Day 12: Lauryn Hill, “Ex-Factor” (30-Day Song Challenge) [Photo Credits: Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype, Pixabay, Ruffhouse]

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