Lauryn Hill, Doo Wop (That Thing) | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 13^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Doo Wop (That Thing)” by Lauryn Hill. 

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 13^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Doo Wop (That Thing)”, performed by Lauryn Hill. 

“Yo, remember back on the Bully / When cats used to harmonize like (Ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh).” And so, begins the sole no. 1 hit by Lauryn Hill, “Doo Wop (That Thing)”.  The gold-certified single is the crown jewel from her sole studio album, the diamond-certified masterpiece, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.  Hill both wrote and produced the Grammy-winning gem, which masterfully fuses hip-hop and neo-soul. Ms. Lauryn Hill raps like a boss and sings like an angel. Notably, it samples the 1971 The 5^th Dimension song, “Together Let’s Find Love”.  Also notable, “Doo Wop (That Thing)” has been sampled by others many times, including Lizzo on her 2022 song, “Break Up Twice”.

“Girls, you know you’d better, watch out

Some guys, some guys are only, about

That thing, that thing, that thing

That thing, that thing, that thing.”

What is that thing that Lauryn sings about in the incredibly soulful, tuneful chorus of “Doo Wop?” Sex, of course! In the verses, Hill raps about how ‘giving it up’ can devalue and degrade you – you’re worth more.  “Showing off your ass ‘cause you’re thinking it’s a trend / Girlfriend, let me break it down for you again,” she raps in the first verse, adding, “Don’t be a hard rock when you really are a gem.” WORD! She also makes it clear, “Don’t think I haven’t been through the same predicament.” Of course, not only does she speak to the girls, but she also addresses the men in the second verse: “Need to take care of they three or four kids / And they face a court case when the child support late / Money taking and heart breaking, now you wonder why women hate men.” Woo! Clearly, it’s important to watch out. Beyond the prudent lyrics and magnificent flow by Hill, the backing instrumental is fab – the piano, fat bass line, and horns (that The 5^th Dimension sample goes a long way).  “Doo Wop (That Thing)” = a surefire 1990s classic!

🎙 Lauryn Hill • 💿 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill • 🏷 Ruffhouse • 🗓 1998

Lauryn Hill, Doo Wop (That Thing): Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 13 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Ruffhouse; OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom via  Pixabay]