| "Lost Ones" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Lauryn Hill | |
| from the album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill | |
| Released | August 25, 1998 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 5:33 |
| Label | |
| Songwriter(s) | Lauryn Hill |
| Producer(s) |
|
"Lost Ones" is a diss track by American rapper and singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill. It serves as the opening song on her 1998 debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, released through Ruffhouse and Columbia Records. The track was written and produced by Hill, alongside Vada Nobles and Che Pope, and features an interpolation of the reggae classic "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy.[1] While Hill does not explicitly name individuals in the song, it is widely believed to address her former Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean, with whom she had a strained personal and professional relationship.
Although not released as an official single, "Lost Ones" received significant radio play in the United States, peaking at number 27 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. The track earned a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 41st Grammy Awards. Hill performed the song at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards,[2][3] where she was introduced by David Bowie. Her performance was later nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Performance in a Variety Series or Special.[4]
Praised for its raw lyricism and sharp delivery, "Lost Ones" is frequently cited as one of the best diss tracks and one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time. In 2013, Complex ranked it as the best rap song made by a woman,[5] while Rolling Stone placed it 45th on their 2017 list of the "100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of All Time", the second-highest position for a song by a female artist.[6] Publications including The Guardian, HipHopDX, and MTV have also regarded it as the greatest hip hop diss track by a woman in hip-hop history. The track has been cited as an inspiration by rappers Nas and Rapsody.
- ^ "The 10 Best Sister Nancy "Bam Bam" Samples". OkayPlayer. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
- ^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (August 25, 2018). "Flashback: See Lauryn Hill Perform Lush Version of 'Lost Ones' at MTV VMAs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ Gregoriadis, Linus (September 11, 1999). "MTV video awards Grammy winner Lauryn Hill dominates". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ 1999 MTV Video Music Awards (1999) – IMDb, retrieved July 2, 2022
- ^ "The 50 Best Rap Songs by Women". Complex. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
- ^ "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. June 2, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2021.