Lost Ones (Lauryn Hill song)

"Lost Ones"
Song by Lauryn Hill
from the album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
ReleasedAugust 25, 1998
Genre
Length5:33
Label
Songwriter(s)Lauryn Hill
Producer(s)

"Lost Ones" is a diss song by American rapper and singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 25, 1998, through Ruffhouse and Columbia Records. The song was written by Hill and produced by Hill, alongside Vada Nobles and Che Pope. It features an interpolation of "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy.[1] Despite not naming him in the song, the song is widely presumed to be about Hill's former Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean.

The song was not released as an official single, however it received significant radio play in the United States, and peaked at number 27 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. "Lost Ones" received a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance nomination at the 41st Grammy Awards. Introduced by David Bowie, Hill performed the song at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards;[2][3] and earned a nomination for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Performance in a Variety Series/Special for the performance.[4]

It is often cited as one of the best diss songs, as well as one of the greatest hip hop songs by many critics. In 2013, Complex named it the best rap song made by a woman.[5] In June 2017, Rolling Stone ranked it 45th on their '100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of All Time' list, the second highest position for a single by a woman on the list.[6] In addition, numerous publications including The Guardian, HipHopDX and MTV have all ranked as it as the greatest hip hop diss track by a woman.

  1. ^ "The 10 Best Sister Nancy "Bam Bam" Samples". OkayPlayer. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Gregoriadis, Linus (September 11, 1999). "MTV video awards Grammy winner Lauryn Hill dominates". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  4. ^ 1999 MTV Video Music Awards (1999) – IMDb, retrieved July 2, 2022
  5. ^ "The 50 Best Rap Songs by Women". Complex. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  6. ^ "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. June 2, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2021.