"Everything Is Everything" is a song recorded by American recording artist

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

for her debut solo studio album ''

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' is the debut solo album by American singer and rapper Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 25, 1998, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' is a neo soul and R&B album ...

'' (1998). It was written by Hill and Johari Newton, and produced by Hill. During the recording sessions, Hill wanted to write about injustice and struggles amongst youth communities in

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

areas of the United States. The song contains R&B, 1960s

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

, and hip hop influences. It marked the first commercial appearance of singer and pianist

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

, who was 19 years old when he played the piano on the song. The song was released as the third and final single from ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' on May 3, 1999, by

Ruffhouse Records Ruffhouse Records is an American record label founded in 1989 by Chris Schwartz and Joe Nicolo as a joint venture with Columbia Records. In 1999, Schwartz and Nicolo closed the label, and Schwartz and Kevon Glickman continued with RuffNation ...

and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. "Everything Is Everything" garnered acclaim from critics, many of whom praised its lyrical themes and genre variance. The song was a top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at number 35 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and has been certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). Internationally, it reached the top 20 in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The song was nominated for a

Soul Train Lady of Soul Award The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of '' Soul Train'', the ...

; it also received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination for

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards ...

, however it was revoked due to being released in the previous eligibility period. The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Everything Is Everything" was directed by Sanji, and filmed in the

Method Studios Method Studios is a visual effects company launched in 1999 in Los Angeles, California with facilities in New York, Atlanta, Vancouver, San Francisco, Melbourne, Montreal, and Pune. The company provides production and post-production services i ...

in Los Angeles. It depicted Hill walking throughout New York City. The video received three

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

nominations, including Best Hip Hop Video. At the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards (2000), it was nominated for

Best Short Form Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. Hon ...

. In 2010, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' listed it as one of the "Top 50 Music Videos of the 1990s". The song was covered by

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

and

Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...

for the latter's album ''

The Road from Memphis ''The Road from Memphis'' is the ninth studio album by Booker T. Jones, released in May 2011 through the record label ANTI. On the album, Booker T. is backed by hip–hop band the Roots. The album reached a peak position of number 85 on the ''Bill ...

'' (2011).

Critical reception

"Everything Is Everything" received widespread critical acclaim, both upon its release and retrospectively. In 2008,

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

ranked it at number 66 on their "100 Greatest Rap Songs" list. In 2018, ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' ranked the song at number two on their list of the 20 greatest Lauryn Hill songs, and in 2022, ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' ranked the song at number four on their list of the ten greatest Lauryn Hill songs.

Commercial performance

"Everything Is Everything" reached number 35 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, spending 18 weeks on the chart. It peaked at number 14 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

, spending 24 weeks on the chart. The song also peaked at number 18 on the

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

, where it charted for 14 weeks. Internationally, it peaked at number 20 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, also reaching the top 20 in New Zealand, where it peaked at number 15. A month after its release as a single, the song was certified

by the

(RIAA), denoting shipments of 500,000 units in the United States.

Music video

The accompanying

for "Everything Is Everything" was directed by Sanji. The video depicted Hill on the streets of New York City, which is seen as a huge vinyl record on a turntable spinning around playing the music. She runs down the street in various scenes and stages sidestepping the turntable needle as it scratches back and forth through the city until the end; Hill stands on the spinning record appearing in her name on the label. The video made its television debut on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

and VH1 during the week ending June 20, 1999. The following week, the video debuted on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and The Box. Critically acclaimed, it was nominated for

at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards (2000). The same year, it also received a

nomination and three

nominations– Best Hip-Hop Video, Best Direction, and Best Special Effects.

Track listings and formats

; UK CD1 single # "Everything Is Everything" (radio edit) – 3:56 # "

Ex-Factor "Ex-Factor" is a song recorded by American recording artist Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' (1998). Written and produced by Hill herself, it incorporates elements of R&B, neo soul and hip hop soul ...

" (live on

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

) – 6:51 # "Everything Is Everything" (instrumental) – 4:57 ; UK CD2 single # "Everything Is Everything" (album version) – 4:57 # " Lost Ones" (live on Radio 1) – 5:13 # "Tell Him" (live on Radio 1) – 4:40 ; US maxi CD single # "Everything Is Everything" (radio edit) – 3:56 # "Everything Is Everything" (album version) – 4:57 # "Everything Is Everything" (instrumental) – 4:57 # "Ex-Factor" (A Simple Mix) – 4:37 # "Ex-Factor" (A Simple Breakdown) – 4:10

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''

''. *

– vocals, production, songwriting * Johari Newton – songwriting * John Stephens – piano

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Everything Is Everything (Lauryn Hill Song) Audio sample to be checked Lauryn Hill songs Songs written by Lauryn Hill 1999 singles Music videos directed by Sanji Song recordings produced by Lauryn Hill