Songs That Sampled Ex Factor:
Despite the hurt and trauma of the failing relationship, Lauryn Hill still holds onto hope. She speaks of how their love was ‘an evergreen’, how it stays with her despite the heartbreak. It speaks to the idea of how love is not always simple but rather complex and multifaceted. The song highlights how difficult it can be to navigate this complexity and how it can lead to heartache.
Of course, all of us singles are jealous of the PDA and the immaculate taste. While we love ‘Miracles In December’ ‘ a cut from the same release ‘ this comes in a close second to the best song on the mini-album. By any means, ‘Love, Love, Love’ is not a skippable song, but we’ve seen EXO perfect this particular genre in exciting, innovative ways enough times to know that ‘Love, Love, Love’ wasn’t the best it could get. ‘It’s a look when I’m hoppin’ out the B / Red wig hangin’ down to my knees / It’s your birthday, but they talking ’bout me / Why you mad?
She witnessed many individuals struggle with the pain of a failed relationship and wanted to capture that raw emotion in a song. Upon its release, “Ex-Factor” received widespread critical acclaim.[3] The song peaked at number 21 on the click here for info US Billboard Hot 100 and at number seven on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Internationally, it peaked within the top five in Iceland and the United Kingdom. The second single off Ms. Hill’s classic album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
A special mention, however, to those who could not make the list, namely their Japanese tracks ‘Electric Kiss’ and ‘Loving You Mo”. Since the release of her Grammy-winning 2018 album Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B has come out with a number of singles each marking a different moment in her career. In 2020, it was her No. 1 hit song ‘WAP’ with Megan Thee Stallion; the two would later link up again in 2023 for ‘Bongos.’ There get the facts was ‘Press’ in 2019 and the double-platinum ‘Up’ in 2021. Soul singer-songwriter Syleena Johnson played a Lauryn Hill stand-in on Kanye West’s breakout hit ‘All Falls Down,’ but it wasn’t supposed to be this way. As the story goes, Kanye and his then-manager, John Monopoly, flew down to Miami to talk to the Marley brothers’including Rohan, the father of Hill’s children’before finally getting in touch with Hill herself.
One of the most iconic songs from the album ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ is ‘Ex Factor’. The song’s deep lyrics and soulful melody make it a timeless classic loved by many to this day. The song’s message is centered around the pain and confusion felt after a failed relationship. The lyrics and melody perfectly capture the moment when one realizes that the person they love is no longer in love with them. Lauryn Hill may have mostly retreated from the public eye, but she’s never really left rap music.
Just as in ’90s rap and her own lyrics today, Cardi takes the opportunity to flex on those who wish they were her. ‘Everything you got, I had five years before / I put it on the ‘Gram learn here ‘fore it even hit the store,’ she boasts. Ms. Lauryn Hill is about to head out on a 20th anniversary tour of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the album on which ‘Ex-Factor’ appears.
With harmonies that never overpower a tempered vibe, the song creates a wonderful magic that you almost don’t want to break out of. Clean, sensual, groovy ‘ if future tracks like ‘Artificial Love’ and ‘Playboy’ made you feral, just know that it was ‘Thunder’ that set the stage for them. With ‘Thunder’, EXO tapped into their more flirtatious, perhaps dangerous sides and bowled us all over in the process. It was probably the same time Kim Jong-in realised his true power and became a menace to society. Ah, the infamous song where Kai literally fends off enemies by’ dancing at them.
While we may not have gotten a winter album from EXO in 2018, the balladic ‘Smile On My Face’ more than made up for it. As a wintery chill set in right around the time of the release, ‘Smile On My Face’ was the candlelight that got us through the cold. ‘On The Snow’ is the track that your significant other plays in the background to a compilation of your best moments.
Not only is her solo debut scripture-worthy, her group work with the Fugees was also tremendously influential. From Talib Kweli to Nicki Minaj, Ms. Hill’s peers and musical successors have paid homage in one way, shape or form. Beyond the pain and confusion, the song also speaks to the complexity of love.
“Ex-Factor” is a song 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. These charming outtakes from the Born Sinner promo run, respectively released on the two Truly Yours EPs that preceded J. Cole’s sophomore album, are some of the best-kept secrets from the popular rapper turned punching bag. The voices in the former amplify Cole’s musings, while Hill’s writing is clearly a touchstone on the latter. The song is centered around the pain and confusion felt after a failed relationship.
Once again, EXO bodied ‘ as the internet calls it now ‘ the biker concept by putting the emotion of a late-night ride into words. As you speed down an empty highway with only the wind to keep you company, ‘Bad Dream’ becomes the soundtrack and the balm to your broken heart. EXO can’t come and say good night to us in person (something that plagues us everyday), but we’ll take the next best thing. The choppy and noisy arrangement on ‘Sign’ is elevated to a higher level thanks to just the right level of distortion ‘ a perfect song to capture the confusion and fear of finding out unprecedented truths. EXO have perfected and embodied many genres over the course of their career, but ‘Lights Out’ is where they personified comfort.
The song is not about a specific person but rather a general reflection on failed relationships. It speaks to the universal pain of heartbreak and the complexity of love. If you ever wonder why ‘EX’ACT’ ‘ and its subsequent repackage ‘Lotto’ ‘ remains a crowning achievement in EXO’s discography, you need only look at tracks such as ‘She’s Dreaming’. It reminds me of a time in my life when I was deeply entangled in a toxic relationship. The lyrics spoke to me on a profound level, and I found comfort in knowing that I was not alone in my pain.
Credited as the song that launched EXO’s career into the stratosphere, ‘Growl’ still represents the best of what EXO can do. The slick, smooth choreography, the bouncy, catchy chorus, the steady pace that gives the song a delightful coherence. We’ve said this several times now, but the songs from ‘EX’ACT’ are truly EXO at top form. And leave it to the boyband to make a song about an unhealthy relationship (‘She don’t love me / That’s right, artificial love / Empty artificial love / Tell me what is the truth and what is a lie’) this groovy. The song that kicked off the EXO holiday albums trend gets a special nod for showing us that EXO could shed the powerful, arrogant personas and still create the same magic. Drake isn’t the only rap star who has recently sampled ‘Ex-Factor.’ The ’90s hit was also used in Cardi B’s ‘Be Careful,’ which is featured on her new debut album, Invasion of Privacy.
Truly, EXO ruled the summer of 2017 with this reggae-inspired track that took us on a kaleidoscopic journey through a psychedelic dreamscape ‘ this one never gets old. EXO had us going crazy on this scintillating, scorching number which came with booming, frenetic beats and a choreography to boot ‘ creeping, creeping, creeping into our hearts, if we may say so. An honorable mention also for the dance practice video for the track ‘ for a moment, we were all Xiumin stans.
That is to say that the singer is speaking as if she is actively in a relationship with the addressee, that being her significant other. And basically, what she is doing throughout is lamenting the state of their romance. More to the point, Lauryn presents herself as the victim of emotional abuse and neglect. And even though this relationship is tearing her apart, she is so much in love that she cannot turn her abusive, on-and-off partner away.