Lauryn Hill – ‘Everything Is Everything': Throwback Video of the Day

Lauryn Hill turned a street vernacular into a karmic mantra with her special effects-driven video for "Everything Is Everything" from her 1998 debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. For today's rap generation, "everything is everything" is akin to saying "it is what it is."

Directed by Sanji Senaka along with additional visual effects by Method Studios, the clip features L-Boogie walking through the busy streets of New York City, which is depicted as a huge vinyl record spinning on the axis of a turntable. Throughout the visual, Ms. Hill is observing the lives of everyday people, as she details the struggles of the youth in the inner-city. "I wrote these words for everyone who struggles in their youth / Who won't accept deception, in instead of what is truth," she raps.

In one scene, Hill says, "It seems we lose the game / Before we even start to play / Who made these rules? / We're so confused," as to suggest that a a level playing field is not often given to black people. A hand of a black DJ is also featured and spins the city back and forth to shake people up from their daily lives.

Elsewhere, Hill is running through the city as people pass her by without a care in the world. This would be similar to people today glued to their smartphones and not paying attention to their surroundings.

Watch Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything" Video

Hill then urges people to "love ourselves and we can't fail" and to pass it on to others. The veteran singer-rapper believes whatever you give to life, it gives back, but don't hate because someday it will come back to you.

"Karma is real. Everything happens for a reason," Hill told Paper magazine back in June. "I definitely believe that if you go around stepping on toes, those who show no compassion will be shown no compassion. I know that to be true as a matter a fact. Consequence is no coincidence."

At the end of the video, Hill is dancing on the spinning record, which reveals her name on the label as she sings "La, La, La, La, La," which is the catchiest part of the song and one of the most used refrains in pop music.

"Everything Is Everything" became one of the biggest songs from her beloved album, peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In 2000, the visual was nominated for Best Music Video/Short Film at the 42nd annual Grammy Awards, but lost to rock band Korn. In 2011, legendary soul band Booker T. & the M.G.'s (with assistance from The Roots) delivered a Hammond B3 organ-led cover of "Everything Is Everything" for their album, The Road from Memphis.