Which Lauryn Hill song was the first solo release by a female rapper to top the Billboard Hot 100?

Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” was the first solo release by a female rapper to top the Billboard Hot 100.

The single debuted at No. 1 in November 1998 and served as the lead release from Hill’s acclaimed album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Hill wrote, produced, and performed the track, which combines a 1960s-style doo-wop vocal approach with hip-hop verses and a warning about unhealthy relationships and exploitation.

Its chart result was historic in two ways: it was the first No. 1 single for Hill as a solo artist, and it was the first single by a female rapper to enter the Hot 100 at No. 1. The song’s success followed Hill’s work with the Fugees but established her independent identity.

The distinction “solo release” matters. Female rappers had already appeared on successful collaborative records, but Hill’s achievement concerned a record credited to her as the principal solo artist.