Very few artists have made an impact like Ms. Lauryn Hill, and even fewer have done it with only so much music out in the world. 25 years ago Hill released her iconic solo record The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and last night (October 17), she kicked off her celebratory tour. Hill took over her home state of New Jersey for the first stop of her sole album’s 25th anniversary at the Prudential Center in Newark. In what is promising to be a must-see show for true hip-hop heads, Hill is splitting her time on stage and welcoming her fellow Fugees members for a co-headlining tour for the ages. The Fugees reemerged for the first time in 15 years back in 2021, now they will be joining Hill on every stop of the North American leg of this tour.
Hill kicked things off with a 12-song solo setlist that was brimming with classics and special surprises. She kicked things off with the classic “Everything is Everything” before sliding into “When It Hurts So Bad” in front of her hometown crowd. She performed Miseducation classics like “Lost Ones” and “Ex-Factor” while also pulling out cuts like the D’Angelo-assisted “Nothing Even Matters”. Hill also covered the classic “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” from Frankie Valli before diving right back into her only solo release. She wrapped things off with the hit “Doo Wop (That Thing” before launching into the Fugees portion of the night.
The chemistry between Hill and her fellow Fugees members seemed untouched by time. The trio immediately launched into fan favorites like “How Many Mics”, “Vocab”, and “Zealots”. They also made sure to include both classic covers from their The Score LP with performances of Hill’s take on “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and Wyclef Jean’s “No Woman, No Cry”. The trio also reached back to their underappreciated 1994 debut with performances of “Nappy Heads” and the aforementioned “Vocab”. They wrapped things up with tracks like “Ready or Not” and “Fu-Gee-La”.
With night one of their North American tour down, Hill and Fugees have seemingly put together an unforgettable night of iconic hip-hop. The tour will have the trio hitting cities like Philadelphia, Denver, and Fort Worth. You can check out the full list of dates, full setlist, and footage from Fugees’ homecoming show below.
10/19 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
10/21 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
10/23 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Arena
10/26 – Toronto, ON – Scotia
10/28 – Chicago, IL – United Center
10/30 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
11/02 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
2 Responses
Hi Ryan – approximately what time did Lauren Hill take the stage last night?
She might have started late but she played for 2.5 hours. With a live band no lip singing. If you want to go see a robot artist lip sing there’s a million of those.