Lauryn Hill Defends Late Arrivals Amid Impassioned Message At LA Show
Lauryn Hill had a defiant message for her audience during her recent show in Los Angeles. Despite her reputation for tardiness, the iconic hip-hop artist known for her late arrivals at concerts, addressed the crowd, reminding them of the unique journey that brought her to the stage.
“Y’all are saying, ‘She’s late. She’s late a lot.’ Well, let me tell you, you’re lucky I make it on this stage every night,” the 49-year-old artist declared.
In a stirring speech that had the crowd cheering, Layryn continued, “I don’t do it because they let me do it. I do it because I stand here in the name of God and I do it. God is the one who allows me to do it, who surrounded me with family and community when there was no support.”
Lauryn went on to reflect on her career, particularly after the release of her legendary 1998 album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, her only solo album. “When the album sold so many records, and no one showed up and said, ‘Hey, would you like to make another one?’ So I went around the world, and I played the same album over and over and over again,” she stated, adding, “Because we’re the survivors, and we’re not just survivors, we’re the thrivers.”
Her passionate speech came after being late for her Saturday concert, as reported by Billboard. The moment was captured by an attendee and shared on social media.
Currently on her The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 25th-anniversary tour with the Fugees, Lauryn has faced challenges along the way. Last month, she had to postpone a show in Philadelphia on the advice of her physicians to rest her voice.
In a heartfelt Instagram post, she expressed her disappointment but also her gratitude for the tour’s start. She assured her fans, “I look forward to giving you the show you deserve with a fully recovered and healthy voice.”
Reflecting on her tour and the impact of her Grammy-winning album, she shared, “I loved music, I loved people, I truly felt grateful to God for my life, and genuinely blessed to have a platform where I could share wisdom and perspective through music.”
Lauryn’s debut studio album, released in August 1998, sold 12 million copies, but fans never received another solo studio album from her. She recently revealed the reasons behind this hiatus, citing dissatisfaction with the music industry and the toll it took on her and her family.
“The warp speed I had to move at in order to defy the norm put me and my family under hyper-accelerated, hyper-tense, and unfortunately an underappreciated pace,” Hill explained. “I sacrificed the quality of my life to help people experience something that should have been unreachable before then.”
In the face of challenges and lack of support, Lauryn made the difficult decision to step back from the industry and prioritize her well-being and that of her loved ones.
