Lauryn Hill in Concert: Fans Wait Until the Final Hour
Nearly 16 years since Lauryn Hill released her solo debut and arguably one of the most praised albums in hip-hop, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, her performance at the Warfield in San Francisco held a packed house of music heads and rap enthusiasts. As fans stood in line, they were excited to see the star as many hadn’t seen her perform live, while others had waited years for her to grace the stage again in the Bay Area. One hopeful fan with a cardboard sign made strides down the line with the intention of snagging an extra ticket to the show. Luckily for him, he came across a group of girls who had another ticket handy and freely gave it to him to enjoy the performance with the rest of the fans.
Opening the show was Daniel Bambaata Marley, grandson of the reggae legend Bob Marley. He performed a few of his original songs to build the crowd momentum with his Caribbean and hip-hop flair. He told the audience, “We’re going to take you to my island of Jamaica,” which preceded his rendition of the Damien Marley hit, “Welcome to Jamrock.” The audience jammed out with Marley and his hip band as they sang the famous verse in unison, “Out in the streets, they call it merther!”
As Marley’s set came to an end, Lauryn Hill’s band soon set up their equipment as the crowd stayed enticed with the DJ spinning some classic songs. However, fans got a little restless as time progressed on and the audience morale decreased. The Warfield is a venue with a standing room-only floor on the lower level, and since the fans were stuck listening to the DJ for a prolonged period of time, many of them eventually sat on the floor. The crowd cheered Hill’s name, hoping the anticipation would bring Hill out sooner and build the momentum back up, but fans were outraged with the 90-minute wait after the opening act.
Once Hill and her band graced the stage, every fan stood up and couldn’t wait to sing along to her classic hits. Throughout her set, she constantly directed her band, which gave the audience the impression of the band being unorganized and unrehearsed. However, that didn’t keep the fans from hanging on to her every word as she sang classics from her days with The Fugees like “Killing Me Softly” and “Ready or Not.” She also sang some of her Miseducation hits such as “Everything is Everything,” “To Zion,” “Ex-Factor,” and “Final Hour.” Many of the songs she performed were altered with more of a reggae tone.
The show transitioned into a poetic vibe as she played the acoustic guitar to a few of her Unplugged hits such as “Mr. Intentional” and “Oh Jerusalem.” After her acoustic set, she told the audience, “I want to sing a song I wrote for Mary J. Blige,” before proceeding into MJB’s hit single, “All That I Can Say.”
The last song of the night was her famous hit “Doo Wop (That Thing),” in which the whole audience rocked out and gave Hill a standing ovation. Although fans were pleased with her performance, many weren’t too impressed with Hill’s tardiness. Fans will still support her music, but it’s questionable whether or not these fans will actually want to attend another one of her live performances.
