Photo by Mark Elzey
Last night, Lauryn Hill returned to her home city with a sold-out performance at Newark, N.J.’s Prudential Center. The stop, part of the 25th anniversary of her iconic and only solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which has sold over 20 million copies since its release and won the artist five Grammys.
The performance marked the start of her tour with Fugees, and at the start of the show, she shared that last year, Fugees had planned to celebrate the 25th-anniversary of The Score, and as such, they’ll celebrate their albums together this year.
The performance began with Hill on her own, showing the raw talent sewn throughout the album with “Everything Is Everything.” Following the opening track, the live band swapped beats, mixing “Superstar” with “Flipside” by Freeway, Beanie Sigel, and Peedi Crakk. Other highlights included “Nothing Even Matters,” “Doo Wop (That Thing),” and “You’re Just To Be Good To Be True.”
In a deeply tender moment, she sang “To Zion,” a song about her son, which featured backing visuals of her young and happy young man. She continued to sing about her resolve to have a child despite others advising her it would hurt her career and stood by her decision triumphantly in front of the sea of people.
Keeping the importance of family as a theme throughout the show, toward the middle of the set, she thanked her parents for encouraging her art and giving her a stable environment. To further her love for the community, she also welcomed two high schoolers playing with her live band, one from Columbia High School and another from Essex & Union County High School.
After the celebration of life and community, she welcomed Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel on stage to showcase the beloved songs found on The Score. After opening renditions of “Vocab,” “How Many Mics,” and “Zealots,” Fugees were supported by special guests John Forte on “Family Business” and later Outsidaz, who went particularly hard on “Cowboys.” The energy peaked once again as Fugees began to play their hits with “Killing Me Softly,” “Ready or Not” and “Fugee-La” which brought the show to a close.
Hills’ The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 25th Anniversary Tour will hit the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, N.Y., tomorrow, Oct. 19. Learn more about upcoming performances from the artist here.
Ms. Lauryn Hill
Newark, N.J. – Prudential Center
Oct. 17, 2023
Set: Everything Is Everything, Superstar, When It Hurts So Bad, Final Hour, Lost Ones, Ex-Factor, To Zion, Nothing Even Matters, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You (Frankie Valli cover), I Used to Love Him, Forgive Them Father, Tell Him, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Doo Wop (That Thing)
Fugees
Set: Vocab, How Many Mics, Zealots, Family Business (with John Forté), The Mask, The Score, Cowboys (with Outsidaz), Nappy Heads, No Woman, No Cry (Bob Marley & The Wailers cover), Killing Me Softly With His Song, (Lori Lieberman cover), Ready or Not, Fu-Gee-La