Lauryn Hill delivered a message to those who perpetually call her out on her tardiness for live performances. A clip of the songstress onstage at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Saturday (Nov. 4) has begun to circulate online. In it, Hill directly addresses the punctuality police.
“They say, ‘Oh, she’s late’ and ‘She’s late tonight.’ Yo, y’all lucky I make it on this … stage every night,” exclaimed the musician. As she stood surrounded by her band, her children, and her mother holding her hand, she continued, “I leave my soul on this stage. And I don’t do it because they let me. I do it because I stand here in the name of God. And I know it. God is the one who allows me to do it, who surrounded me with family and community when there was no support when the album sold so many records and no one showed up and said, ‘Hey, would you like to make another one?’”
Hill released her only solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, in 1998. She made history with the album twice — in 1999 when she became the first female artist to win five Grammys in one night, including the first Album of The Year award for a hip hop project, and again in 2021, when she became the first female rapper to earn a diamond album with the project. Throughout the years, she has made guest appearances on a few select projects, such as Nas’ King’s Disease 2 and the soundtrack for Queen & Slim. Still, for more than two decades, she has sold out arenas with her only solo project.
“I went around the world and I played the same album over and over and over and over and over and over again. Because we’re the survivors, and we’re not just the survivors; we’re the thrivers,” said Hill in the clip. She is currently on tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of the LP. To concertgoers’ delight, the multi-city trek has also served as a reunion for The Fugees, as she, Wyclef Jean, and Pras Michael have performed an hourlong set of their iconic album, The Score.