Lauryn Hill will be heading across North America for her MLH Caravan: A Diaspora Calling! Tour. But before that, she’s giving fans a taste of what’s to come as PBS aired her recent Austin City Limits performance in its entirety.
Although the songs she performed come off of fan-favorite albums, The Score and The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill , listeners will find that the tracks have all been reimagined with a live band backing the 41-year-old singer and rapper.
From Miseduation , her debut solo album, Hill brings forth tracks like “Ex Factor,” “Final Hour,” “Lost Ones and “Doo Wop.” As for The Score, Hill performs “Fu-Gee-La,” “How Many Mics,” “Ready Or Not” and “Killing Me Softly.” Hill also gives viewers an extra treat with a cover of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” as well as “Mystery of Iniquity” off of her Unplugged album.
The MLH Caravan: A Diaspora Calling! Tour kicks off on August 27 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and continues throughout the fall until it wraps up on November 13 in Phoenix, Arizona. According to a press release statement from Hill , the tour will allow her to “continue the theme of unity and celebration of the many facets of cultural and artistic beauty throughout the African diaspora.”
In the press statement, she also stated that in “these days of tension, tumult and transition, an exchange of this kind can yield direction, expression, understanding and empowerment as well as connection, self Love and appreciation that hopefully overflows into our respective communities.”
. @MsLaurynHill performed at ‘Austin City Limits” & announced 17 upcoming tour dates!: https://t.co/cVMKNDgtc0 pic.twitter.com/8Oz8NyGUd1
— SAINT HERON (@SaintHeron) August 5, 2016
But while many fans are celebrating a chance to see Hill onstage, others are still disgruntled from the many times the singer appeared late or as a no-show to her recent past performances.
The “Waiting For Godot” tour went on sale today, and since I love Lauryn Hill so much, I risked it all and copped a ticket
— D.A.I.S.Y. Age Feminist (@FeministaJones) August 4, 2016
https://twitter.com/MorganJerkins/status/761182288117899264
After receiving criticism and gaining resentment from fans over the years, Hill released a statement on her tardiness .
“I don’t show up late to shows because I don’t care,” she said. “And I have nothing but Love and respect for my fans. The challenge is aligning my energy with the time, taking something that isn’t easily classified or contained, and trying to make it available for others. I don’t have an on/off switch. I am at my best when I am open, rested, sensitive and liberated to express myself as truthfully as possible. For every performance that I’ve arrived to late, there have been countless others where I’ve performed in excess of two hours, beyond what I am contracted to do, pouring everything out on the stage.”
Later on in the statement, she went on to explain that she only wants to put her best foot forward when she’s performing for her fans. “Because I care so deeply about the artistic process, I scrutinize, have perfectionist tendencies, and want space made for spontaneity, which is not an easy process, with the many moving parts on the road,” it read. “Some days we are more successful than others re time. However, the vitality that is infused into the performances is always appreciated by the audiences, who may not know exactly what it took to accomplish. What hasn’t been touched upon by the media, I’m sure, are the hundreds of people who rushed the stage and stayed in excess of an hour after the show ended last night, just to connect.”
Hill became a force in hip-hop in the early 1990s when she was a part of The Fugees, a trio with Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel. Together, the group dropped and the Grammy Award-winning album, The Score . But soon afterwards, they disbanded. But it wasn’t long until Hill climbed back to the top of the charts. In 1998, she released the highly-celebrated album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill .
See Lauryn Hill’s upcoming tour dates here .
[Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images]
