Hey Lauryn, remember UM Homecoming 2010?
Two words for Ms. Lauryn Hill: “Girl, bye.”
The songstress who catapulted to fame in the ’90s with her soulful vocal prowess and hard-hitting rap lyrics has fallen and can’t get up. But that’s mostly her fault.
Her latest disaster was sloppily packaged as a late arrival to a show in Pittsburgh Tuesday. But her presence is a gift, right? Wrong. Hill was more than three hours late.
First things first: I didn’t know people still paid for her concerts.
Secondly, (but related) I remember her performing at our University of Miami homecoming in 2010 and she was late then, too.
It was a chilly night by Miami standards and we were expecting some nostalgic tribute to the Lauryn of our childhoods. We didn’t pay for the concert, but we figured our hefty tuitions were lining Ms. Hills pockets, so we gathered en masse on the Patio (before it was all fancy) and waited… and waited…
and waited.
As I recall, we even endured the DJ calling us “Miami University” several times, before Hill’s arrival.
Except the woman who appeared on stage only looked (a little) like Lauryn Hill. Every time she opened her mouth it was a real struggle trying to decode the performance and identify the song she was trying to sing.
But at least this time she was apologetic. Seven years ago, she only had some cracked up vocals to offer.
On Wednesday Miss “Doo-Wop” scrapped together an apology on Facebook, saying in part that “there were factors out of our control,” and vowing to reschedule a performance for whatever few fans she has left.
Power to the people who still have faith in her. But tardiness is no new development for Ms. Lauryn Hill.
- She was four hours late to a 2010 performance in Brooklyn (and reportedly badgered her audience, saying she was “worth the wait”).
- She was getting a manicure and pedicure, which made her three hours late to the 2010 Rock the Bells Festival in Maryland.
- She was late to the Montreal International Jazz Festival in 2011.
- She was an hour and a half late to a show at O2 Brixton Academy in London in 2014.
- And late again to a 2014 performance in Melbourne, Australia.
- She was even supposed to appear in a surprise performance with the Weeknd for the 2016 Grammys, but was (of course) late.
- Atlanta, May 2016? Late.
- Tampa, December 2016? You guessed it. Late.
After being showered with criticism, Hill took to Facebook, somewhat acknowledging her serial lateness, but she blamed it on maladjusted energy:
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.
One tweet, by @pjhoody, put it best.
“Yo you going to that Lauryn Hill concert tonight?”
Lauryn Hill: “nah you?”
— pj (@pjhoody) February 1, 2017
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This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 7:02 AM with the headline "Hey Lauryn, remember UM Homecoming 2010?."