Ms. Lauryn Hill’s lateness is always the topic of conversation after every show and it seems as if the artist is getting tired of the complaints.
Last month Hill kicked off The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill 25th Anniversary Tour and sadly the conversation surrounded her history of lateness has continued during this tour.
On Saturday November 4th during her tour’s first night stop in Los Angeles, California, Lauryn addressed her lateness.
Joined by her children and her mom she said:
“They say, ‘Oh, she’s late’ and ‘She’s late tonight,’” Hill told the crowd. “Yo, y’all are lucky I make it to this bloodclot stage every night. I leave my soul on this stage. And I don’t do it because they let me do it. I do it because I stand her in the name of God. And I know it. God is who allows me to do it. He 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… We’re survivors. Not just survivors, we’re thrivers.”
Watch:
Lauryn Hill addresses criticism for constantly showing up late to her concerts:
“Yo, y’all lucky I make it on this stage every night”
— Pop Base (@PopBase) November 5, 2023
She did draw some crowd support but online people think she should not be making any excuses for her lateness and she should be respectful of people’s time.
The lack of accountability and the religious deflection is crazy….here’s some fun little tea, did you know she has to have like 20 mirrors in her green room and no other woman can be on staff when she plays a venue
— CosmicRanger (@CosmicRanger006) November 5, 2023
and
If you speak with conviction while referencing God/Christianity, black folks will believe anything you say.
All I heard in that "speech" was excuses and avoidance of accountability.
Lauryn Hill is always LATE because she doesn't respect her fans.
Plain & simple. https://t.co/jdEkOdGX3J— Rashad (@His_Majesty13) November 5, 2023
and
I don’t know what’s crazier.. Lauryn Hill getting up there trying to rationalize why she’s late and pretty much gaslighting or people continuing to buy her tickets expecting her to be on time when she routinely isn’t lol
— Chris Cooper (@PirateCoop) November 6, 2023
and
I was a victim of a Lauryn Hill late concert performance and it sucked. I will never pay to see her again. So sad, but the entitlement is crazy by an artist with one solo album at the end of the day.
— Zach Ramey (@ZTheZShow) November 6, 2023
and
Lauryn Hill should just name her tour "I Might Be Late & The Songs Won't Sound The Same" so we can skip this phase where everyone pretends they didn't know what it was when they bought the ticket.
— Game 6 Klay? (@Sportaphile) November 6, 2023
and
Lauryn Hill, who released one (1) solo album 25 years ago, is still able to sell concert tickets. Concerts which have a years-long reputation for starting an hour or more late.
And she thinks, in this situation, the *the audience* is lucky that *she* shows up. Unhinged. https://t.co/Ss94wKUzhW
— J Bish (@singforfood) November 6, 2023
Lauryn has addressed her lateness before.
In 2016 on a lengthy FB post she wrote:
I don’t show up late to shows because I don’t care. 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.
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. 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.
Our challenge is to figure out the best way to accommodate the vitality, spontaneity, and spirit that make the performances worthwhile and special to begin with, while also making that experience available and accessible to others.
If I didn’t Love and respect the art, I wouldn’t be doing this. The audience and I should have that in common.
My true audience knows emphatically that I care. It isn’t possible to affect people in any deep and meaningful way without putting sacrificial time in.
I have nothing but Love and appreciation for the fans in Atlanta, and regret not being able to give you a full show.
We are figuring out a plan to make it up to you, and will announce details as soon as we have them.
Respectfully,
MLH
At this point we all have to simply prepare to attend a Lauryn Hill show with the expectation of possible lateness or just not go.
