Lauryn Hill plays surprise performance at her school reunion
The Fugees rapper performed tracks including ‘Ex-Factor’ and ‘Ready or Not’ at her former high school in New Jersey
Lauryn Hill surprised her high school reunion earlier this month with an impromptu live performance, just after cancelling an 18-date Fugees tour.
The GRAMMY Award-winning artist took to the mic at Columbia High School in New Jersey, performing classics including ‘Ex-Factor’, ‘Doo Wop (That Thing)’, ‘Lost Ones’ and Fugees’ ‘Ready or Not’.
According to Billboard, her performance of ‘Ready or Not’ saw Hill switch up the lyrics with a nod to her old campus, singing: “CHS taking over / Buffalo soldier / Dreadlock Rasta”.
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Former classmates of Hill have shared clips from the special performance on social media. One shared on Instagram: “People travelled from out of state to love up on their village. It was simply amazing. Still speechless from Lauryn Hill giving us an impromptu performance. This reunion was SO good for the soul.”
Videos of her surprise performance circulated online around a week after the Fugees cancelled their reunion tour across North America just three days before it was due to kick off in Tampa, Florida.
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In a statement posted on Instagram on August 7, Hill said that "sensationalism and clickbait headlines" were the reason for low ticket sales.
The 18-date tour, named the Miseducation Anniversary Tour, was also said to be a 25th-anniversary celebration of the rapper's famed 1998 record 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'. As it stands, the Fugees’ UK and European shows are still planned to go ahead.
Watch clips from Lauryn Hill’s high school reunion performance below.
Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Multimedia Editor, follow her on Twitter