Lauryn Hill says fans are ‘lucky’ that she made it to Saturday show

Hill achieved solo success in 1998 with her debut and only studio album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," featuring hit songs such as "Ex-Factor and "Doo Wop (That Thing)."

Lauryn Hill had some things to get off her chest, addressing her apparent disregard for time when she finally hit the stage during a concert in Los Angeles over the weekend.

Complex reported that Hill, who is on tour in honor of the 25th anniversary of her debut album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” started by telling fans at Inglewood’s Kia Forum they’re “lucky” she makes it on stage at all.

“I don’t do it because they let me do it,” Hill added. “I do it because I stand here in the name of God, and I do it. God is the one who allows me to do it, who surrounded me with family and community when there was no support.”

Glastonbury Festival 2019 - Day Three
Lauryn Hill, currently on tour in honor of her hit album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” told fans at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, that they’re lucky she shows up to perform, even if she is always late. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

In 2020, Hill hopped on her Facebook page to explain that her lateness wasn’t due to not caring for her fans, as she has nothing but love and respect for them.

“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,” she said at the time. “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.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, Fugees bandmates Wyclef Jean and Pras joined Hill for her two-day takeover at the Kia Forum.

Hill, the Fugees’ frontwoman, succeeded solo with 1998’s “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” featuring hit songs such as “Ex-Factor,” “Doo Wop (That Thing),” and her rendition of the Four Seasons’ “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.”

During her six-minute speech on Saturday, Hill said she had no industry backing following the economic success of “Miseducation,” which earned her five Grammy Awards and became her only solo studio album.

“When the album sold so many records, and no one showed up and said, ‘Hey, would you like to make another one?'” Hill said, Complex reported. “So I went around the world, and I played the same album over and over and over and over again. Because we are survivors, and we’re not just survivors, we’re thrivers.”

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