The hip-hop icon, who’s gotten a reputation for being late to her concerts, addressed fans’ criticism during her Saturday concert at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.
“You’re saying, ‘She’s late. She’s late a lot.’ Yo, y’all lucky I make it on this…stage every night,” Hill said, according to footage obtained by Complex Music. “I don’t do it because they let me do it. 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.”
The Grammy-winning singer, who is currently on tour in support of the 25th anniversary of her debut album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” went on to discuss the resilience she found in touring the multiplatinum album following its 1998 release.
“The album sold so many records, and no one showed up and said, ‘Hey, would you like to make another one?’ So, I went around the world and I played the same album over and over and over and over again,” Hill said. “Because we’re the survivors, and we’re not just the survivors: We’re the thrivers.”
Hill’s onstage speech follows a period of vocal rest for the singer, who was forced to postpone her Oct. 23 concert in Philadelphia to avoid “any more serious strain or damage” to her vocal cords. The show was rescheduled to Nov. 25.
“Dear Philadelphia, it is with disappointment that I am writing this note to you. On the advice of my physicians, I have no choice but to postpone the show,” Hill wrote on Instagram at the time. “I look forward to giving you the show you deserve with a fully recovered and healthy voice.”
In addition to celebrating the legacy of “Miseducation,” Hill’s anniversary tour is a co-headlining trek with the singer’s band the Fugees. The tour’s next stop is in Oakland, California, on Tuesday, according to Hill’s official website.
Hill’s tour along with Fugees bandmates Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel comes two years after the group’s highly anticipated 25th-anniversary tour of their Grammy-winning sophomore album “The Score” was delayed and ultimately canceled after one show in New York City’s Pier 17 for Global Citizen Live.
Hill has been on a festival loop, including recent shows at Global Citizen Festival and Promiseland Festival. In August, she surprised fans at the Hip Hop 50 Live concert at Yankee Stadium with a cameo during Nas’ set.
Lauryn Hill:Singer postpones Philadelphia tour stop to avoid ‘serious strain’ on vocal cords
‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’:Lauryn Hill announces 25th anniversary tour of debut solo album, Fugees to co-headline
