Lauryn Hill plays surprise show for her high school reunion after tour cancellation

Lauryn Hill has performed a short surprise set at her high school reunion party after the recent cancellation of her North American tour with the Fugees – see clips of the performance below.

• READ MORE: Why ‘The Score’ is one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever

Videos have begun surfacing on social media that show Hill attending her Columbia High School reunion part earlier this month, after axing her North American tour with the Fugees due to low ticket sales just three days before the trek was meant to kick off.

In the videos – which you can watch below – Hill is seen performing songs such as ‘Ex-Factor’, ‘Doo Wop (That Thing)’, ‘Lost Ones’ and her hit with the Fugees, ‘Ready Or Not’. It is currently unclear how many songs she performed in total for the reunion celebration.

Captions on some of the videos that have been shared include “When you classmate and friend is a LEGEND!!” and “We were blessed with a mini impromptu concert and it was lit!! My high school is the truth!”

@c.c.b112

My 30 Year HS Reunion turned into a full Lauryn Hill concert!! AH-MAZING! We has a TIME #laurynhill #columbia #30years #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp

♬ original sound – Crystal C Benjamin

@donnastewartshe

#laurynhill we were blessed with a mini impromptu concert and it was lit!! My high school is the truth! #columbiahighschool #mlkclub #chsmlk

♬ original sound – Donna Stewart Schiele

@donnastewartshe

#laurynhill #highschoolreunion This was epic! Impromptu concert!!

♬ original sound – Donna Stewart Schiele

The videos were posted on August 15, about a week after it was first announced that the US leg of the tour had been quietly cancelled. On August 8, Hill released a statement online confirming the cancellation, saying that a part of the cancellation was due to “some media outlet’s penchant for sensationalism and clickbait headlines” that led to low sales.

This latest Fugees tour cancellation comes after a run of dates of shows dedicated to ‘Miseducation’ were axed last November, when Hill cited a “serious vocal strain for the past month”. She has since returned to performing with a handful of shows across February, March and April of this year including a slot at Coachella.

Lauryn Hill has since confirmed that the UK and Europe leg of the tour will remain intact. All European tour dates are still on sale via the Live Nation website. You can get tickets to the UK and Ireland gigs here.

Lauryn Hill and The Fugees’ current UK and Europe tour dates are:

OCTOBER
7 – Dublin, Ireland,  3Arena 
9 – Cardiff, UK,  Utilita Arena 
12 – Manchester, UK,  Co-op Live 
14 – London, UK, The O2 
16 – Cologne, Germany, Lanxess Arena 
18 – Paris, France, Accor Arena 
19 – Paris, France, Accor Arena 
22 – Amsterdam, Netherlands, Ziggo Dome 
23 – Antwerp, Belgium, Sportpaleis 
26 – Stockholm, Sweden, Tele2 Arena 
30 – Berlin, Germany, Uber Arena 

NOVEMBER
1 – Hamburg, Germany, Barclays Arena

Following the US tour being axed, Pras Michel of the Fugees went on to share a track which appeared to contain a diss about the vocalist. He later explained that the diss stemmed from the frustrations he felt on behalf of the fans, and her numerous cases of showing up to concerts late or cancelling them entirely: “Everyone’s frustration has been building up. This is not something that just happened overnight. My frustration was for the fans. They are paying their hard-earned money to see you.”

“I’ve never seen this kind of fan reaction toward Lauryn Hill. There is a rejection — ‘We help to pay your bill. Just like we should be happy you came, you should be happy we coming’,” he continued.

The post Lauryn Hill plays surprise show for her high school reunion after tour cancellation appeared first on NME.