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Lauryn Hill One Music Festival Victoria Ford

Lauryn Hill‘s latest exercise in tardiness was the straw that broke the camel’s back as fans took to social media to express their frustration with the singer following a show in Atlanta on Friday night. The barrage of public complaints were the byproduct of Hill’s lateness, which left ticket holders on their feet for over two hours with nothing to show for their pain and suffering after her set, which began finally at 10:30 PM, was cut short at the 30-minute mark by the Chastain Park Ampitheatre. The ex-Fugee and breakout soul star’s serial tardiness has been the subject of heated debates post-Miseducation to the present. A recent Facebook post finds Questlove siding with fans angered by Lauryn Hill’s inability to show on time. In a response that puts mutual friendships, degrees of separation and past collaborations aside, Questo claps back with a lesson in what not to do for Hill and anyone else aspiring to pop culture star status.

There is this glorious fantasy going on in our heads. It’s like a movie and you imagine folks cheering your name like the end of Purple Rain (“Lauryn!! Lauryn!! Lauryn!!!!!!!”) and movies make you feel like “that’s how life should be” (this should also apply to the “can I audition for you on the spot? And you just clap your hands and make me a star right quick?” crew: what you see on movies ain’t real. Entourage is not REAL)

So with this in mind you HAVE to think like a businessman in order to please the fan (the aforementioned alias celebs here call me “Suit” like Billy from Entourage as if “I’ve lost touch with the people”)

Hardly.

Every aspect from walk in music (Mike D told me to DJ before the shows to engage fans—boring walk in music makes em tired, DJ trine kill it could dwarf the show and steal the ounce of energy a standing on their feet audience has) to the pacing of the show has to be combed over.

4 hours on their feet is inconsiderate and uncalled for.

Now on the other side of the coin (and not wanting to put people’s business out there) this is prime psychological sabotage fear in motion. This is the embarrassment of that Newark 4 lawsuit. This is age fear talking loud and clear. This is resentment of having to now do this to survive (I mean we all “do it for the love”—but this is survival) the embarrassment of now being a one album legacy artist and the possibility of not mattering anymore in this disposable society. People will kill something before it grows.

This is prime example of that.

Get more on the latest dust up involving Ms. Hill via COMPLEX.

Comments

  • Eric

    This is exactly why I decided not to buy tickets to the upcoming Montreal concert. I love Lauryn, and I love the Fugees. However, I’m also an adult, with kids requiring babysitting. My time is precious.

    If at least I heard the shows were outstanding and a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I might brave the wait. I’ve seen Prince many times, and the first time I saw him in concert, he made us wait in a cramped club for 1.5 hours. Of course, I was 21 years old. Still, the show was so amazing, that I came back over and over. He wasn’t that late ever again.

    It’s a shame that such a talent is losing fans without clear explanation or apology.

  • RuDee Sade

    So, I’m calling shenanigans on this Quest quote.

    a) The style feels like him but the tone and content is hella judgey. That’s not his MO/style.

    b) Not seeing this post nan anywhere on FB or in Google search except for where this article references it.

    Gonna need receipts. Can you provide the link to the original post?

    • Maze One

      Peace RuDee, but not sure if you’re aware, this blog and website belong to Quest…

    • RuDee Sade

      But help me out here, though…

      “A recent Facebook post finds Questlove siding with fans angered by Lauryn Hill’s inability to show on time.”

      I can’t turn over a blessed dang where this post is to read the direct quote. Not on his or Lauryn’s FB pages. Not in a Google search. It’s being referenced as a quote made directly by Quest elsewhere on FB but…where? The only place it appears (as far as I can tell turning the whole internet upside down) is where the quote has been re-printed here.

      Appreciate the information on the genesis of Okayplayer. But, all respect, that still doesn’t answer my question.

    • Metoo2

      You probably can’t find the post because just maybe the quote was made on a private page, in which the author and ?uest are friends of, the author saw it and used it. I think what the commenters above are saying is that, with a direct quote that long its highly unlikely that anyone would fabricate what he said on his own website.

    • Sina

      “Launched in 1999 by ?uestlove of The Roots, Okayplayer is the original progressive urban music site and maintains its position as the premier digital destination for music connoisseurs worldwide.”

    • beastwork

      There’s nothing to judge here. Quest is talking about facts. She’s habitually late, has a penchant for inconsistent performances, and all the while she has been unapologetic. This is not something new, its been going ever since her reemergence. I didn’t read it as judgey, but as a friend and contemporary making a public plea for her to get her *hit together

    • AtlantaIndependent

      Hella judgey? Hell yeah it is. He is calling out the bad behavior. His style is to be professional, which is why he is where he is today. He understands how to be a supreme artist AND an adult… At the same time. Ms Hill, obviously, doesn’t.

  • erdubya

    And it’s not just this show in Atlanta… Lauryn Hill BEEN had a reputation for 1) consistently being late to shows for years and 2) not giving a damn about it… in an un-apologetic-you-dont-deserve-respect-for-your-time kinda way. Although I still love Mis-education and The Score, I’m cool on sistagirl. #nothanks

  • Kelvin-Khafid Manley

    When will you idiots realize THIS BITCH IS CRAZY.

  • cleva

    “one album legacy”. AND you’re late. Girl bye. She needs to address what’s going on within her.

  • happyfrancis

    With people not buying music like they used to, touring is how artists eat. Don’t shit where you eat, mama.

  • Aesha Carr

    I went to her show in Long Island, NY and she was 2 hrs late. People started to leave left and right. My man was PISSED because I made him go with me. When she finally stated the show at 10 PM, she killed it and then some. I left there on a Lauren Hill high and immediately bought tickets to her Brooklyn show. I was unable to attend the show on the day and told my man to go ahead without me, so he took his nephew with him. Little did I know that I could have gone to the show if I wanted to because she started the show almost 3 hours late at approximately 12 am. He said that was CRAZY….making her fans wait for 3 hours…He did say that the show was phenomenal….that she is a musical genius.

  • mike h

    Excellent. I hope Kweli read this as well.

  • Steve Jordan

    A woman with six kids is going to be late going everywhere