Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
I don’t know what Lauryn Hill is talking about, but I do know that she’s as wrong as two left shoes. For years, one of her fans’ biggest complaints has been that Lauryn is chronically late to her shows if she arrives at all. It’s become a big part of her reputation and image. She’s been showing up three hours late or four hours late over and over for years, and it’s not cool. I experienced it in 2014 when she performed at the Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She was like two hours late to the stage, and while I knew that she was going to be late because she is so often, it was still frustrating.
In 2011, after Lauryn showed up four hours late to a show in New York, the crowd booed. Lauryn told them that their booing was “disrespectful.” I think she’s got that backwards.
That night at Brooklyn Bowl, just before Lauryn took the stage, I remember seeing four of her six children standing together near the stage. That reminded me that Lauryn has a lot going on in her life, and it could have been that she was late because of some family responsibility. Perhaps she refused to say no to one of her children even though people were waiting. Maybe. I wrote a long piece in 2003 called “The Mystery of Lauryn Hill” about how turbulent Lauryn Hill’s life had been and how it had gotten in the way of her making her art. I know Lauryn is an extremely principled and very serious person. I can see her demanding the right to put her family first even if there are thousands of fans/strangers waiting for her. I don’t know if any of that is true, but that’s a vibe I got after interviewing her several times and seeing her…
Read the full article here
