There was obvious excitement when The Fugees announced their long-awaited reunion earlier this week, along with understandable doubt that we would finally see it happen with our own eyes.
Yet we did, at a secret pop-up show on Wednesday night (September 22nd) atop New York City’s Pier 17, as the three members of the Fugees (Yes, Lauryn Hill included) put aside their differences to celebrate one of the greatest albums of all time, The Score.
It was a 25-year reunion, and with the time it took for them to arrive on stage, it was truly as if Ms. Lauryn Hill was time-traveling from the year 1997. Never one to be fashionably early, Hill, along with bandmates Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel, sauntered on stage almost four hours past the scheduled start time.
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It was clear why they had opted to have a DJ before the set; somewhere along the years of never appearing on time, Hill must have come to realize that to subject us to the radio silence of her lateness would have been sinister.
But this is not to downplay the ingenuity of DJ Reborn, who took what was arguably one of the hardest jobs in the venue that night and performed with grace, taking us through a scintillating mix of hip-hop, Caribbean, and Latin tunes that fit flawlessly with the theme of the Fugees’ Diaspora Calling reunion tour. She found new ways to keep the crowd dancing and on their feet, even as concertgoers began placing bets on whether or not Hill would arrive within the next half-hour.
Towards 10:00 p.m., the sprawling live band, accompanied by ‘70s-style backup singers, finally came alive with a lovely medley, playing the legendary trio onto stage with a thrilling rendition of “The Score.” The excitement was palpable for Wyclef Jean and Pras Michael, but as Ms. Lauryn Hill made her entrance in a grandiose red dress, the crowd erupted into chaos and disbelief. Late or not, Ms. Hill certainly knew how to make an appearance, strutting onto stage in a stunning, red frilly dress, black shades, and dominatrix black platform boots.
The expressions of surprise were perhaps not just due to Hill actually arriving, but also to their extraordinary chemistry that had remained unchanged — the way they commanded the stage in tandem, grooved through melodies, and reworked songs ad-lib with a jazzy freedom, was reminiscent of old neighborhood friends reuniting again.
It was hard to believe that this was the same band whose initial run had only lasted five years, and that it was going on 17 since they had performed these songs together as a unit.
Each member had their own individual time to shine: Lauryn commanded on the freestyles and ad-libs at the end of each song, and Clef brought the crowd to near tears as he spoke of social justice. As the group tore through “Fu-Gee-La,” “Zealots,” “Ready or Not” and “No Woman, No Cry,” it was almost as if they were performing to each other, proving to themselves and to us that they were still the kids that had wanted to make music together all those years ago.
There was also something very tender and human about their set, which saw the trio baring their souls and making references to Black Lives Matter that seemed to underscore the harrowing images of Haitian struggle at the border that hung over the night.
