Lauryn Hill - Manchester Arena (26/11/18) 20th anniversary of Miseducation performance.

Lauryn Hill is one of the most significant rappers of all time. Not female rappers, just rappers. Despite Drake’s 2012 claims that he was the first person to successfully rap and sing, he’s wrong; it wasn’t him, it wasn’t Andre 3000. It was Lauryn. In 1998, the year of ‘Miseducation’, sexualised characters releasing songs about their desirability, such as Lil Kim and Foxy Brown, were all that sprang to mind when considering women in hip-hop. Lauryn was ground-breaking in her approach to music, unwaveringly remaining true to herself and creating an album that warned all of the dangers of ‘that thing’ and approaching relationships with caution, and of hyper-sexuality and objectification.

Just how impactful this album was can be seen in credentials alone. Nominated for 10 Grammy’s and winning 5 of them, it was the first hip-hop album to win the coveted ‘Album of the Year’ prize, as well as taking home ‘Best New Artist' to add to her growing collection. ‘The Score’ had positioned Lauryn as a fresh face in hip-hop and an incredibly talented MC who shone vocally, tackling iconic songs such as ‘Killing Me Softly’ and giving them a new lease of life and popularity. ‘Miseducation’ built on this, melding hip-hop, reggae and R&B for a coming-of-age sound to which people still pay homage and try to recreate today. Whether it be Drake on ‘Nice For What’ or H.E.R. on ‘Lost Souls’, Lauryn has remained a huge presence in the sound of hip-hop despite her absence since the release of this project, with whosampled.com referencing over 200 different accounts sampling her music.

All of this may make you question why I was apprehensive about the Miseducation Tour. The Lauryn of today is losing her sparkle according to many, more renowned now for cancelling shows, not playing her own songs, lacklustre stage performances and turning up many hours late. A troubled period in between then and now, alongside claims that she didn’t want white people to listen to her music and frustrated fans, made me torn between whether or not to get tickets at all, as the show could potentially taint the iconic album and my view of her. Regardless, I tried to focus on Noname’s joyous declaration that she ‘opened up for Lauryn Hill woah now’ and understand the gravity that her name and her performance should bring. Against the recommendation of the internet, I approached the Manchester Arena with my excitement only slightly diminished by the potential for disappointment.

There are extremely mixed reports online that she was either on time, 45 minutes late, or an hour and a half late, but there were no pre-announced set times and she appeared just minutes after Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles finished their lively supporting performance. She walked on stage as the infamous roll call of the ‘Intro’ played out across the packed stadium of adoring fans with bated breath. A moment of silence, and then the iconic boom bap to kick into the incredible ‘Lost Ones’, a song that only seems to grow in significance with age. You couldn’t help but smile, and as sound filled the stadium it became clear what we were witnessing. When going to an anniversary show, you get a unique experience of viewing the raw elements of music that has shaped you in some way. The ‘Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ is an album of extreme importance to so many people, acting as a personal experience in helping people understand love, loss, race, society and life. Witnessing an album that you’ve lived with for so long and that has taught you so much, and witnessing it as the artist you look up to so greatly intended it to be performed, creates something special. I’ve had this experience only twice prior to this show, and both times it’s been incredible (Erykah Badu and Kano). Her voice may not be exactly as it used to be, but she still belted out notes with power and intensity that burst past her ensemble of instruments and backing singers. She played pretty much all of her hits, notably an incredible performance of ‘Ex-factor', which was a highlight of the show as she threw timing out of the window and ran half an hour past the venue’s curfew.

Amidst all of my expectations for the show, pipe dreams of her bringing out D’Angelo or fears that she might not turn up at all, I did not expect her two youngest children to join her on stage. The reaction from the crowd was confused excitement as the pair, a little reluctantly and after some coercion, sang briefly, before rolling out an assortment of Fortnite dances re-appropriated from hip-hop (a conversation for another time). A strange end to a really enjoyable evening.

Her years away from the industry did show a little, with a few rusty moments and a couple of technical issues that were beyond her control, but overall a great once-in-a-lifetime show, and I would definitely recommend you try and get a ticket for the rest of her tour.