Lauryn Hill: Too Little, Too Late

Lauryn Hill graced the audience with her presence on Friday, Feb. 5 at the Wellmont Theatre … five hours after she was due on stage. The famed singer-songwriter and rapper garnered an unfortunate reputation in recent years for arriving to shows inexcusably late.

Hill opened with "Lost Ones," a song recognizable solely by die-hard fans from her Grammy-award winning album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. For the unfortunate others in the crowd who were merely superfluous fans, they could barely understand the words that escaped Hill's mouth. The members of the house band played their instruments so loud it was deafening, creating a lyrical void for the show's attendees. The noise of the house band became so maddening that, sixty minutes into the show, audience members began to file out.

Her revered talent, sound and skill is what lured many to attend the performances on this concert tour; her scholarly rhymes and angelically raspy voice against the backdrop of hip-hop and R&B melodies has brought sheer bliss to many music listeners. However, I doubt any of these concertgoers will be recommending their friends to go see Lauryn Hill. This musical and lyrical genius needs to take some time to mend her mind, body and soul.