The Original Gay Porn Community - Free Gay Movies and Photos, Gay Porn Site Reviews and Adult Gay Forums

  • Welcome To Just Us Boys - The World's Largest Gay Message Board Community

    In order to comply with recent US Supreme Court rulings regarding adult content, we will be making changes in the future to require that you log into your account to view adult content on the site.
    If you do not have an account, please register.
    REGISTER HERE - 100% FREE / We Will Never Sell Your Info

    PLEASE READ: To register, turn off your VPN (iPhone users- disable iCloud); you can re-enable the VPN after registration. You must maintain an active email address on your account: disposable email addresses cannot be used to register.

Lauryn Hill

Nocturnal said:
Exciting huh, miaedu?! 2011 in music is shaping up to be great AND expensive 4 me! lol Bring it on, ladies!

Just 4 the record, I want *this* Lauryn style-wise. Not really feelin' the one at Rock the bells. smh No...[-X
laurynhillpecohen532477.jpg
Click to expand...

i'm looking forward to 2011 also. so far we are off to a good start. who knows what else is in the pipeline.(!)
 
the comeback continues...

Lauryn Hill at the University of Miami Homecoming, November 5


Better than: Listening to your vintage 1998 copy of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill for the billionth time.

Believe it ... Ms. Lauryn Hill never disappoints her fans. She always leaves them waiting for an hour or more. Let's be real, though, this is the Empress. Why are you complaining?

Plus, all those other slams that critics, ex-fans, and other detractors have tossed at Hill since she started appearing in public again, i.e. her busted-ass voice, erratic reinterpretations of her hits, bad craziness ... It's total bullshit. Or at least that was the case last night.

read the rest of the review and see pics below:

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2010/11/lauryn_hill_at_the_university.php
 
Lauryn Hill headlines Jazz in the Gardens

​The Jazz in the Gardens Festival 2011 lineup is live, and we like what we see. Although the anticipation for Lauryn Hill is a smidgen diminished because she was in South Florida last month for a performance at the University of Miami, perhaps she's got "Killing Me Softly" and "Doo Wop (That Thing)" freshly rehearsed for this visit. Either way, a provocative, unforgettable performer to lead the first day of the fest, set for March 19-20 at SunLife Stadium.

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/countygrind/2010/12/jazz_in_the_gardens_2011_lineu.php#more

http://jazzinthegardens.com/#/artists/
 
Lauryn Hill Schedules Shows, Including Two In NYC

Following her performances as part of the "Rock The Bells" festival, Lauryn Hill is scheduled to play two more shows in the coming weeks, including one at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Dec. 28 and Bowery Ballroom on Jan. 1.

In addition to those dates, Hill will be performing in Boston, Mass., and in Miami, Fla. The full tour schedule is listed below:

Dec. 20: Boston, MA (Wilbur Theatre)
Dec. 28: Brooklyn, NY (Music Hall of Williamsburg)
Jan. 1: New York, NY (Bowery Ballroom)
Mar. 19: Miami, FL (Jazz In The Gardens Festival)
Mar. 20: Miami, FL (Jazz In The Gardens Festiva)

According to brooklynvegan.com, Hill was also recently scheduled to make an appearance in Burlington, Vermont, but those plans have already changed twice. The concert was originally set for Dec. 15, but then changed to the 17, and now it's been postponed indefinitely.

http://www.billboard.com/news?tag=n...chedules-shows-including-two-1004134438.story
 
Lauryn Hill Announces 'Intimate' Winter Shows

Lauryn Hill will embark on an intimate North American tour, it was announced on Wednesday, Dec. 22.

Kicking off at New York City's Highline Ballroom on Dec. 27 -- one of six local shows at multiple venues including legendary jazz club The Blue Note, where Hill will play for three nights, and Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg -- the trek will then take the reclusive R&B singer down the East Coast and to Canada.

In a statement, Hill acknowledges that she "may never play venues of this size again," and promises a live band, big sound and a set list heavy on hits from her Grammy-winning, game-changing 1998 solo album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill."

Hill has spent much of the past few years playing a number of international festivals but making relatively few domestic stops. She's slowly come out of her shell more recently, however, giving an extensive interview to NPR over the summer in which she explained her eight-year absence.

"Oftentimes, the machine can overlook the need to take care of the people who produce the sounds," she told reporter Zoe Chace. "It's important that people be given the time that they need to go through, to grow, so that the consciousness level of the general public is properly affected. Oftentimes, I think people are forced to make decisions prematurely. And then that sound radiates."

Hill's new slate of shows, 17 announced so far, are expected to sell out swiftly.

Here are Lauryn Hill's tour dates:

Dec. 27: New York, N.Y. (Highline Ballroom)
Dec. 28: Brooklyn, N.Y. (Music Hall of Williamsburg)
Jan. 1: New York, N.Y. (Bowery Ballroom)
Jan. 3: New York, N.Y. (The Blue Note)
Jan. 4: New York, N.Y. (The Blue Note)
Jan. 5: New York, N.Y. (The Blue Note)
Jan. 8: Charlotte, N.C. (Amos' Southend)
Jan. 9: Asheville, N.C. (The Orange Peel)
Jan. 12: Charleston, S.C. (The Music Farm)
Jan. 14: Atlanta, Ga. (Centerstage)
Jan. 16: St. Lous, Mo. (The Pageant)
Jan. 18: Minneapolis, Minn. (First Avenue)
Jan. 20: Chicago, Ill. (House of Blues)
Jan. 22: Toronto, Ontario (Sound Academy)
Jan. 23: Montreal, Quebec (Metropolis)
Jan. 29: Atlantic City, N.J. (House of Blues)
Feb. 4: Montclair, N.J. (The Wellmont Theatre)

http://www.billboard.com/#/events/lauryn-hill-announces-intimate-winter-shows-1004137097.story
 
The performance on Tuesday the 27th was cancelled due to the weather. Here is a review from yesterday's NYT on Wednesday's show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg:

Worth the Wait? Just Ask Her

By JON CARAMANICA
Published: December 29, 2010

It was well past 11 on Tuesday night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, and Ms. Lauryn Hill — maybe the most gifted female rapper in history, one of the most versatile pop talents in recent memory and also one of the great modern celebrity recluses — was nowhere in sight. By the time her D.J. played the third Nicki Minaj song of the night you had to wonder if it was a taunt.

read the rest here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/30/arts/music/30lauryn.html?_r=1&ref=music
 
Lauryn Hill Triumphs At Second Ny Tour Stop, With Little Delay

Lauryn Hill -- or Ms. Lauryn Hill, as she prefers -- kicked off her 17-date North American tour on a sour note. The reclusive soulstress, who has been taking baby steps back into the spotlight, took the stage at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg last week over three hours late, prompting fans to pelt the stage with cups and bottles. Ms. Hill didn't take too kindly to the ingratitude.

"I spent my entire 20s sacrificing my life to give you love. So when I hear people complain, I don't know what to tell you," she told the impatient audience. "I personally know I'm worth the wait."

http://www.theboombox.com/2011/01/03/lauryn-hill-triumphs-at-second-ny-tour-stop-with-little-delay/

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtb6w5IfqX8[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN6MOI6ua50[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FQHWmHeiCo[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D8jZHgxBww[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae4uNaZQkgA[/ame]
 
Lauryn Hill to bring her 'Moving Target' playdate series to Club Nokia after Coachella gig


Could Lauryn Hill be ready for her big comeback?

Hill's fans have been waiting for 13 years for the elusive performer to release the follow-up to her 1998 Grammy-winning solo offering, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.”

But save for a much-ballyhooed stop-and-start reunion with the Fugees and a leaked single, “Repercussions,” that managed to chart last year, she still hasn’t given what her legions of very patient fans have been pining for: an album.

She’s been nowhere near dormant over the years, though, often popping up at music festivals here and a string of dates there. But she often garners headlines for how long she makes the audience wait (one report said three hours late, with no opening act). Hill is taking things a bit more seriously, it seems, by announcing the dates for her “Moving Target: Extended Intimate Playdate Series.”

The series will kick off in Orlando, Fla., on Wednesday and hit 12 cities across the country, including previously announced sets at this year’s Coachella Music and Arts Festival on April 15, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 7 and Miami’s Jazz in the Gardens Festival on March 19.

The “playdates,” as she is billing them, will afford Los Angeles fans that didn’t shell out the money for Coachella the opportunity to see her at the more intimate Club Nokia on April 18.

Notoriously press shy, the rapper released an uncharacteristically lengthy statement regarding the upcoming series of shows:

"One of the benefits of playing venues smaller than the ones I'm used to allows me the opportunity to not only reconnect with my supporters but to expose them to a portion of the musical journey I've been on which the world for the most part has not had access to," Hill said. "I've never shied away from being musically adventurous, nor am I known for being a lightweight when it comes to lyrical content or musical exploration."
“These more intimate playdates afford me the time to perform for listeners who haven't heard from me over the past several years or have been misinformed by the inaccuracies in some media coverage, many of which I might add, I find very amusing. Getting back out there to perform is a lot like resuming a strenuous sport after having been away from it for a while, but eventually the muscle memory kicks in, and each day brings progressive strength. It's an exciting and REAL process which these audiences will get to witness."

More dates are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. She’s also made the move to Twitter (though she's yet to christen her page). Here is the initial series of shows:

March 16 — Orlando, House of Blues
March 19 — Miami, Jazz in the Gardens Festival
March 23 — Tampa, The Ritz
March 26 — Myrtle Beach, House of Blues
March 30 — Atlanta, Center Stage
April 3 — Oahu, Aloha Tower
April 9 — Portland, Arlene Schnitzer Hall
April 12 — San Francisco, The Warfield
April 15 — Indio, Coachella Music and Arts Festival
April 18 — Los Angeles, Club Nokia
April 23 — Denver, The Fillmore
May 7 — New Orleans, Jazz and Heritage Festival

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/mus...arget-playdate-series-to-club-nokia.html#more
 
Lauryn Hill Announces Last-Minute Miami Show at Grand Central Sunday Night

Just 30 minutes ago, Ms. Lauryn Hill wrapped her only officially announced Miami set of the weekend at the first night of Jazz in the Gardens music festival.

After 15 songs, including deeply reworked Fugees cuts, old solo hits like "Everything Is Everything," and even a cover of Bob Marley's "Is This Love," she closed it all out with a remarkably faithful (if amphetamine-paced) version of "Doo Wop."

And then as Ms. Hill said goodbye, she dropped a bomb: "We've got another show tomorrow at a smaller venue," and pausing to get the details from one of her handlers, "Um, Grand Central Miami."

This last-minute Magic City gig will be only the third date on the recently announced second leg of Hill's Moving Target Intimate Playdate Series, following Wednesday's tour opener at Orlando's House of Blues and tonight's performance at Sun Life Stadium.

When the Moving Target tour was first made public on March 11, Hill issued the following mission statement:

"One of the benefits of playing venues smaller than the ones I'm used to allows me the opportunity to not only reconnect with my supporters but to expose them to a portion of the musical journey I've been on which the world for the most part has not had access to," Hill said. "I've never shied away from being musically adventurous, nor am I known for being a lightweight when it comes to lyrical content or musical exploration."

"These more intimate playdates afford me the time to perform for listeners who haven't heard from me over the past several years or have been misinformed by the inaccuracies in some media coverage, many of which I might add, I find very amusing. Getting back out there to perform is a lot like resuming a strenuous sport after having been away from it for a while, but eventually the muscle memory kicks in, and each day brings progressive strength. It's an exciting and REAL process which these audiences will get to witness."

In all, with the addition of tomorrow night's last-minute Miami show, the series is now set to include 13 stops in cities such as Tampa, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New Orleans.

Also, on top of plugging the Grand Central gig in the final minute of her Jazz in the Gardens set, Ms. Lauryn Hill also shouted out a hot new Twitter account: @MsHillMvngTrgt.

So follow that diva and check out her full tour schedule below.

Lauryn Hill's Moving Target Extended Intimate Playdate Series, Second Leg Schedule

March 16 House of Blues, Orlando, FL
March 19 Jazz in the Gardens Festival at Sun Life Stadium, Miami, FL
March 20 Grand Central, Miami, FL
March 23 The Ritz, Tampa, FL
March 26 House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, SC
March 30 Center Stage, Atlanta, GA
April 3 Aloha Tower, Oahu, HI
April 9 Arlene Schnitzer Hall, Portland, OR
April 12 The Warfield, San Francisco, CA
April 15 Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Indio, CA
April 18 Club Nokia, Los Angeles, CA
April 23 The Fillmore, Denver, CO
May 7 Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans, LA

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/cros...i_show_at_grand_central_march_20.php#comments
 
Coachella 2011: Ready or not, Lauryn Hill commands the stage


For the last 13 years since her solo debut, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," the erstwhile rasta-hop goddess Lauryn Hill has been confounding her former bandmates in the Fugees, having many babies with her on-again-off-again beau Rohan (one of the Marley sons), dropping perplexing statements to the press and asking that we all address her as Ms. Hill.

Today she can add another bullet-point, a clearly positive one, to her difficult resume: a comeback set on the main stage at Coachella that satiated her fans, starving for years and at the brink of losing hope. If Hill's loyal followers had been in a Facebook relationship with their beloved, it would definitely qualify as "It's complicated." To love Hill's music was to accept that its creator might never advance her musical legacy again.

Today's set wasn't without its rough points. In fact, in keeping with Hill's penchant for tardiness, the main stage was silent for nearly 15 minutes after her scheduled start time. Her band came out, then she emerged in a giant sweeping striped dress and a cartoonishly huge necklace -- but it still took nearly 20 minutes for all parties involved to start a song. Hill demanded they "straighten out the energy" and squelch the frequent bursts of feedback issuing from her mike.

Finally all the stage chakras aligned and her band began at a high-energy level that kept up for the entirety of Hill's stay, sometimes exhaustively so, other times thrilling the crowd of die-hards and the casually curious that constituted one of the bigger daytime crowds seen at the last couple of Coachellas.

Armed with at least four horn players, two backup singers and a drummer, the band was Hill's ace, responding to her frequent calls and hand signals for them to amp it up and filling the moments in which she faltered with sheets of brass-soaked hard jamming. Sometimes their playing was so in-your-face, one wondered if it wasn't all smoke and mirrors designed to distract from a limited focal point.
They also sometimes overwhelmed her at just the moment they should've backed off, like on "Lost Ones" when her staccato flow, punchy and determined, constituted perhaps her best delivery of the night. But all was forgiven when they rescued their wayward leader, as when she couldn't hit the high notes on "Ex-Factor." Tossing her arm out to the side and wiggling her fingers, one of her backup ladies supplied the requisite trill.

Whatever her vocal challenges, Hill is still an arresting performer, bursting with the kind of crackling stage presence that suggests you're watching one of the great, unpredictable eccentrics of pop music. She spun her arms, reached up toward the sky and danced so that her legs made her dress balloon around her body. Her focused glare, almost hostile in its insistence, roved over her audience. If they hadn't liked her show, well, who knows what could've happened. In other words, you're not the only loose cannon in Indio this weekend, Kanye.

But her audience did like it, responding with an exalted roar when she dipped into a couple of Fugees hits, including "Ready or Not." By the time she ended, coasting five minutes or so over her allotted time, with "Doo Wop (That Thing)," she knew she'd locked it in. She started having fun with the finger-wagging chorus, snapping her head to the sudden stops and starts of her band, who backed off a bit, maybe finally secure that their hero could reap what she had sown.

Leaving the grounds, I heard good buzz from fans who were streaming toward other sets. Two Coachella newbies, Mauna Desai and Sabrina Talukder, told me that Hill had been one of the biggest selling points for them. For her set, they staked out places at the front of the crowd, where they saw Danny DeVito dancing.

"She's an incredible performer," Desai said. "There were sound problems, but it didn't matter. Her band was amazing."

"I was so scared she was going to be preachy," Talukder said, referencing Hill's dogmatic bent, in lyrics and interviews. "But she wasn't at all."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/04/coachella-2011-.html#more
 
Lauryn Hill debuts at New Orleans' jazz festival


NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- In a rare appearance, Lauryn Hill commanded a stage Saturday at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as thousands of spectators looked on - some pleased by her performance, others not so much.

Hill debuted at the festival, pumping up the crowd with hits such as "Everything is Everything," "The Sweetest Thing," and "Lost Ones," before moving into a segment spotlighting Bob Marley's "Waiting in Vain" and "Is this Love."

Angelique Dyer, of New Orleans, described herself as a fan and said Hill's first festival performance was well worth the wait.

"She was perfect," Dyer exclaimed after the show. "Before she got on stage I was praying she wouldn't change the songs up too much and she didn't."

But another self-described fan, Melanie Bienemy, also of New Orleans, said she was unhappy that Hill's set focused so much on rap and not enough on her vocal skills.

"I was a little disappointed," Bienemy said. "She has such a beautiful voice and the fact that she didn't exercise that talent as much was a letdown."

Some of the discontent with the performance, Bienemy said, was a result of the overly-raspy sound of Hill's voice and the fact that she appeared to rush through material. "We really couldn't hear her that well either," she said.

That was evident as the five-time Grammy Award winner - who now bills herself as Ms. Lauryn Hill - was a bundle of nervous energy, constantly interacting with her band to play faster, with more vigor. She also was unhappy with the stage crew, urging them to balance the audio.

Hill strongly delved into the repertoire by The Fugees, her former group, with such songs as "Ooh La La La," "Killing Me Softly," and "Ready or Not." Those in the crowd sang along and Hill appeared to feed off their response.

Hill briefly and unexpectedly left the microphone toward the end of the set, prompting a bit of anxiety in the crowd. But, when she returned, a roar rose up as the first bars of "Doo Wop (That Thing)" rang into the atmosphere. When it was over, she smiled.

"Thanks New Orleans, we had a good time," she said.

"It was great seeing you guys," Hill said, before waving goodbye to her fans.

"Lauryn Hill's been blowing up for years," said Tim Anderson of New Orleans. "There must be thousands of people here watching her show, but the best part of it is watching the crowd watch her."

"I was so fulfilled by the performance," said Devinne James, of New Orleans. "This is what I come to jazz fest for. Her passion for what she does makes you passionate as well. She was so worth it. I feel the same way when I listen to her albums."

Her friend, Jaune Boudreaux, of New Orleans, said she had never seen Hill perform live. "Her energy was contagious," she said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie..._HILL?SITE=KVUE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
 
Pregnant Lauryn Hill will perform some tour dates

Since her appearance last month on Jimmy Fallon’s tribute show for the late Bob Marley where New Jersey native Lauryn Hill donned a loose fitting, floor-length multi-colored dress as she performed Bob Marley's 1980 hit, "Could You Be Loved," rumors began flying as to whether the 36-year-old singer could be pregnant with her sixth child.

On Saturday, June 4, at her Chene Park concert in Detroit, Hill confirmed the rumors by announcing that she was indeed pregnant again, Black Entertainment Television reported. Hill resides in South Orange, New Jersey with her mother and five children, all fathered by long-time boyfriend Rohan Marley, the fourth eldest son of late reggae legend Bob Marley.

The rumor mill began churning after Hill made public appearances sporting what appeared to be a baby bump shielded by loose fitting outfits. The Internet began buzzing further after Hill joked to a crowded audience during her "Moving Target: Extended Playdate Series" event at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, "I keep having these children. I don't know if I'm the most fertile woman in America," before performing her 1998 hit, "To Zion" — a song written in dedication to her first born child, Zion.

Neither Hill nor her representatives have announced a due date, but she is reportedly ending her tour in preparation for baby number six. Rolling Stone magazine reported Hill told the Detroit audience she was going to take time off to give birth, but the Grammy award winning singer is still expected to perform as scheduled at Rock the Bells in Los Angeles on August 20, San Francisco on August 27 and New York on September 3.
The new Marley addition will join siblings Zion David-Nesta Marley, Selah Marley, Joshua Marley, John Marley and Sarah Marley.

According to a Wikipedia biography, several artists have acknowledged Hill's musical contriubtions and talent including Prince, John Legend, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, D'Angelo, and Mary J. Blige. In 2005, Talib Kweli released a song about the singer, titled "Ms. Hill", on Right About Now. 2008 Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain and First Lady Michelle Obama are fans of Hill's. Michelle Obama told the BBC that she frequently listens to Hill's music on her iPod.

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/movies/pregnant-lauryn-hill-will-perform-some-tour-dates
 
Lauryn Hill Performs On Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

A previously recorded Lauryn Hill performance of "Doo Wop (That Thing)" was aired on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on June 14. The songstress had recorded a set last month on the show, some of which was aired then and the rest of which was aired Tuesday night.

Hill began the song with a rapping vamp before pumping up the crowd shouting "c'mon put your hands in the air" as she bounced up and down with her band. The crowd responded in kind.

Hill's band was outsized consisting of a chorus of back-up singers, a drummer, two guitarists, a bassist and a record scratching DJ. Hill herself was dressed in a colorful body-length garment.

Meanwhile, Hill has slowed down her performance schedule as she announced to an audience in Detroit earlier this month that she is pregnant with her sixth child.

http://www.rttnews.com/Content/EntertainmentNews.aspx?Section=2&Id=1647946&SM=1

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoco5e40fK4[/ame]
 
DAMN! She's a baby-making machine!



I think that Chinese Democracy should be the title of her supposed comeback album. ;)
 
LAURYN HILL WELCOMES SON

It’s a boy for Lauryn Hill! The singer welcomed her sixth child on Saturday night, July 23rd, a source confirms to Blackcelebkids.com exclusively.

“Mother and baby are fine,” says the source, who adds that Hill and family “had a little scare because the baby came out the womb with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. All is well now and everyone is happy.”

Hill already has five kids with her longtime boyfriend Rohan Marley, who was recently in the news for allegedly dumping a pregnant Hill for Brazilian model Isabeli Fontana.

But Rohan has dismissed the rumors saying, “Ms. Hill is the mother of my children, whom I have a tremendous amount of love and respect for. I would never do that.”

http://www.blackcelebkids.com/2011/07/24/exclusive-lauryn-hill-welcomes-son/
 
Saturday: Lauryn Hill Delivers the Encore of the Summer at Rock The Bells

Rock The Bells
August 27, 2011
@Shoreline Ampitheatre
Better than: Not getting to wander among four stages of music.

Live hip-hop festival Rock the Bells returned to the Bay Area for the fourth time this past Saturday. This year's edition featured the greatest sprawl yet, expanding beyond the main grounds into Shoreline's premium parking lot. There, two stages were set impossibly close together -- so near that, at times, they took on the collective effect of a rap remix of "Dueling Banjos."

With more than 30 acts scheduled and the four stages running pretty much simultaneously, we probably weren't alone in feeling occasional conflicted moments of wanting to be in two different places at once. What to do when one's favorite classic album from the Wu-Tang solo camp is happening at the same time as that hot new Southern rapper? That could be called a good problem to have, and it made us feel more spoiled for choice than upset, though we only saw a fraction of all of the music that was there for us.
Still, those who were into lyrical warfare could spend the first part of their day at the stage helmed by leading hip-hop battle league Grind Time Now. The Wu faithful could stay put at the 36 Chambers stage all day. Those into more emerging artists could hover in the vicinity of the Paid Dues stage. And the masses would be more than content to park on the lawn or in the seats for the main stage's continuous live presentations of classic hip-hop albums.

It is a testament to the continuum of the genre that this festival can curate a bill of older artists with newer up and comers and communicate across an audience that spans generations. And it didn't feel like some sort of oldies vs. newbies affair, either.

The verve and energy we saw from Cypress Hill as they shouted out local marijuana growers and served up the blunted beats of Black Sunday cuts "Hits From the Bong" and "Dr. Greenthumb" were also apparent when we rushed from there to watch Mississippi's Big K.R.I.T. and Slaughterhouse -- the latter a Voltron-esque super-group of rappers (New York's Joell Ortiz, New Jersey's Joe Budden, Detroit's Royce Da 5'9, and Long Beach's Crooked I) signed to Eminem's label and poised for larger recognition. From both the crowd and the performers, we felt the air of electric relaxation.

Set against a backdrop of books and giant platters, Lauryn Hill's presentation of her 1998 debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill seemed to go by in a flash, partially due to the quicker, funkier, and more insistent arrangements that Hill and her band performed. She'd often gesture urgently with her arms to her players, commanding them (we suppose) to play harder, bolder. And so they did, forming a well-oiled and tuned 10-piece ensemble (including three backup singers that sounded like six). We marveled at the stamina and energy of Hill, who gave birth to her sixth child in July, but we had no idea that she hadn't really taken off yet.

One aspect of performing albums live in their entirety is that the sequence of the songs often means that the most popular track is going to pre-emptively fall early in the set, and so we felt a twinge of disappointment when Hill hit "Doo Wop (That Thing)" as the fourth song. That turned out to be misguided disappointment, but a lot of people missed the best part because many streamed out and to their cars before waiting for the encore.

We also typically fight the urge to escape moments before the end to avoid a lengthy parking lot exit, but something told us to stay put. And just when we thought the harsh house lights would be thrown up, Hill and band returned to deliver the encore of the summer (we might say century, but we'll put the hyperbole on hold for now).

She didn't just return to the stage, she basically ran back to the stage, drawing on some reserve of dynamite-packed energy that she didn't have earlier to set off the songs that her fans really wanted to hear but didn't think she'd touch: hits from her former group, the Fugees. She sang a reggae-tweaked version of "Fu-Gee-La" and a hyperspeed take on "Ready or Not," jumping up and down through both, and then brought Nas back for their 1996 duet "If I Ruled the World."

Prior to Hill, Nas had seemingly filled every seat with a body waving at least one hand in the air for the duration of his 1994 debut album Illmatic and subsequent hits such as "Hate Me Now," "One Mic," and "Made You Look." It was all executed under the skilled hands of DJ Premier and a backdrop of benches and project buildings meant to represent Queensbridge Houses, the NYC project where Nas grew up.

"Ain't nobody fucking with this woman right here," he later exclaimed, arm in arm with Hill. "Nobody!"

The mean man at the side of the stage drew his fingers across his throat as Hill begged, "One more, one more, one more!" He shook his head no, and the band launched into Bob Marley's "Could You Be Loved."

Critic's Notebook

Personal bias: Had the benefit of great seats at the main stage, though the loud audio system and big set designs of Nas and Lauryn Hill hopefully ensured good views and sounds even on the lawn.

Random detail: There were some great T-shirts for sale; our favorite said, "Rap - Lies = Hip-Hop."

By the way: We missed the set from Oakland's Souls of Mischief, but thanks to YouTube user hxcxian we can watch them performing the title track from the classic 93 'Til Infinity. They sound as energized as they did 18 years ago, but one of their young sons dancing in the background serves as a reminder that a generation has passed since that album dropped.

Check out more Rock the Bells photos in our slideshow:

http://www.sfweekly.com/slideshow/rock-the-bells-in-san-francisco-2011-34753938/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top