The two artists played together at Milton Keynes National Bowl for Hill’s Diaspora Calling! event.
ended early at Diaspora Calling! festival on Friday (7th August).
The two artists headed up a bill that also included Erykah Badu, Giggs and Hill's sons YG Marley and Zion Marley. The Fugees set, taking place without third member Pras Michel due to his recent incarceration, started late at 10PM (BST), and was forced to end early due to licensing restrictions, which prevented the event at Milton Keynes National Bowl from continuing past 11PM.
The pair – who celebrated 30 years of Fugees' classic album 'The Score' by performing tracks such as 'Fu-Gee-La' and 'Ready Or Not' – tried to address the crowd at the event to offer their apologies for being unable to complete their set, but their microphones were reportedly switched off by event operators before they could do so.
Shortly after, a message appeared on one of the on-stage screens, which read: “THANK YOU EVERYONE. We’re sorry for the abrupt finish. As part of our licence we are legally required to finish the show at 11PM and cannot continue beyond this time.”.
A setlist for Hill and Jean that has since leaked showed that they were due to perform for two hours. Their set was also reportedly supposed to include guest appearances from Little Simz, Gunna, and Tiwa Savage.
Speaking to The Sun immediately after the set, Jean said: “We’re really sad how it ended. We were just getting started, so we’re hoping to continue next year. We had so much surprises on the line-up and everybody showed up and we really felt the crowd, that love and that energy.
It’s something that they need, something they feel, it just reminds you of unity. With so much division, Diaspora Calling! is just to remind everybody to come together.”.
Following the event, several attendees took to Reddit to express their frustration over Hill and Jean’s late arrival and the set’s abrupt ending.
See footage from the moment that the set was cut short below.
Launched by Lauryn Hill in 2016, Diaspora Calling! celebrates music and artists from across the African and Caribbean diaspora. Last weekend’s event in Milton Keynes marked the festival’s UK debut, following previous editions in the US.
In 2023, Lauryn Hill and Fugees came together to play the Global Citizen Festival in New York’s Central Park, which marked the 25th anniversary of Hill’s landmark 1998 album, ‘The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill’.
Elsewhere, Hill and Jean recently shared that new music from the pair is “absolutely” on the cards.
Read DJ Mag's feature on how Fugees’ ‘The Score’ defined an era of alternative hip-hop here.
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Informação baseada em material público de DJ Mag, reescrito pela redação ULTRA NOTÍCIAS.
