On Saturday, September 23, the Fugees unexpectedly reunited in Central Park in New York City thanks to Ms. Lauryn Hill, one of the performers at the 2023 Global Citizen Festival. Wyclef Jean and Pras were also present. The trio has reformed as part of Hill’s continuing 25th anniversary tour in support of her Grammy Award-winning debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Global Citizen attendees were enthralled when Ms. Lauryn Hill took the stage to perform a satisfying helping of Miseducation, from the timely “Everything Is Everything” to “Ex-Factor” to “Doo Wop (That Thing)” (the phrase “change, it comes eventually” is a fitting rejoinder to any skeptics of the organization’s cause to end global poverty and tackle climate change). Hill’s voice is still deep and resonant when she sings, and furious and deft when she spits; while you watch her, you alternate between singing along with ecstasy and standing there with your mouth open.
Six songs from her 1998 debut were followed by four of the Fugees’ most well-known songs, which Hill performed with her colleagues. The wet earth seemed to vanish from under your feet as the trio tore through “How Many Mics” with such zeal, and the thrill continued with a flawless rendition of “Ready or Not.” Even though the points of the buildings vanished into the storm clouds, “Killing Me Softly With His Song” brought the crowd back to reality in a lovely way, with people participating in the shared thrill of witnessing an all-time classic while surrounded by Manhattan’s iconic skyline at night. The group then trotted through a rendition of “Fu-Gee-La” as a victory lap before leaving the stage before the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ performance.
The Fugees have flavored Global Citizen with reunions before, and this is the latest instance. It was one of the group’s first appearances together in fifteen years when they performed “Ready or Not” during Hill’s 2021 festival set. And it wasn’t the only surprise at the Global Citizen Festival’s 2023 iteration: Before the Fugees rocked onstage, Harlem DJ/producer D-Nice put jointly an all-star salute to #HipHop50, along with genre pioneer Big Daddy Kane, rising star Rapsody, mic-destroying Busta Rhymes, and legendary wordsmith a common celebrating hip-hop in the city that spawned it.
The 2023 festival was the most environmentally friendly one yet, featuring an all-recycled and recycled stage, and a vegetarian cuisine with totally compostable packaging and cutlery, among other measures. Global Citizen began hosting free, ticketed concerts in New York City in 2012 and has since extended to stages around the globe, including the Power Our Planet event in Paris in June. Global Citizen strives to alleviate extreme poverty, address the climate crisis, and promote equity.