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Concert review: Lauryn Hill lights up the Foundry

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Lauryn Hill at the Foundry on November 12.
Global Media Group

Four stars

Lauryn Hill November 12, the Foundry.

She took the stage just before 11 p.m. with an eight-piece band and three vocalists, and effortlessly and elegantly captivated her audience for the entirety of her two-hour show. When it was over, it seemed impossible that this was the same Lauryn Hill who has released only one studio album (18 years ago) as the set was so dense and varied and her voice was so youthful, and yet commanding.

The Foundry was still selling tickets right up to the show on Saturday night, but the less-than-a-year-old venue felt sold-out inside, packed with hip-hop fans of all types desperately needing to cut loose after election week. Black curtains blocked both ends of the incredibly wide Foundry stage, an odd setup that did nothing to dampen the energy of the crowd or performers. Hill stormed in with a charging, unrecognizable, Afrobeat version of “Everything Is Everything,” a seamless transition after opening act Seun Kuti & Egypt 80; Hill’s current tour, MLH Caravan: A Diaspora Calling!, features different global acts.

Is Lauryn Hill the greatest female MC of all time? Judging by the way the crowd on the floor roared every time she rhymed, it seems like a no-brainer. Early on, she only teased that talent, choosing instead to sit down with an acoustic guitar for a mini-set highlighted by the powerful “I Find It Hard to Say (Rebel).” Then it was back on her feet for an anthemic, exhilarating take on “Ex Factor” that opened up and allowed the band to shine with a wailing electric guitar solo and sparkling vocal tessellations from her three female singers.

No song sounded exactly like the ones we remember, but there was no disappointment. We got an extended funk jam out of “Lost Ones,” crowd-bouncing versions of the Fugees’ hits “Fu-Gee-La” and “Ready or Not,” and an uptempo, almost Motown spin on “Killing Me Softly.” Hill warmed us up with covers of Sade’s “Your Love Is King” and “The Sweetest Taboo,” and unleashed the full power of her matchless voice during a classic “Feeling Good,” the Nina Simone song she’s been singing for years now. “Doo-Wop (That Thing)” was the victory lap, and then she was gone. It’ll probably never happen, but if Las Vegas concert halls continue their search for resident artists that can draw well and make memorable, magical shows, allow us to nominate one Ms. Lauryn Hill.

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Brock Radke

Brock Radke is an award-winning writer and columnist who currently occupies the role of managing editor at Las Vegas Weekly ...

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