The Fugees finally came to Memphis. How Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean made it worth the wait
Nearly 35 years since forming, New Jersey hip-hop combo the Fugees — most of them, anyway — finally made it to Memphis, capping the second night of the inaugural RiverBeat Festival on Saturday at Tom Lee Park.
The closest the Bluff City previously had gotten to a performance by the Fugees was an outstanding (if famously late-starting) solo show by Lauryn Hill at Minglewood Hall back in 2014.
A decade on, the reunited group made its way to town — led by Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean. The third member of the trio, Pras Michel, was missing from the date. No specific reason was given for his absence.
Still, Hill and Jean had more than enough energy and charisma to carry a 90-minute performance for a packed and enthusiastic crowd at the Stringbend Stage.
With Jean clad in a “Return of the Fugees” T-shirt and Hill wearing a fabulous multicolor outfit, the pair stormed the stage, leading a versatile big band that managed to deliver the group’s signature blend of hip-hop, reggae and soul (even if the sound was occasionally marred by a messy mix).
Primarily drawing on material from the group's two albums, 1994’s “Blunted on Reality” and 1996's “The Score” — with occasionally forays in Jean's and Hill’s solo catalogs — the Fugees showed why they remain a unique force, once famously hailed by U2’s Bono as “hip-hop’s Beatles.”
“Right about now, the day one Fugees fans need to make some noise out there,” Jean exhorted the audience. “The kids are watching you.”
Though the Fugees audience predictably skewed older than the one for RiverBeat’s first-night headliners Odesza, Jean and Hill had the crowd jumping, swaying, moving and waving their hands with glee, as they delivered a succession of familiar hits and classics: “Gone 'til November,” “Ready or Not” and their take on Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry,” among them.
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At one point, Jean strapped on a Stratocaster — wrapped in a Louis Vuitton finish — and showed off his guitar chops. “You know I got a chance to rock with B.B. King at the White House,” he said, before peeling off a series of stinging blues licks.
“Why you all looked so surprised for?” he kidded the crowd, before pulling out a handful of Jimi Hendrix-inspired tricks, playing guitar behind his back and with his teeth.
Jean further turned the energy up with his version of the Cuban folk classic “Guantanamera,” before ceding the stage to the woman he called “the most incredible artist in the universe, Lauryn Hill.”
Hill’s solo segment found her warbling her way through a series of beautiful ballads — proving the 48-year-old singer’s voice remains a perfect instrument — before Jean returned to the stage for a rousing finale.
Ultimately, the Fugees proved a major get for the first-year festival RiverBeat. The group — which has played just a handful of reunion dates in the past year — has no other shows scheduled currently, and their long-awaited Memphis debut will certainly go down as one of the more memorable performances at Tom Lee Park.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean make Fugees' Memphis debut a memorable one
