Musical superstar Lauryn Hill, and her nephew Daniel Bambaata Marley, graced the Greek Theater late in the evening on Monday, September 14 to a packed house. Her voice rang across the amphitheater, pushed by a live band and three backup singers.
“Stand up and live!” shouted Hill as she waved her arms beckoning the crowd to jump even higher. She moved from singing to raping and back to singing once again, only stepping aside to allow her band to step in with a three piece horn section followed by an amazing solo guitar session by guitarist Eric Gales.
Taking inspiration from religious text, geography, American and African history and even her own love life, Hill weaves a tapestry of insight and cultural wisdom that is both easy to understand and hard to dispute.
The music that Hill produces remains timeless, without losing any of its power or effect, even years after their release. Give her a full band, a DJ and three fly backup singers, she is unstoppable.
“I got a little surprise for y’all” Hill said before she introduced New York-based rapper, Nas from back stage. The duo were a sight to see as theyperformed ‘If I Ruled the World.’.
“Ms. Hill, I love you,” said Nas just before he went into a five song streak that spanned his two decades of musical accomplishments.
“Let’s take it in for a minute,” said Hill following Nas’ departure from the stage .
Hill followed up and maintained control of the crowd by slowing down the vibe.
She paused the music, spoke a few words, then went into her most popular ballet, her remake of Roberta Flack’s ‘Killing Me Softly.’
Hill ended her set by performing the classic hits that she voiced for the Nina Simone documentary, including the ever popular ‘I Feel Good.’
Daniel Marley was on hand to open the show, donning an acoustic guitar. He delivered a mild style that differed from those of his father, uncle and grandfather the great Bob Marley.
His tracks bore his step aunt’s style as he moved into more traditional ‘Marleyesque’ reggae infused with Hip Hop as he sung, rapped and spoke in seamless transitions.
For more information on Lauren Hill, go to http://www.lauryn-hill.com/. For more information on the Greek Theater, go to www.greektheatrela.com/.
