Lauryn Hill added the “Ms.” honorific to her stage name only recently, but she earned it long ago. The reception to her live return after the former Fugees singer’s recent release from prison suggests she’s still earning it. Hill has shared the first official live footage from her November 27 show at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom, and this rendition of the second single from 1998’s landmark The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is no throwback. Though encore “Consumerism” was reportedly the set’s only new song, she turns the sumptuous neo-soul of “Ex-Factor” into 11-plus minutes of righteous reggae. When Hill demands, toward the end, “Why won’t you live for me,” her powerful rasp takes on a new urgency. The Ms.’s tour dates continue tonight in Boston. Bow down — not long ago, a certain other singer did.
See Ms. Lauryn Hill Put a Reggae Twist on ‘Ex-Factor’ Live
