Lauryn Hill's debut performance in Lagos, Nigeria, Sunday was supposed to take place three months earlier, in May, but unfortunately she was a no-show.
Hill had released a video apologizing to her Nigerian fans for not being able to make it, and explained how she was at the airport for seven hours trying to get to Nigeria, Africa's richest and most populous country. Hill sang a snippet from "Doo Wop," and everyone got a chance to see her cutie-pie daughter, Sarah, so Nigerians seemingly forgave her, at least somewhat.
She promised Nigeria that she "was going to make it there."
"We're going to get there," Hill vowed.
Hill made good on that promise yesterday and performed a riveting set in front of hundreds in Lagos. Nigerians got on social media and tracked her every move from the moment she arrived in the country.
https://twitter.com/FarabaleNow/status/637993364533723136https://twitter.com/talkglitz/status/637785093767983104
As is the norm for Hill performances, she was extremely late for her set, with people waiting hours to see her.
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When she got onstage, Nigerians got on social media and expressed how amazing it was to see Hill live. They described how her performance and, perhaps more important, the essence of who Hill is, as well as the significance of her performing in Nigeria, made it all worthwhile.
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Nigerian singer Waje said in an Instagram post that Hill's backup singer came up to her and told her how much Hill's band loves her music. Even better, Hill asked to meet Waje personally. Waje said she sobbed during the meeting.
It's beautiful to see the impact that Lauryn Hill continues to have on brown people worldwide. There's an authenticity in her music, as well as a self-loving African aura about her style, that resonates with people in developing countries.
Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele is a staff writer at The Root and the founder and executive producer of Lectures to Beats, a Web series that features video interviews with scarily insightful people. Follow Lectures to Beats on Facebook and Twitter.
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