VH1 debuted the latest countdown in our long-running The Greatest series, the 40 Most Shocking Hip Hop Moments, this evening. If you missed it, don’t worry; it will rerun tomorrow night, Monday, September 19, at midnight. If you’re looking for the complete list, look no further. Here are the 40 Most Shocking Hip Hop Moments … so far!
We don’t expect to see a full reunion of The Fugees anytime soon (as you may recall, the trio’s 2007 attempt to re-form fizzled), but we were excited to hear about, and disappointed to have missed, the re-teaming of two of the three members on Saturday at the New York City date of the Rock the Bells festival mini-tour. Lauryn Hill was the main-stage headliner, slated to perform The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill start-to-finish (though she only played ten of the album’s thirteen songs—the first nine and then “Everything Is Everything”).
Then Pras took the stage. If this was a planned surprise, it went off perfectly: no one knew beforehand that Pras would be making an appearance. Sowmya Krishnamurthy‘s Village Voice review suggests it may have been genuinely impromptu: “‘This is how Fugees do it. They just show up!’ Hill proclaimed, clearly not thrilled.” She and Pras have had their differences over the years, but under the circumstances, what could Hill do but oblige his request and perform “Ready Or Not” and “Killing Me Softly”? Hill may not have been thrilled, but everyone else on Governor’s Island seemed to be.
Guitarist Jay Gore, who played with Lauryn Hill on her 2007 European tour has stepped up his legal claims against the singer. After initially seeking $3590 in back pay in small claims court two weeks ago (as reported by TMZ), Gore has now claimed that the tour was a hostile work environment and is asking for more than $20,000.
According to a follow-up TMZ report, the new documents claim that “after shows, Hill would demand that the musicians and road support personnel attend meetings where she would engage in a person-by-person critique and berating.” Sounds a lot like the touring prime of James Brown (not that the resemblance excuses Hill or Brown).
Last month Lauryn Hill made her first late night appearance in years for Bob Marley Week on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and she must have had a great experience with the show, because she was back last night to play her classic single “Doo Wop (That Thing).” The very pregnant Hill showed no signs of flagging energy as she and her band (without any need of help from The Roots, even) blasted through a slightly sped-up version of the song. We don’t want to add more weight to the expectations many had (and still have) for Hill as an artist, but we can’t help but note that she remains an extraordinarily talented MC, and her band was right in the pocket.
Update:Rap Radar points out that this performance was actually pre-recorded last month on the same day as her Marley tribute. That makes more sense, considering how far into her pregnancy she now is.
The 2011 Coachella Festival is a wrap! Sadly, we didn’t go, but here are five reasons we wish we had:
LAURYN HILL
Those who stuck it out through Cee Lo Green‘s transportation-delayed (and, by some accounts, uninspiring performance) on the main stage Friday were rewarded with a razor-sharp set from Lauryn Hill, who immediately followed. After the enormous success of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which struck a chord with millions—Adele called the album “life-defining” in last week’s Rolling Stone— Hill shrank from the spotlight, and her performances of late have been as sporadic in quality as they have in quantity. But Spinreports that she was in top form at Coachella, and we can’t doubt after watching set-closer “Doo Wop (That Thing)”:
- Per a court artist’s rendering, is K-Fed sporting a faux-hawk or does he have a massive head wound. Or maybe the statement is that a faux-hawk is a massive head wound? [Dlisted]
- Zac Efron shops at Urban Outfitters. Suddenly, he seems so much more human! [Best Week Ever]
- DMX gets fined $1.5 for failing to show up to a court hearing. If only he’d taken a trip to Mexico with his paparazzo boyfriend, things could have turned out a lot differently. [Crunk + Disorderly]
- Lauryn Hill is rumored to be in tremendous debt. See what happens when you take 10 years to get off your ass to make your sophomore album, superstars? [A Hot Mess]
If Lauryn Hill‘s most recent public behavior (remember this amazing interview?) left you worrying about her mental stability, you aren’t alone: Lauryn’s former Fugee cohort Wyclef Jean tells Rolling Stone that he thinks the diva could use some counseling. Bellows Clef:
“I felt sorry for her, because I think she needs psychiatric help. I felt like she’s bipolar. You can’t get angry with someone who’s sick…So I even called her mom, and I stressed to her, ‘Yo, you need to get her psychiatric help.’ But I think they all fear her to death. She wasn’t always like this – but if someone has the ego and you keep feeding the ego, it’s going to turn monstrous.“
While the third Fugee in the equation, Pras, has never been shy about telling the press exactly what he thinks is wrong with Lauryn, Wyclef has been at least slightly more discrete. Perhaps he’s finally given up on the dream of the Fugees reunion. Maybe he’s really concerned for his former bandmate. Or it could be that he’s just really desperate for attention, what with his new album sitting on shelves, and all. [New York Post]
Lauryn Hill delivers her best performance since the 1999 Grammy Awards (remember when she actually made good music?) in a video recently uploaded to YouTube, and she doesn’t sing a note. For almost 15 minutes Lauryn, who’s rocking a bag-lady-does-Oprah look, mugs (see above), uses the phrase “Western paradigm,” and rambles about her career and fame. She does this all in a borderline belligerent manner that totally reminds me of a pre-zonked Whitney Houston, Newport-nasty voice and all. Oh, and adding to the weirdness, the interviewer facilitating Lauryn’s chatter is none other than the sister of Technotronic rapper Ya Kid K. I know! Lauryn, it would seem, is at the tipping point and it’s freakin’ genius. It’s soooooo good to have her back.
Watch the video and read some of the best, most self-important quotes from it after the jump:
– Didn’t it seem like Lauryn Hill was sane for a second there? Turns out we’re the crazy ones for ever believing that. [Crunk + Disorderly]
- Maddox Jolie-Pitt apparently doesn’t like it when Brad and Angelina fight. Maddox has no future in publishing. [Dlisted]
- You could stand under Parker Posey‘s umbrella, but good lord, why would you want to? [A Socialite's Life]
- Jennifer Hudson looks like a corpse in her print campaign for a new Avon fragrance. Is it safe to assume that it smells like formaldehyde? [CONCRETELOOP]
- Akon says he’d sign Paris Hilton to his record label. And if the music thing doesn’t work out, he could always hump her for everyone’s entertainment. [Bossip]
The Fugees‘ reunion finally has been put out of its misery. The regrouping of hip-hop’s one-time most-loved collective has been sputtering with infrequent appearances and half-hearted promises of a new record since Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Praskicked it off during the filming of Dave Chappelle‘s Block Party in September 2004. Pras has gone on record to officially slay the slow-moving and temperamental beast that the Fugees have become:
“We went in the studio and recorded a couple records that were incredible. But, to put it nicely, it’s dead. Me and Clef, we on the same page, but Lauryn is in her zone, and I’m fed up with that s***. Here she is, blessed with a gift, with the opportunity to rock and give and she’s running on some bulls***? I’m a fan of Lauryn’s but I can’t respect that.” [Billboard.com]
You might win some, but hip-hop just lost a big one.
- Per a court artist’s rendering, is K-Fed sporting a faux-hawk or does he have a massive head wound. Or maybe the statement is that a faux-hawk is a massive head wound? [
If Lauryn Hill‘s most recent public behavior (remember 
– Didn’t it seem like Lauryn Hill was sane for a second there? Turns out we’re the crazy ones for ever believing that. [
