Lauryn Hill Shows NYC She Still Has That 'Ex-Factor'



Lauryn Hill is somewhat on the comeback trail and recently completed a spate of shows in New York City after re-emerging from her brief jail stint this year. However, with tickets being $100 a pop, this writer promptly balked at attending a show where, more than likely, L-Boogie would be performing little to no material that was less than a decade old. However, I might've been too quick in my decision based on this video of Ms. Hill performing her classic "Ex-Factor" at NYC's Bowery Ballroom last month. No longer performing tracks at break kneck speed it seems, Lauryn rearranged the song into a reggae jam for this 11-and-a-half-minute (!!!) take and shows why the beautifully written piece still resonates today. Still, there are some elements that switching it up to reggae takes away from it (the emotional build up to the "Where were you when I needed you" ad-libs, the haunting melody of the original) and I wish she were in finer voice, but this video has me hopeful that maybe, just maybe, Lauryn might be able to recapture some of that voodoo that she did so well during the Miseducation era.

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After the bounce

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