Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean staged a Fugees reunion at the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans on Friday, July 1. Jean surprised fans when he brought out Hill during a piano performance of “Killing Me Softly” to perform four of the Fugees classic songs, as reported by Essence. The crowd went wild as the former bandmates went on to sing “How Many Mics,” “Fu-Gee-La,” and “Ready or Not.”
Hill and Jean’s reunion comes after the band, which also includes Pras Michel, canceled their planned 2021 reunion tour due to the pandemic. Ultimately, they played one show in New York City in September 2021 before canceling the rest of the tour. The historic show marked the first time the trio had performed together in 15 years. While they originally hoped to reschedule for 2022, they released a statement in January confirming the reunion tour was officially off.
“We anticipate and understand disappointment but our anniversary tour will not be able to happen,” the trio’s statement read. “The continued Covid pandemic has made touring conditions difficult, and we want to make sure we keep our fans and ourselves healthy and safe. An idea sparked to honor and celebrate this 25th anniversary of ‘The Score’ but we see now it may not currently be our time for revisiting this past work. We’re grateful for the special night we did get to share with some of you in New York, with that rare live moment. If opportunity, public safety, and scheduling allow, we hope to be able to revisit this again sometime soon.”
The canceled tour only made the moment when Jean and Hill reunited at Essence Fest all the more special. Check out the gallery to see photos from the unforgettable mini Fugees reunion below.