Quantcast
Channel: Revive Music » Lauryn Hill
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 6

Rolling Stone: Lauryn Hill Conducts Nina Simone Tribute at ‘What Happened, Miss Simone’ NYC Premiere

0
0

Harlem’s iconic Apollo Theater was blessed by a stunning performance by Lauryn Hill last night as she paid tribute to her musical hero, Nina Simone, during the New York City Premiere of What Happened, Miss Simone — a documentary featuring the life and times of the late High Priestess of Soul. The documentary, a Netflix original due on June 26th, follows the late singer’s timeline from her classical training as a child, to her move to New York and her resurgence in the late ’80s.

103961-Nina_Simone_617_409
Rolling Stones’ Christopher R. Weingarten was on foot to describe the festivities:

After three false starts to get some sound issues correct (“We’re gonna do this right,” said Hill), she launched into a deconstructed version of Simone’s 1968 proto-rap “Ain’t Got No, I Got Life” complete with new blazing, high-octane, highly technical rhymes (“Lyrics with the safety off/Now dance around these niggas like Baryshnikov”).

Jazmine Sullivan came out from the wings for a run-through of “Baltimore,” a Randy Newman song that Simone covered in the late Seventies. Hill was sure to explicitly make the connection between the 1977 song (“Oh, Baltimore/Man, it’s hard just to live, just to live”) and the recent death of Freddie Gray. For the final number, Hill conducted her band for a version of the 1959 Simone instrumental “African Mailman,” making commands and shaping the sound as the musicians burned through solos (the highlight being a ripping, Jean-Luc Ponty-style violin turn). “Thank you Nina Simone for existing,” said Hill before leaving, “and being bold enough to speak.”

Accompanying the release of the documentary is also tribute album which features Lauryn Hill, Robert Glasper, Common, Mary J. Blige, Andra Day, Usher, and more. For more about last night’s premiere of What’s Happening, Miss Simone, head to Rolling Stone.

The post Rolling Stone: Lauryn Hill Conducts Nina Simone Tribute at ‘What Happened, Miss Simone’ NYC Premiere appeared first on Revive Music.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 6

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images