Ms. Lauryn Hill defends being late to her shows

Ms. Lauryn Hill is defending herself against critics of her tardiness.

In a video taken during her Saturday, November 4 performance at L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena, the musician responded to accusations of her always being late to her own concerts, saying that she often hears, “‘Oh, she’s late’ and ‘She’s late tonight.’”

“Yo, y’all lucky I make it on this blood ras stage every night,” Hill said while her mother, children, and band stood beside her.

“I leave my soul on this stage,” she continued. “And I don’t do it because they let me. I do it because I stand here in the name of God. And I know it.”

Hill went on to say, “God is the one who allows me to do it, who surrounded me with family and community when there was no support when the album sold so many records and no one showed up and said, ‘Hey, would you like to make another one?’”

Despite this, the singer said she still “went around the world” to play “album over and over and over and over and over and over again,” adding that it was “because we’re the survivors, and we’re not just the survivors; we’re the thrivers.”

Hill is currently on tour with her group, Fugees, for the 25th anniversary of her groundbreaking 1998 album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. A commercial and critical success that made her the first woman to win five Grammys in one night, it’s still her only solo record to date, though she's released several small, one-off singles since then.

The FADER has reached out to representatives for Ms. Lauryn Hill. In the meantime, you can watch her address the criticism below.