Lauryn Hill filmed two magical shows in Toronto – one included surprise guest Wyclef Jean

Ms. Lauryn Hill brought something truly special to Toronto, Monday and Tuesday night, on her Canada-only Artist in Residence Tour, a firsthand window into her artistry, not just her effortless soulful singing range and ability to spit hard rhymes, but how she orchestrates a crack band, improvising and extending songs.  

Both shows were filmed for a future release.

The 50-year-old New Jersey native, who joined the Fugees in her early teens (with Wyclef Jean and Pras for their only two albums) and released her one and only solo studio album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, in 1998 — which she wrote and self-produced at the age of 22 — performed two different shows: an intimate and slightly scaled back show at the 600-capacity general admission Mod Club (booked just a week before) and a more polished full-band set at the 2,700-capacity, soft-seater Massey Hall that switched up the centre portion of the setlist and had a couple of extra surprises, one that blew the roof off the place — an unannounced appearance by Wyclef.  

Today (Dec. 17), Hill is doing a merch pop-up at It’s OK Studios (468 Queen St. W., 10 am-4 pm), calling it “a moment to connect” in the Instagram post, a hint that she will show up. That will be quite something for the woman who is known to be reclusive. 

After experiencing overwhelming global success as a young adult, first selling over 20 million albums with the Fugees’ second album The Score, then an equal amount with Miseducation which entered the Billboard 200 chart at No. 1 and won five Grammys, Hill famously retreated from the spotlight at the start of the millenium to raise her children and escape the demands and scrutiny of fame and the industry.

But respect for her music has only built over time. She has performed live over the years, such as at festivals like Coachella and Rock the Bells, but 2019’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 20^th Anniversary Tour was her first major tour since 1999, covering North America and U.K./Europe.

Yes, some fans have grown fed up with her notoriously late start times, but, well, now we know, so if you bought a ticket, sit down and shut up, as the saying goes. For the record, the Mod Club show, called for 8 p.m., started at 10:50 p.m. and went until 12:45 a.m. — club show norm — but Massey Hall got underway at 9:35 p.m. and went a little past the 11 p.m. curfew.

Both shows were magical, something you can’t really explain if you weren’t there, like you were sitting in her rehearsal space on the final day, watching a creative genius at work, perfectly with room for spontaneity. 

Her band, many of the players elevated on risers, included a horn section, three backup singers at the front of the stage, a frequently used hypeman/rapper, and two dancers (the horns weren’t part of the Mod Club – it was hard to fit everyone on the comparatively small stage), and one could see Hill’s small gestures to the musicians to take the vibe down so she could sing with little accompaniment or wrap up a song when she felt ready.

The explanation when the exclusive Canadian tour was announced by promoter F7 proved spot-on. “This will be part live performance… part traveling studio… where MLH and her band perform music from her classic catalogue AND for those who have been waiting… — MLH will be performing and revealing unreleased material in real time, for live capture.”

Both shows started with “Everything Is Everything,” “When It Hurts Do Bad,” “Final Hour,” “Lost Ones,” “Ex-Factor” and “To Zion,” then Hill brought out her first-born son Zion to sing a few songs, letting him do his thing, while mom was off to the side, grooving. King Cruff, another Marley grandson, who lives in Toronto and is a recording artist, was also invited out to join them. 

Hill then got back to the mic for Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” before a slight variation in the setlist order. 

She played a couple of new songs, one with the repeated line “when will you call my name,” which highlighted her musicality, riffing and stretching out the song, guiding her band with a hypnotic performance. “People in the States haven’t even heard this music,” she said.

Of course, “Doo Wop (That Thing)” was in the set but at Massey, when she said she was taking an intermission, she quickly changed her mind, thrilling the house by bringing out Wyclef, who joined her on Fugees’ “How Many Mics.” He then got to remind us of his own genius, by performing his own mini-set — including Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry,” Santana’s “Maria Maria” and his own “911” — smoking the guitar. He remained onstage with her for “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” and, of course, the Fugees’ “Ready or Not” and “Fu-Gee-La.” 

And as many wait in line for the pop-up shop today, hoping for that “moment to connect” with Hill, it caps off what Hill was able to create over two shows. Connection was the unspoken theme: connecting as an artist to her audience, connecting as an artist to her band members, connecting with her family (by blood and chosen), and connecting with history. As Zion pointed out during his time onstage, 2025 marked the 50^th anniversary of Bob Marley performing at Massey Hall. Perhaps one day, we’ll be marking the anniversary of Lauryn Hill bringing her Artist in Residence tour to the hallowed venue.

Of note, every stop on the tour had a charity element. In Toronto, a portion of the proceeds from the Massey Hall show went to Visions of Science, advancing STEM equity by engaging Black and other racialized youth from low-income communities across the Greater Toronto Area.