Diaspora Calling! headed to The National Bowl on Friday, with hip-hop icons Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean topping the bill at the inaugural festival.
The event, which was established by Hill in 2016, saw the former Fugees members bringing it to the UK for the first time.
The show also was timed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Score – the acclaimed Fugees album which fused hip-hop, soul, reggae and R&B and which is regarded as one of the landmark records of the era.
Tens of thousands of music fans descended on the Bowl for the festival, which also included sets throughout the day by, DJ Obi, Fireboy DML, Giggs, Erykah Badu, Michael Brun and host Dave Chappelle.
First and foremost a positive. It was incredible to see Hill and Jean back on stage together, performing a mixture of solo material and iconic Fugees hits. When their set started, it was dazzling. Hill has a voice and presence like no other and fellow rapper Wyclef Jean also double up on guitar duties with aplomb.
People should have been talking about this and what was another incredible day of live music at the venue. However, sadly a lot of the social-media chatter was about ‘that’ message which was displayed on the screen shortly after the 11pm curfew. Granted – algorithms amplify outrage rather than the voices of those who had a fantastic day at Diaspora Calling! – but, around 14 songs into their set, Hill, Jean and their huge backing band were forced to cut short the Fugees’ classic single Ready Or Not, with fans left singing it back to the stage amid boos from others.
A full review of the day is available on the MK Citizen website via the link below.
For more information about Diaspora Calling, visit https://www.diasporacalling.com
More photos from gigs at The National Bowl are available on this site here.
