Just before Lauryn Hill joined a phone interview, she and fellow Fugees member Wyclef Jean were surrounded by admirers in the middle of London’s Piccadilly Circus.
Above them, the giant LED display known as Piccadilly Lights showed a brief film selected by Hill and produced by Los Angeles-based artist Lauren Halsey. The vivid animated montage celebrated figures, emblems and cultural references from the worldwide African diaspora.
Its meaning was unmistakable: a tribute to togetherness, heritage, sound and creativity.
“The crowd was completely captivated,” Hill said.
Jean quickly added, “It was surreal. You could feel the love. It was incredible.”
The appearance offered a preview of the larger celebration ahead. On Friday, Hill will stage her Diaspora Calling! festival in the United Kingdom for the first time, 10 years after the event began in Brooklyn.
Hosted by Dave Chappelle, the festival will take place at The National Bowl in nearby Milton Keynes, with performances from Erykah Badu, YG Marley, Zion Marley, Giggs, Fireboy DML and more. At its heart will be Hill and Jean, two members of the Fugees, presenting their landmark album The Score from start to finish.
Hill, with Jean joining the conversation for part of it, spoke about the festival, The Score’s 30th anniversary and the enduring legacy of the late D’Angelo. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Why bring Diaspora Calling! to the UK?
Hill: The promoters offered us this opportunity. They are also behind Reggae Land, and the promoter gave me the venue. I told him, “This is what I want to do.”
We feel incredibly fortunate to have been given the chance. This is a time for people to come together, to grow, to heal and to keep moving ahead.
The African diaspora spans the globe. Are you interested in staging editions in other countries?
Hill: Absolutely — absolutely — absolutely.
How has the festival’s idea developed since its debut in 2016?
Hill: It began after I performed in Ghana. A man invited me there, and while we were speaking, I understood that our discussion reached far beyond the immediate topic. I felt our meeting had happened for a reason. Wyclef and I have also created communities across the diaspora over the years, even during periods when we were no longer actively doing the Fugees together. Now feels like the moment to unite those communities.
The lineup is varied and energetic. What is your process for choosing the performers?
Hill: We reached out to people we know, admire and value. The response from the creative community here has been overwhelmingly positive, with so many wanting to take part. That has been tremendous.
You and Wyclef Jean are performing all of The Score on Friday to mark its 30th anniversary. Has your connection to the record shifted over the years?
Hill: Completely. It remains a timeless work for us — truly timeless. Wyclef, how do you feel about it?
Jean: You said it perfectly. When I was growing up, I listened to Bob Marley’s Exodus, some of Bob Dylan’s early albums, Pink Floyd’s The Wall, and The Police’s Synchronicity. Now we have The Score, and it will exist forever.
It is striking that the album appears to have changed you in much the same way it changed the people listening to it.
Hill: One of the album’s strengths is that I deeply appreciate Wyclef’s artistry, and I believe he values what I bring as well. We respond to one another’s creative work. Whenever we perform those songs, even though the words come from years ago, they carry fresh energy and a different spirit. There is a sense that the music exists outside time. Each performance feels almost like reclaiming and repairing timelines.
Jean: One hundred percent. Performing The Score now feels to me like doing it for the very first time.
Hill: Yes. It does not feel dated.
How will performing the album at Diaspora Calling! be different from a standard concert?
Hill: It represents the fullest expression of what the Fugees stood for. The group itself was shaped by the diaspora. I believe we called for a certain kind of unity, reflection and resistance against ideas we understood to be wrong.
We wanted to project that message outward so people could experience what we knew to be true: the diaspora contains humanity, ingenuity and extraordinary brilliance. Separation was never really a choice.
That is beautifully expressed. That same feeling brings to mind your Grammy performance earlier this year, when you honoured the late Roberta Flack and D’Angelo. As the first anniversary of D’Angelo’s death approaches, how would you like his memory to endure?
Hill: We have lost another timeless spirit who created timeless music. Above all, we want to respect and protect his family while continuing to celebrate the brilliance he gave us.
He was exceptional — there is no question about that.
