Lovers & Friends will finally be kicking off their inaugural show in 2022, following the event’s 2020 cancellation as result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will now take place in Las Vegas, at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on May 14, 2022. Tickets for the festival will go on-sale Monday, August 2 at 10 a.m. PT.
The hip hop and R&B festival is retaining much of the same lineup and spirit that was planned for 2020, with an all-star lineup that features Lauryn Hill, Usher and TLC in its headlining spots. Other performers scheduled for the event include Lil Kim, Twista, Ludacris, Lil Jon, Ciara, Nelly, Ashanti, Ja Rule, Ne-Yo, Trey Songz, Brandy, Monica, Timbaland, Akon, T-Pain, Eve, Sean Paul, Fabolous, The-Dream, Fat Joe, Ginuwine, Xscape and Jodeci. More contemporary artists from last year’s planned lineup such as Jhene Aiko, Summer Walker and Megan Thee Stallion are all absent from the upcoming 2022 festival.
Hill recently revealed why she never released a follow-up to her acclaimed 1999 record The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which garnered commercial and critical success upon release, winning the performer a Grammy for Album of the Year. According to Hill, various “obstructionists, politics, repressing agendas, unrealistic expectations and saboteurs” interfered with the record’s production, which she felt stifled her creative freedom.
“The wild thing is no one from my label has ever called me and asked how can we help you make another album, ever…Ever. Did I say ever? Ever!” Hill explained during the podcast. “With The Miseducation, there was no precedent,” Hill explained. “I was, for the most part, free to explore, experiment, and express. After The Miseducation, there were scores of tentacled obstructionists, politics, repressing agendas, unrealistic expectations, and saboteurs everywhere.”
Photo Credit: Marv Watson
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