American hip-hop group The Fugees have canceled their anticipated reunion tour due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement shared to their Instagram, the group — which consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel and Lauryn Hill — announced that despite the anticipated disappointment, “our anniversary tour will not be able to happen.”
“The continued Covid pandemic has made touring conditions difficult, and we want to make sure we keep our fans and ourselves healthy and safe,” the statement reads. “If opportunity, public safety and scheduling allow, we hope to be able to revisit this again sometime soon.”
In addition to thanking fans for their support throughout the years, the statement also acknowledged how “grateful” the band was to be able to perform their intimate pop-up show, a “rare live moment” which took place in New York City on Sept. 22 at Pier 17 for Global Citizen Live. Attendees, who heard the group’s hits like “The Score,” “Killing Me Softly” and “Ready or Not,” had to score tickets through an online raffle. It was the group’s first live show in 15 years.
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The Fugees 12-city tour, which had been rescheduled from November, was slated to begin on March 2 in Chicago, ending in Oakland on March 29.
The group, originally known as Tranzlator Crew, was formed in the early ’90s and changed their name to Fugees — an abbreviation of “refugees” — as a nod to several of the group members’ immigrant backgrounds.
Their 1996 album, The Score, delivered the famed single “Killing Me Softly,” and has, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, since sold 7 million copies in the U.S., with 22 million copies worldwide.
One day earlier, Adele rescheduled her Las Vegas residency that was set to kick off Jan. 21 due to COVID complications, including delivery delays and crewmembers testing positive for the virus. “We’ve tried absolutely everything that we can to put it together in time and for it to be good enough for you, but we’ve been absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and COVID,” the singer explained in a tearful video to fans.
