TIFF PARTY: Ms. Lauryn Hill set the room on fire at the big annual One X One party
While most A-listers chose to spend their Saturday night downtown, anyone looking to have some real fun was at the Kool Haus for the annual One X One fundraiser. One X One is one of those parties that gets a lot of hype, because it’s such a festival staple, it’s for an indisputably good cause—the charity aims to improve the quality of life for children all over the world—and it’s always a good time. Toronto rapper Kardinal Offishall kicked the night off, getting the crowd sufficiently pumped with special guests like Solitair, Jully Black and K’naan (who moved Kardinal almost to tears with his song). And then Ms. Lauryn Hill came on. And Ms. Lauryn Hill was awesome.
For almost two hours, without a lull or false step, she rocked the heck out, singing and rapping hits from her classic album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, along with a clutch of Fugees songs. As far as TIFF parties go, for the committed celeb gawker, it might have been a bit of a letdown (the star power in the VIP lounge was limited to HGTV’s Property Brothers, former Argo Damon Allen, celeb chef David Rocco and Toronto’s once and future arbiters of cool, Dan Levy and Jessi Cruickshank, reunited at last). Matt Damon, One X One Ambassador and usual attendee, was noticeably absent. But as a party—a straight-up, dance-your-socks-off-in-a-big-room party—it was as good as it gets. Take that, Soho House.
