Lauryn Hill received a tribute worthy of an icon at Sunday’s BET Awards.
Before accepting the network’s Living Legend Icon Award, the singer-songwriter was honored with a powerful 18-minute musical tribute featuring R&B and hip-hop royalty.
The tribute began with The War and Treaty performing “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” a song that group member Tanya Trotter performed with Hill in the 1993 film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.
A smiling Hill rose to her feet in appreciation. Next, SZA and Doechii belted out The Fugees hit “Ready or Not.”
Tierra Whack and Tems picked up the baton with “Fu-Gee-La.”
They were followed by Hill’s daughter, Selah Marley, who performed the title track from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. When the cameras cut to Hill, her eyes filled with tears as she became visibly emotional.
Doja Cat followed with “Superstar.” Moments later, she welcomed rap legend Nas to the stage as he proclaimed, “Miss Hill, I love you!”
Nas then performed his 1996 hit with Hill, “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)” and Doja sang the chorus.
Lizzo brought down the house with “Doo Wop (That Thing)” and was accompanied by Rapsody.
Hill’s sons, YG Marley and Zion Marley, also took the stage. The Voice Season 29 winner Alexia Jayy delivered a beautiful rendition of “Killing Me Softly.”
Queen Latifah and Common had the audience dancing as they closed out the tribute with a high-energy performance of “Lost Ones.”
After a commercial break, Hill surprised the audience by performing “Ex-Factor.” She said since no one was singing the track, “I did it myself.”
Following the tribute, Ice Cube presented her with the BET Living Legend Icon Award.
During her acceptance speech, the singer-songwriter reflected on her career and how she used music to uplift others.
“I do this because I love y’all. I do this because I want you to have everything I experienced,” she said. “I had lovely parents who loved on me, poured into me, and protected me, and once I realized that not everybody got to have that experience, I felt like it was my duty, my responsibility, to share as much love and to pour into people as much as I could, and music was a way for me to do that.”
Hill also spoke about representing the Black community through her work.
“I have always cared about the expression and the representation of the dignity of our people,” she said. “So we put ourselves, sometimes as artists, in situations to say things that aren’t always comfortable, but we understand that people will understand later. I fight for y’all. Everybody might not know about it, but I fight for y’all. And fighting for y’all is fighting for me… We may not always agree all the time, but I’m rooting for you, and I’m grateful that you root for me too.”
Hill closed the ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles with a performance of her anthem “Everything Is Everything.”
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