Lauryn Hill closes unforgettable BET Awards tribute with powerful message

After becoming the first recipient of the Living Legend Icon Award, Hill celebrated individuality and reflected on a career that has shaped generations of artists.

Lauryn Hill made history Sunday night as the first recipient of the newly created “Living Legend Icon Award” at the 2026 BET Awards, capping an extraordinary tribute that stretched across her entire career and brought out some of the biggest names in music, according to Billboard.

The inaugural award was presented by Ice Cube, who called her “one of the greatest voices in Black music history,” and narrated by her Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean before a massive all-star medley got underway. TheGrio reported last month when BET announced Hill would be the award’s inaugural recipient, with BET EVP Connie Orlando saying Hill “has never chased the moment — she has shaped it.” TheGrio also covered the BET Board of Advisors announcement earlier this week, which confirmed the full scope of the night’s honors, including Teyana Taylor receiving the “Icon of the Year Award” and music executive Sylvia Rhone receiving the “Ultimate Icon Award.”

The tribute medley included The War and Treaty opening with “Joyful, Joyful,” a callback to Hill’s role in the film “Sister Act 2”; SZA and Doechii covering “Ready or Not”; Tems and Tierra Whack performing “Fu-Gee-La”; Doja Cat doing “Superstar” before duetting “If I Ruled the World” with Nas; Lizzo and Rapsody taking on “Doo Wop (That Thing)”; Alexia Jayy delivering “Killing Me Softly”; and Queen Latifah and Common closing the tribute with “Lost Ones.” Three of Hill’s children also performed: her daughter Selah Marley covered the “Miseducation” title track, YG Marley performed “Turn Your Lights Down Low,” and Zion Marley sang a reggae rendition of “To Zion,” the song his mother wrote for him. Hill’s son John, celebrating his 23rd birthday Sunday, came onstage to hug his mother mid-speech as the crowd cheered.

Hill surprised the audience by performing “Ex-Factor” after learning no one had been assigned the song in the tribute lineup. She closed the entire show with “Everything Is Everything” as the credits rolled. In her acceptance speech, Hill spoke about her parents, her children, and her sense of purpose. “I do this because I love y’all,” she said. “I do this because I want you to have everything that I experienced.” She also celebrated individuality.

“All of our differences, all of our uniqueness, that’s the beauty, y’all. We don’t have to sound the same. We don’t have to look the same. We don’t have to be the same.”