The Recording Academy has confirmed that Ms. Lauryn Hill will lead a special tribute performance honoring the late Roberta Flack and D’Angelo at the 2026 Grammy Awards. The announcement immediately drew widespread praise and for many, there could be no more fitting artist to celebrate the legacies of two visionaries who helped shape the sound and soul of contemporary Black music.
Ms. Lauryn Hill Is Beyond Qualified For Roberta Flack Tribute
Ms. Hill’s connection to Flack stretches back decades. Following Flack’s passing last February, Hill shared a heartfelt reflection on Instagram describing how the five-time Grammy winner “moved me and showed me through her own creative choices and standards what else was possible within the idiom of Soul.”
She also acknowledged that Flack’s timeless interpretation of “Killing Me Softly With His Song” directly influenced her own career trajectory. The Fugees’ 1996 reimagining of that same track became a global phenomenon, propelling Hill and her bandmates into mainstream acclaim and further cementing Flack’s enduring cultural presence.
Beyond Hill’s personal link, Flack’s musical fingerprints are all over hip-hop history. Her catalog, an intricate blend of R&B, jazz and soul, has served as a versatile foundation for generations of beatmakers and lyricists. Artists from Wu-Tang Clan and Lil’ Kim to De La Soul, Scarface and Jadakiss have sampled or referenced her work – recognizing her as a cornerstone of the genre’s sonic lineage. Hill, who has always straddled the worlds of rap and soul, stands as a natural successor in that continuum, her artistry reflecting the very same blend of grace and defiance that defined Flack’s career.
The night’s tribute will also include an acknowledgment of D’Angelo, a friend and creative peer whom Hill famously collaborated with on “Nothing Even Matters,” a standout ballad from her 1998 debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The album swept the 41st Annual Grammy Awards in 1999, earning Hill five trophies including Album of the Year marking a pivotal victory for both hip-hop and R&B. D’Angelo himself stands as a pioneer of the neo-soul movement, thanks to his groundbreaking 1995 debut Brown Sugar and his work with the Soulquarians, a collective of progressive Black Hip-Hop and R&B musicians who reshaped late-’90s.
In a tribute post to D’Angelo on Instagram, Ms. Hill credited him for “charting the course and making space during a time when no similar space really existed,” praising his ability to unify sensitivity and strength in modern Black manhood.
Among neo-soul enthusiasts, there’s palpable puzzlement over Angie Stone’s conspicuous absence from the Grammy tribute led by Ms. Lauryn Hill. As D’Angelo’s ex-wife and mother to their shared son, Stone, who tragically lost her life in a car accident last March, forged a deeply intertwined legacy with the neo-soul pioneer, evident across albums like Black Diamond and Mahogany Soul.
Fans argue that including Stone alongside Roberta Flack and D’Angelo would have painted a fuller portrait of neo-soul’s familial and collaborative spirit, prompting discussions on and offline about whether the Recording Academy overlooked this poignant connection in curating the segment. It is fair I speculate Ms. Hill may also take a moment to bear witness to remember Angie Stone.
What About John Forté?
It is also fair I speculate Ms. Hill may take a moment to remember John Forté, the late Fugees collaborator and producer who passed away in January — just a couple of weeks ago. Forté played a crucial role in shaping the sound of The Score, the group’s Grammy-nominated 1996 landmark album. Taking to Instagram shortly after the news of his untimely death circulated, Hill once recalled the vibrant energy of that era, writing, “I introduced Forte to Wyclef and Pras... contributing bars, beats, and that beautiful smile.”
Ms. Lauryn Hill Is Still Making History
With The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2024, Hill’s return to the stage this year heightens the weight of camaraderie in Black music culture.
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