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Lauryn Hill was honoured Sunday night (June 28) at the 2026 BET Awards as the inaugural recipient of the Living Legend Icon Award.
According to BET, the Living Legend Icon Award celebrates “the pioneers who mastered their craft and never let go of the culture.”
Hill first made a name for herself on the silver screen playing the stubborn but talented student Rita Louise Watson in 1993’s Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.
She then reinforced herself as one-third of the legendary Fugees alongside Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel in 1994 when the group dropped their debut album Blunted on Reality.
However, it wasn’t until 1996’s The Score and Ms. Hill’s rendition of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly With His Song” that she really catapulted to superstardom.
She then upped the ante two years later with her seminal debut solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill that forever changed what a hip-hop album could sound like.
Her tribute started off with Ice Cube setting the table as he broke down her career, which was then followed by her bandmate Wyclef narrating their time with the Fugees.
-BILLBOARD
