Lauryn Hill tributes and surprise performances at the ‘Bet Awards’ created major ‘90s music nostalgia

Lauryn Hill/YouTube screenshot

Ms. Lauryn Hill’s tributes at the BET Awards brought so much nostalgia, as Nas, Jasmine Sullivan, SZA, Doechii, Doja Cat, Queen Latifah, Tems, Lizzo, and other artists paid homage to the singer while performing many special songs from her career.

Her sons, Zion Marley and YG Marley, and her daughter, Selah Marley, also performed in Hill’s honor.

At the show, the former Fugees member was honored with the inaugural Living Legend Icon Award. Ms. Lauryn’s debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, has remained especially popular throughout the years. The album is considered a quintessential body of work, and a lot of its material was featured at the ceremony.

Entertainment Tonight/YouTube screenshot

The songstress nearly wrote and produced all of the album's material alone. Hill won five Grammys for the project in 1999, and sold 12 million copies of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill worldwide.

During her time with the Fugees, the group recorded two albums. Their sophomore album, The Score, became a hip-hop classic.

Fans always clamored for more projects from Hill and the Fugees, but the reconnection never officially happened. The group reportedly disbanded after an attempt to tour in 2024, which was canceled due to low ticket sales. It was rumored that fans were skeptical about buying tickets after Lauryn gained a reputation for canceling her solo shows or arriving excessively late to her concerts.

Zion Marley/Instagram screenshot/Entertainment Tonight

Yet at this year’s BET Awards, she gave the audience an invaluable surprise by singing one of her biggest hits, “Ex-Factor,” during the ceremony. Her son YG was her hype man as she sang this number. Hill told the audience that she wasn’t supposed to perform tonight, but she heard “Ex-Factor” wouldn’t be performed during her tribute.

The audience sang along word for word during for "Ex-Factor." The rapper and singer also performed her old hit, “Everything Is Everything” before the night ended.

Hill thanked the audience and said, "I do this because I love y'all". "I do this because I want you to have everything that I experienced... 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 as much people as I possibly could."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahLYHf3pnlc

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