Queen Latifah, Nas, SZA, Tems and Hill’s own children joined a three-generation tribute that closed with a live performance of “Ex-Factor.”
Lauryn Hill walked into the Peacock Theater on June 28 as one of the most influential artists in modern Black music. She walked out as the first person to ever hold a title BET created specifically with her in mind.
The network’s new Living Legend Icon Award debuted at the 2026 BET Awards with Hill as its inaugural recipient, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s coverage of the ceremony. The recognition arrived alongside a tribute built to match the scale of her catalog, pulling together more than a dozen artists across three generations of hip hop, R&B and Afrobeats.
A lineup built across generations
According to HuffPost’s live coverage of the ceremony, the Hill tribute included Queen Latifah, Nas, Common, SZA, Lizzo, Doja Cat, Doechii, Tems, Tierra Whack, Rapsody, Alexia Jayy and The War and Treaty, performing songs from across Hill’s catalog as both a solo artist and a member of the Fugees. The same report noted that several of Hill’s children, Selah Marley, YG Marley and Zion Marley, also took part in the musical tribute to their mother.
The lineup reflected the breadth of Hill’s reach. Queen Latifah, Nas and Common represent the era Hill came up in alongside her work with the Fugees in the 1990s. SZA, Doechii, Lizzo and Rapsody represent the generation of R&B and hip hop artists who grew up with “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” as a foundational text. Tems’ inclusion extended that lineage into Afrobeats, underscoring how far Hill’s influence travels beyond American hip hop.
After the tribute, Hill took the stage herself for a live performance of “Ex-Factor,” one of the defining tracks from “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” her 1998 solo debut that remains one of the most celebrated albums in modern R&B and hip hop history.
The Living Legend Icon Award was one of several new and special honors at the 2026 ceremony. According to Wikipedia’s summary of the event, BET also introduced the Fashion Vanguard Award and the Pulse Award this year, while Teyana Taylor received the network’s Icon of the Year Award and music executive Sylvia Rhone was honored with the Ultimate Icon Award.
Why the moment resonates with the DMV’s diaspora audience
For readers across the DMV, Hill’s catalog has functioned as connective tissue across generations and across the African diaspora for nearly three decades. “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” drew on reggae, soul and African rhythmic traditions long before “Afrobeats crossover” became an industry term, and her influence runs directly through artists like Tems who now headline DMV stages and playlists.
Embed from Getty ImagesBET’s decision to create an honor specifically for Hill, rather than waiting to recognize her posthumously, also reflects a broader industry conversation about honoring Black women artists while they are present to receive it. That shift carries particular weight for a community that has long pushed cultural institutions to recognize its architects in real time rather than retrospectively.
AfroDMV covered the broader 2026 ceremony, including the Afrobeats artists who earned nominations but no wins, in BET Awards 2026: Afrobeats Got the Stage, Not the Trophy. The Hill tribute stands as a separate, generational moment within the same night, one that said as much about where Black music has been as where it is headed.