Lauryn Hill’s 35-year journey making music, acting, and redefining the hip-hop landscape led to yet another historic milestone. On Sunday, she was honored with the Living Legend Icon Award during the 2026 BET Awards ceremony held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The award recognizes her lasting impact and influence on music, culture, and generations of artists who followed in her footsteps.

After a star-studded tribute performance by Doechii, SZA, Nas, Queen Latifah, Doja Cat, Common, and more, Hill took the stage to perform Ex-Factor before accepting the award.

“I do this because I love y’all,” the singer began. “I do this because I want you to have everything that I experienced, right? I had wonderful parents who loved on me, poured into me, and protected me. 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. And music was a way for me to do that.

“I had always cared about the expression and the representation of the dignity of our people. So, you know, we put ourselves at times as artists, we put ourselves in places and in situations where we have to say things that aren’t always comfortable. But we understand that people will understand later. I fight for y’all. Everybody may not know about it, but I fight for y’all.”

Hill is the inaugural award recipient, presented to artists and changemakers whose influence has not only transformed the industry but also shaped the culture. It honors those who have remained true to their craft while also staying connected to their roots. “This distinction belongs to the artists and creators whose body of work has remained essential not because the culture held on to them, but because they never stopped holding on to it,” BET said in a statement.

For many, Hill was the obvious choice to become the award’s first recipient. Her résumé speaks for itself. Getting her start with the Fugees in 1989 with her classmate Pras, and later on joined by Wyclef Jean, the trio had a massive run creating hits like “Ready or Not” and “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” The group’s foundation laid the groundwork for Hill to catapult into her solo career. 

She later became the first female hip-hop artist to earn a Diamond certification from the RIAA, with sales surpassing 10 million units. Her groundbreaking debut solo album, The Miseducation of , debuted at Number One on the Billboard 200 albums chart with 400,000 copies sold in its first week — a record for a female artist at the time. The album also holds the Number 10 spot on Rolling Stone‘s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list. More than just a critically acclaimed project, it helped redefine the narrative of women in hip-hop and R&B.

Earlier this year, the New Jersey native received her first Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination alongside fellow Ultimate Icon award recipient Mariah Carey. Although Hill didn’t secure the induction this year, she continues to prove that her impact remains as powerful as ever. Hill will be hitting the road for a series of intimate acoustic performances across the globe this July. The short run of dates begins on July 2, at the Granca Live Fest in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. She is set to make a return to her hometown state on July 12 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for BET Weekend, before wrapping up on Aug. 29 at the Meo Kalorama Festival in Lisbon, Portugal.

Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox

Subscribe

Read More About