The powerhouse performance honored some of the R&B and hip-hop artists lost last year, including D’Angelo, Roberta Flack, and Angie Stone.

Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean reunite Fugees to lead star-studded Grammys tribute to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack

The powerhouse performance honored some of the R&B and hip-hop artists lost last year, including D'Angelo, Roberta Flack, and Angie Stone.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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February 2, 2026 12:38 a.m. ET

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- Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean staged a partial Fugees reunion on stage at the 2026 Grammys to honor D'Angelo and Roberta Flack, who both died in 2025.

- Hill and Jean performed a version of Flack's "Killing Me Softly With His Song," which Fugees memorably interpolated on their 1996 song "Killing Me Softly."

- The tribute to the soul legends also featured John Legend, Chaka Khan, Leon Bridges, Raphael Saadiq, and more.

Fugees artists Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean reunited for a stirring In Memoriam tribute at the 2026 Grammy Awards.

The star-studded ensemble performance, which immediately followed Post Malone, Andrew Watt, Chad Smith, Duff McKagan, and Slash's head-banging tribute to Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, honored two of the brightest lights in the worlds of hip-hop and soul who died in 2025: Roberta Flack and D'Angelo.

Hill acted as both the anchor performer and a kind of mistress of ceremonies, appearing center stage in a voluminous gown and dark shades. She noted at the top of the medley that she and D'Angelo, who collaborated on her 1998 song "Nothing Even Matters," never got to duet the song on stage together while he was alive, before diving into a stirring and starry run through his greatest hits.**

Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Chaka Khan, Raphael Saadiq, and more pay tribute to Lauryn Hill and D'Angelo at the 2026 Grammys.

Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty

Following an emotional rendition of that *Miseducation of Lauryn Hill *track, Lucky Daye dove into "Brown Sugar," the title track off D'Angelo's 1995 debut album. Raphael Saadiq and Anthony Hamilton, both of whom also collaborated with the soul legend, then appeared on stage to sing his hit "Lady," from the same album.

Leon Thomas followed with his spin on "Devil's Pie," from 2000's Grammy-winning *Voodoo*, before Bilal and Jon Batiste sang "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" and "Africa," respectively.

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Hill introduced each performer as they entered from stage left, and joined in their renditions with quick ad libs and freestyle additions. As she segued into the Flack segment, a cavalcade of musical excellence stormed the stage.

Batiste first reteamed with Hill for Flack's touching 1969 classic, "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." Leon Bridges and Alexia Jayy then joined to sing "Compared to What."

Lalah Hathaway, daughter of the legendary Donny Hathaway, and rising star October London then performed a rendition of "Closer I Get to You," which Flack originally duetted with Donny. Hill then introduced two of the marquee artists in the ensemble, John Legend and Chaka Khan, who got the audience on their feet with a rousing version of "Where is the Love," from her 1972 album with Donny, *Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway*.

Finally, Hill paid double tribute to Flack and D'Angelo by singing "Feel Like Makin' Love," the lead single Flack's 1975 album of the same name, which D'Angelo covered in 2000 on *Voodoo*. Finally, she called Jean onto the stage to launch into the song everyone had been waiting for - "Killing Me Softly with His Song," which Fugees interpolated on their beloved 1996 song "Killing Me Softly."**

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D'Angelo died on Oct. 14 at the age of 51 after a private battle with pancreatic cancer. Tributes immediately poured in from the likes of Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, and Hill, who praised the musician born Michael Eugene Archer's "undeniable beauty and talent" as "not of this world."

Flack died on Feb. 24 at the age of 88 after announcing she was diagnosed with ALS in 2022. Flack's influential, decades-long career was similarly the subject of dozens of tributes after her death, including from Jennifer Hudson, who called her "one of the great soul singers of all time."**

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Source: “EW Grammys”