Lauryn Hill Leads Emotional Grammy In Memoriam Tribute to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack, Reunites With Fugees’ Wyclef Jean

The 2024 Grammy Awards ceremony featured a powerful and poignant In Memoriam segment honoring two late musical giants: the neo-soul pioneer D'Angelo and the legendary vocalist Roberta Flack. Curated and led by Lauryn Hill, the tribute brought together an all-star lineup of musicians for a series of soulful performances that celebrated each artist's profound legacy.

For D’Angelo, the segment began with Hill harmonizing with the late singer’s recorded vocals on their classic duet “Nothing Even Matters.” The homage continued with Lucky Daye performing “Brown Sugar,” followed by Raphael Saadiq and Anthony Hamilton’s take on “Lady.” Leon Thomas then delivered “Devil’s Pie,” before Transition with Vanguard BGVS offered “Another Life.” Bilal performed the iconic “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” and Jon Batiste brought this portion to a close with “Africa.” D’Angelo, who passed away from cancer in 2023 at just 51, was a famously reclusive figure. Despite releasing only three studio albums over three decades, his influence in shaping the neo-soul genre and inspiring subsequent generations of R&B artists remains immeasurable.

The tribute then shifted to Roberta Flack, the classically trained singer who rose to fame in the early 1970s. Hill and Batiste opened with a stirring rendition of her Grammy-winning ballad “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” Leon Bridges then joined Batiste for “Compared to What,” followed by Lalah Hathaway and October London performing “Closer I Get to You.” John Legend and Chaka Khan duetted on the Flack-Donny Hathaway hit “Where Is the Love.” As music historian Dr. Evelyn Shaw noted in a recent interview, "Flack's ability to blend pop, soul, and jazz with such emotional precision made her songs timeless standards." Hill then performed “Feel Like Makin’ Love”—a song both Flack and D’Angelo had recorded—before reuniting with her Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean. Their performance of Flack’s “Killing Me Softly with His Song” seamlessly transitioned into the Fugees' own 1996 hip-hop version, providing a rousing finale that brought the audience to its feet. Flack, whose career spanned decades beyond her chart-topping years, passed away in February 2023 at the age of 88.