Overview
- BET announced that Ms. Lauryn Hill will be the first recipient of the Living Legend Icon Award at the 2026 BET Awards, which will air live June 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles with Druski hosting.
- The award is sponsored by Sprite and was described by BET as a way to honor pioneers who “mastered their craft and never let go of the culture.”
- Connie Orlando, BET’s EVP of specials and music programming, called Hill “the very definition of a living legend” and said the ceremony will celebrate her role in shaping generations of artists.
- Hill rose to fame with The Fugees and released The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the first hip-hop album to win the Grammy for Album of the Year; that record also helped her become the first woman to win five Grammys in a single night and has been added to the National Recording Registry and Grammy Hall of Fame.
- The new award follows BET’s recent pattern of legacy honors and could renew attention to Hill’s catalogue while highlighting the network’s effort to formalize lifetime recognitions on Culture’s Biggest Night.