Tems stepping onto the BET Awards stage to honor Lauryn Hill is the kind of full-circle moment that says a lot about where R&B and hip-hop are right now. At the 2026 BET Awards, Hill received the inaugural Living Legend Icon Award, and the tribute built around her catalog pulled in some of the biggest names of this generation, including Tems. For an artist who has often been linked to Lauryn’s blend of vulnerability and strength, taking part in that celebration wasn’t just a booking—it was a statement about lineage.
The tribute itself was a carefully curated journey through Hill’s work with the Fugees and her solo material, moving from “Joyful, Joyful” as a nod to Sister Act 2 into a run of songs that defined ’90s and 2000s hip-hop soul. Tems joined Tierra Whack to handle “Fu-Gee-La,” one of the Fugees’ most iconic records, bringing a contemporary, global R&B presence to a song that originally helped crystallize the group’s sharp, melodic approach to rap and harmonies. You can see full coverage of the tribute line-up and medley here.
@notjustok.com Tems stepping up to join the Lauryn Hill tribute at the #BETAwards2026 is a massive moment. The global R&B transition is fully complete. Sheesh.
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What made Tems’ role powerful wasn’t just hitting the notes; it was the way her voice sat inside Hill’s universe without trying to mimic it. Tems’ tone—clear, slightly husky, with a reflective edge—brought a different texture to “Fu-Gee-La,” balancing Whack’s off‑kilter creativity with a grounded emotional center that felt true to her own catalog. Online reactions from viewers and BET’s own recap posts highlighted how “the girls showed OUT for Ms. Hill,” singling out Tems and Tierra Whack as standout performers in a tribute that also featured SZA, Doechii, Nas, Queen Latifah, Doja Cat and others. More on how the medley was structured and received is captured in Billboard’s report here.
For Tems, being part of that lineup matters beyond the performance itself. Lauryn Hill’s influence runs through the current wave of introspective, sonically adventurous R&B that Tems represents, whether in her solo work or her collaborations across Afrobeats and hip-hop. Sharing a medley built from Hill’s catalog on a stage that celebrated Lauryn as a “living legend” placed Tems directly in that continuum, positioning her as one of the artists who will carry that kind of emotional honesty and genre‑blurring forward.
In the end, the tribute showed how Hill’s songs still make room for new voices to enter and find themselves in the material. Tems’ presence said that the story of Lauryn Hill’s impact isn’t finished; it’s being retold and extended by a generation of women who grew up on those records and are now building their own classics in response.