Fugees Perform at Roberta Flack’s Memorial
Lorin Hill and Viklef Jin from Fugees came together to perform at Roberta Flack’s memorial earlier this week.
- Read more: why the “score” is one of the greatest albums of hip-hop in history
Remembering Roberta Flack
Flack passed away on February 24, and her representatives shared a heartfelt statement: “We are broken by grief that the glorious Roberta Flack died this morning. She died peacefully surrounded by her family. Roberta broke boundaries and records and was a proud teacher.”
The cause of death has not been disclosed, but it is notable that the singer battled health issues over the past three years.
A memorial service for the R&B icon took place on Monday (March 10) at the New York Baptist Church in Harlem, attended by numerous stars.
Both former group members performed several covers of her classic tracks. They included Flack’s 1969 hit “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and the cover “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” featured on their 1996 LP “The Score,” which catapulted the group to fame. To this day, “Killing Me Softly” remains the Fugees’ most celebrated hit.
RS. Lauryn Hill in honor of Roberta Flack in New York tonight at the celebration of life 💐 pic.twitter.com/yijol0rxcy
– Aj Thomas 🎙 (@rangecloudz) March 10, 2025
Hill’s Tribute Speech
Before their performance, Hill delivered a speech in memory of Flack. “We were not formally invited to do this, as they seemed hesitant to ask us to participate. But we felt compelled to attend because we couldn’t just stand by and not take part,” she told the audience (via Billboard).
She continued: “Like Nina Simone, she carved the path for me as a spiritual black intellectual beauty. She spoke not only of black resistance through her lyrics and statements but embodied that resistance against racism and oppression through her very existence.”
“She didn’t just write about beauty; she was beauty. She didn’t just write about resistance; her life was a form of resistance. She chronicled our stories in ways the established authorities could not deny, creating compositions in elegant classical forms that were impossible to ignore.”
