March 11, 2025
The artists are tied by their notable covers of “Killing me Softly.”
Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, two-thirds of the hit rap group, The Fugees, made a shock look on the Roberta Flack Memorial. The duo’s look preceded an already-set efficiency by Stevie Marvel.
Flack, the acclaimed singer and pianist, died final month from a cardiac arrest at age 88. The singer gained recognition for her renditions of hits “Killing Me Softy With His Music” and “The First Time Ever I Noticed Your Face.” The previous, additionally lined by The Fugees, was carried out by Hill on the memorial service Mar. 9. An Instagram account for the Donny Hathaway Legacy Mission reposted footage of the efficiency.
Going down at Abyssinnian Baptist Church, a storied spiritual establishment in Harlem, the chapel full of white and yellow bouquets with a picture of a younger Flack on the piano showcased on a display. The display confirmed tributes to Flack’s work by different icons like Clive Davis and Alicia Keys. The service’s program additionally displayed a signature quote from Flack about strolling within the gentle.
“Bear in mind: All the time stroll within the gentle,” detailed the quote, as reported by daAtlanta Journal-Structure. “If you happen to really feel such as you’re not strolling in it, go discover it. Love the Mild.”
As Hill appeared, she referred to the singer as a legend whose “existence was a type of resistance.”
“I like Ms. Roberta Flack,” she stated. “Roberta Flack is legend.”
The artists are tied by their connection to “Killing Me Softly.” The duvet earned Flack the “File of the 12 months” and “Finest Feminine Pop Vocal Efficiency” awards on the 1974 Grammys. The Fugees’ rendition additionally garnered vital and industrial success, profitable the 1997 Grammy for “Finest R&B Efficiency by a Duo or Group with Vocal.”
After performing “The First Time Ever I Noticed Your Face,” Hill and Jean carried out the shared hit, with Marvel on harmonica. Marvel adopted with two songs accompanied by a harpist. He included for a track he wrote for Flack, “I Can See the Solar in Late December.”
Throughout his personal speech, Marvel spoke about seeing and feeling Flack’s coronary heart regardless of not ever capturing her face.
“The beauty of not being able to see together with your eyes is the good alternative of having the ability to even higher see together with your coronary heart. And so I knew how stunning Roberta was, not seeing her visually however having the ability to see and really feel her coronary heart,” Marvel stated.
After the emotional efficiency, Rev. Al Sharpton gave the eulogy on Flack’s legacy that has lasted generations.
“The rationale we’re right here is as a result of she made a distinction,” Sharpton stated. “And we must always all ask ourselves when it comes our time, will they pack a church for you? If Roberta had been right here tonight, she would let you know, ‘Don’t simply reward me, emulate me.’”
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