On Monday, March 10, Roberta Flack had her "Celebration of Life" at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. Hundreds upon hundreds of people were in attendance for the loving ceremony, including a great number of musical icons. Per AllHipHop, Clive Davis, Dionne Warwick, India Arie, and Alicia Keys were just a few. Lauryn Hill, her Fugees band mate Wyclef Jean, as well as Stevie Wonder were also there for the joyous but sad occasion. In addition to paying their respects to a legend who meant a lot in their respective careers, they were tasked with performing as well. The trio absolutely crushed it, both together and individually.
Hill, Jean, and Wonder united for powerful renditions of Roberta Flack's biggest hits, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly with His Song." The latter can be watched below, courtesy of celebrity photographer, Johnny Nunez. Hill crushes the vocals, Jean did his thing on bass, and Wonder was a treat on his harmonica. Fans in the comments gave the three musical titans massive props for doing Flack justice. "Stevie gave me chillsss. Wow. 💗💗💗💗" one user writes. "That’s the Lauryn we all know! 🔥❤️" adds another.
Roberta Flack Legacy In Music
Wonder also hit the stage separately to an equally touching homage of "If It’s Magic." He also gave the audience a look into how much Flack meant to him by performing "I Can See the Sun in Late December," a song he wrote for her 1975 album Feel Like Makin' Love. On top of the compositions, Rev. Al Sharpton delivered an accurate eulogy, describing the soulful singer's music as "a soundtrack to Black dignity."
As you can see and hear, Roberta Flack had a huge influence on a lot of people and musicians both in her genre and outside of it. That especially goes for hip-hop, too. Artists like Jay-Z, Nas, T.I., Nate Dogg, and Cordae don't even come to close the number of MC's she's inspired in some way. Whether it be melodies, interpolations, or straight-up sampling, Roberta Flack was true gem and great ambassador for the industry. We tragically lost her, albeit peacefully, on February 24, 2025, at the age of 88. A definitive reason for her passing has yet to be revealed. However, she had been dealing with health issues, including ALS, which she had been harboring since 2022.
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