Legends Never Die
I do not fear death, but aging...that has become much more uncomfortable. Yes, in the physical sense, but in the aspects that go beyond the naked eye. I just spent 5 years of my life getting battle tested in the ways of stringing together a sentence just to sit down and let myself put a stream of consciousness on a page and every urge to refine it to sound scientific.
There's been several moments in which my mortality has been faced. In the literal sense finally getting an updated prescription for my glasses and new frames (insert obligatory "to show time has passed" John Mulaney reference) or finally having time to drive around your hometown and actually see the changes in the streets that once felt larger than life be replaced with empty storefronts or abandoned blacktops where you once dominated recess.
While scrolling Instagram, I came across the following video of War and Treaty performing "Joyful, Joyful" at the 2026 BET Awards for Lauryn Hill. Now for those who don't know War and Treaty are an American country music husband and wife duo, Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter.
Tanya Trotter, maiden name Blount, aka Tanya of "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit fame" where we got the iconic rendition of "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" duet with THE Lauryn Hill. In fact, that is how I was first introduced to Lauryn Hill. I knew her as Rita Watson, a gifted singer who hides talent from her mom (played by Sheryl Lee Ralph aka Barb on Abbott Elementary aka ironically known as the original Deena Jones from Dreamgirls) because “singing does not put food on the table”.
Not only did the Sister Act 2 VHS go double platinum in my house, but it was my first introduction to Ms. Hill as a conscious human of society. It was in middle school when we put on our own rendition for the school play and I found myself doing a deep dive on all the actors and actresses only to find out Rita was also in same group as Wyclef Jean who a had come to know as the rapper in "Hips Don't Lie".
My mind was blown the same iconic voice of "Killing Me Softly With His Song" as brought us "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You". I was thoroughly pleased with this tribute and it looked like Ms. Hill enjoyed it as well jamming in the front seat. You know how much of flex that is to get a front row concert to s*** you wrote?
We smoothly move into the Fugees era with absolute BANGERS.
"Fu-Gee-La" performed by Tems & Tierra Whack
"Ready or Not" performed by SZA & Doechii.
"Killing Me Softly" - Alexia Jayy
(I would have loved to have heard Vocab, but I am greedy.)
Then to experience tribute to the Miseducation of of Lauryn Hill:
"Superstar" performed by Doja Cat
"Doo Wop (That Thing)"performed by Lizzo & Rapsody
"The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" - her daughter Selah Marley (later joined by sons YG Marley & Zion Marley)
"Lost Ones" Queen Latifah & Common
We also got to hear "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That) performed by Nas & Doja Cat (technically a feature, but I mean come on a classic)!
And we even got to be graced by Ms. Hill herself performing because in her words "I wasn't even supposed to be performing, but I heard no one was performing this song." I was immediately transported to my shared family computer in the basement discovering her album for the first time.
The last time I watched her on stage was paying tribute to D'Angelo and Roberta Flack at the Grammys in February. She opened with "Nothing Even Matters," her duet with D'Angelo, where she said, "D and I never got to do this on stage together. Make time for the people that you love while you can." I read that she agreed to do the tribute only if the Grammys let her have all the time she wanted and bring in all the artists she wanted. She chose the musicians (his band, The Vanguard, being one of them), the arrangements, and the songs. And thank God she did, because we got to end with some classic Roberta Flack-inspired Fugees: "Killing Me Softly," featuring Wyclef Jean.
But ultimately, the thing has made aging most uncomfortable is looking back at your life and asking yourself: Did I really do enough? We spend so much time demonizing aging that we forget what a privilege it is to acquire context, but also to be able to look back.
These tributes really just reminded me how short life is. Lauryn saying that she never got to perform with her friend, while in the same set displaying a reconciliation after a very public and (what we later would learn to be complicated) breakup, felt extremely symbolic. We always think we have more time. More time to try the new hobby. More time to catch up with friends. More time to go to the concert. More time to take the trip out of the country. More time to reconcile and repair our relationships.
Dolly Parton passed a few days ago. We were first introduced to her as an entertainer, but in her passing, so much of the conversation has been about more than her music. Her philanthropy, the artists she uplifted, and story after story about how she made people feel. She loved what she did, but even more so, you could feel how much she loved what doing it allowed her to do for others.
So while I am incredibly proud of earning my doctorate, I can also mourn what has felt like lost time. And now, I look forward to what I get to step into next.
Because maybe that’s the part of aging I’m actually uncomfortable with: the possibility of looking back at decades of my life and wondering what I did with them. And “doing enough” isn’t just about what I accomplished. It’s what I did for others, but also what I allowed myself to do for me.
Give people their flowers while they’re still here to smell them, and let your legacy be a garden that those left behind can cherish.
I do not own the rights to this music. No copyright infringement intended.
