Lauryn Hill Shares Her One Regret After D’Angelo’s Death

Lauryn Hill shared an emotional statement remembering her longtime friend and collaborator D’Angelo, who died on Tuesday at 51 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. On Tuesday night, Hill took to Instagram to share her memories of D’Angelo, and her one “regret” about their relationship.

Hill Honored D'Angelo In Emotional Post

“People need reflection,” Hill, 50, began her post. “I regret not having more time with you. Your undeniable beauty and talent were not of this world, and a presence not of this world needs protection in a world that covets light and the anointing of God.

“You, sir, moved us, stirred us, inspired and even intimidated others to action with your genius,” she continued. “Thank you for being a beacon of light to a generation and beyond who had no remembrance of the legacy that preceded us. Thank you for charting the course and for making space during a time when no similar space really existed. You imagined a unity of strength and sensitivity in Black manhood to a generation that only saw itself as having to be one or the other.”

'It Is My Earnest Prayer That You Are in Peace'

Hill and D’Angelo collaborated on the track “Nothing Even Matters” on Hill’s seminal 1998 album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. He went on to win four Grammys, including Best Male R&B Performance for “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” and Best R&B Album for 2014’s Black Messiah.

“It is my earnest prayer that you are in peace, far away from selfishness, fear, and/or controlling interests,” Hill said of her friend. “Far from possessiveness, far from greed, far from manipulation, far from exploitation, far from intentionally designed chaos, and that you, Brother, are in peace, in bliss, and in eternal light and fulfillment with our Father in heaven. I love you and I miss you. May God grant peace and shelter to your family, true friends, and genuine appreciators, Brother, King.”