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Lauryn Hill And Kirk Franklin Shine At Essence Awards
05/03/1999 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen
(5/3/99, 1 p.m. PDT) - Lauryn Hill, Kirk Franklin, and Chris Rock were among the honorees at the 1999 Essence Awards, which were presented Friday (April 30) night at New York's Theater at Madison Square Garden. Essence celebrated what it termed the "power of the new generation," since all of the honorees were 35 or under. Other honorees included the founders of the FUBU fashion company; Hydeia L. Broadbent, a 14-year-old girl living with AIDS who has become a national spokesperson for AIDS awareness; and Jennifer Lindsay, an 18-year-old who triumphed over what could have been tragedy with the love, support, and determination of her mother Gloria, who was also an honoree. Lindsay was diagnosed at birth as brain-damaged and her mother quit her job as a teacher to educate her daughter, who developed into a brilliant child prodigy and is now a college student, master violinist, and opera singer. Patti LaBelle drew cheers and applause when she walked onstage to present honoree Hill with her award. Only a few weeks earlier Hill had presented LaBelle and her former group, the Blue Belles, with one of the R&B Foundation's Pioneer Awards. LaBelle, who won the Triumphant Spirit Award at last year's Essence Awards ceremony, demonstrated her deep affection for Hill during her presentation. Hill delivered an impassioned acceptance speech, telling the crowd, "The truth is not always popular, but I'd rather be unpopular than dishonest." She dissolved into tears as she implored the audience to love God. "It's not a burden to love Him," she said. She referred to the recent murder of Amadou Diallo--an unarmed African immigrant whose fatal shooting by four police officers sparked weeks of protests--when she told the spellbound audience that you can follow God "and still be shot 41 times by the police. The only law is God's law." Gospel star CeCe Winans presented Franklin with his award. During his acceptance speech, an emotional Franklin denounced the hypocrisy of some members of the music community: "We make songs that degrade women, and then thank God for the awards we've won." He then made the plea: "Let's stop preaching Christ and start walking Christ." Franklin was honored musically by Kelly Price, gospel singer Crystal Lewis, and the Nu Nation. During the energetic performance, Franklin jumped onstage, prompting the black-tie audience to leap to its feet and clap and dance along. The Essence Awards, hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith and Jamie Foxx, will air on June 2 at 8 p.m. on FOX-TV. Features on Kirk Franklin and Patti LaBelle are available on LAUNCH.com. Got news tips, comments, or questions? Send them to newstips@launch.com.
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