Lizzo used a very special musical instrument during her D.C. concert performance Tuesday night.
The 34-year-old rap artist claimed to be the first person ever to play a 200-year-old crystal flute lent to her by The Library of Congress. The instrument was previously owned by founding father James Madison, the fourth president of the United States.
“B****, I just twerked and played James Madison’s flute from the 1800s!” she hollered from the stage during a stop in our nation’s capital as part of her Special Tour, according to The Daily Mail.
She shared a clip of the event with her 12.9 million Instagram followers alongside the caption: “YALL.. THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS LET ME PLAY THEIR HISTORIC 200 YEAR OLD CRYSTAL FLUTE ON STAGE TONIGHT. NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE… NOW YOU DO,” she said, tagging the Library of Congress.
“This is crazy. I have to be really careful,” Lizzo told the audience while introducing the priceless instrument.
She continued, saying, “This is from the early 1800s, this was a gift to James Madison from a French crystal flute designer to celebrate his second term. There was a fire… and the only two things that were saved were a portrait of George Washington and this crystal flute right here,” the “Truth Hurts” singer continued.
“I am the first person to ever play it, so you’re about to hear what it sounds like for the first time,” Lizzo said. “Thank you to the Library of Congress for preserving our history and making history cool. History is freaking cool, you guys!”
NOBODY HAS EVER HEARD THIS FAMOUS CRYSTAL FLUTE BEFORE
NOW YOU HAVE
IM THE FIRST & ONLY PERSON TO EVER PLAY THIS PRESIDENTIAL 200-YEAR-OLD CRYSTAL FLUTE— THANK YOU @librarycongress ❤️ pic.twitter.com/VgXjpC49sO
— FOLLOW @YITTY (@lizzo) September 28, 2022
The singer played the flute, twerked onstage, then handed it back to the representative. Per NPR, it was then escorted back to the library safely with Capitol police as an escort.
Before the concert, Lizzo visited the Library of Congress and played several flutes from their archive, the publication reported. The Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden exchanged tweets with the pop star before she visited D.C.
“The @librarycongress has the largest flute collection in the world with more than 1,800. It incl Pres James Madison’s 1813 crystal flute @lizzo we would love for you to come see it and even play a couple when you are in DC next week. Like your song they are ‘Good as hell,’” she shared along with a winking face emoji.
“IM COMING CARLA! AND IM PLAYIN THAT CRYSTAL FLUTE!!!!!” the singer replied.
Lizzo is a classically trained flutist and frequently performs with that instrument during concerts.
The “About Damn Time” singer has been making headlines recently for her statements on politics. Most recently, she used her acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards to speak out against “laws that oppress us,” inspiring critics to speculate who could be less oppressed than Lizzo.
