Lauryn Hill Leads Star-Studded D'Angelo Tribute At Grammys
Lauryn Hill Leads Star-Studded D’Angelo Tribute At Grammys
Like every awards show, the Grammys pay tribute to the artists who have been lost in the past year. Sunday night, they said farewell to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack in a star-studded homage at the 68th annual ceremony. Led by Lauryn Hill and backed by D’Angelo’s last band, The Vanguard, the tribute added several musicians who collaborated with or were influenced by D.
A piano with no one playing symbolized D’Angelo’s prowess as a keyboardist. Before she started singing, Hill lamented that she and D’Angelo never got to sing their duet “Nothing Even Matters” from her Grammy-winning 1998 album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, live. She added, “Make time for the people you love while you can,” before launching into her verse on the song, followed by D’Angelo’s vocals for his part.
Lucky Daye, Anthony Hamilton (once part of D’Angelo’s Soultronics band), Chaka Khan, John Legend, Raphael Saadiq, Jon Batiste and Leon Thomas joined the tribute, singing parts of “Brown Sugar,” “Devil’s Pie,” “Charade,” and “Africa.” Saadiq played the black ‘Diablo’ guitar that D favored, though it’s unknown if it was D’s exact guitar.
The tribute’s highlight was Philadelphia-born neo-soul artist Bilal providing the vocals for D’Angelo’s biggest hit, “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” hitting the falsetto perfectly.
Born Michael Eugene Archer, the Richmond, Virginia native died of pancreatic cancer on Oct. 14 at the age of 51. His death came as a surprise to his fans and much of the music industry, as his battle with the aggressive cancer had been private. In his lifetime, he released three critically acclaimed albums – 1995’s Brown Sugar, Voodoo (2000), and Black Messiah in 2014.
D’ Angelo was known as one of the industry’s most reclusive artists, largely living a private life after the release of Black Messiah. In 2018, D released his last single, “Unshaken,” a song created for the video game Red Dead Redemption 2.
Flack was also paid tribute. The Fugees had a hit in 1996 with a hip-hop remake of her 1973 hit “Killing Me Softly.” Though that was Flack’s signature song, the pioneering singer/songwriter who recorded in genres including jazz, pop, and R&B, also hit with “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” and recorded duets with R&B icon Donny Hathaway.
Donny’s daughter Lalah, in a hat reminiscent of her father’s famous newsboy caps, and artists including Batiste, Leon Bridges and October London, played some of Flack’s songs, including “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” and “The Closer I Get To You,” one of her duets with Hathaway. Wyclef Jean joined Hill for a rousing version of “Killing Me Softly.”
The tribute ended with an excerpt from “Amen,” a nod to gospel icon Richard Smallwood’s hit song. He died at the age of 77 in 2025. Flack was once his music teacher.
Though she was mentioned along with D’Wayne Wiggins from Toni, Toni Toné, a notable exception to the tribute was singer/songwriter Angie Stone, who died in a car accident last year at 63.
Stone was significant in D’Angelo’s career, writing songs for Brown Sugar and Voodoo. She accomplished much in her own right, as part of the pioneering hip hop trio Sequence, the R&B band Vertical Hold, and as a solo artist, releasing the gold albums 1999’s Black Diamond and 2001’s Mahogany Soul.
A potential public relations crisis for the Grammys was averted when D’Angelo and Stone’s oldest son, Michael Archer, Jr., was shown attending the awards. The Breakfast Club’s Lela Loren reported that Archer, Jr. had not initially received an invite, although D’s daughter Imani Archer, and D’s brother, Luther Archer, were expected to attend.
Loren connected Archer, Jr. and representatives from NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences), the organization that puts on the Grammys, to facilitate an invite. All of D’s children, including his youngest son, Morocco, were at the ceremony.
Though the D’Angelo tribute was comprehensive and included members from all of his bands, some viewers felt it was rushed, and there were just too many artists to make it cohesive. Ahmir Thompson, who partnered with D on Voodoo and contributed to Black Messiah, was noticeably absent, but told fans he was out of the country. Erykah Badu, part of the famed Soulquarians collective who joined D for the “Lady” remix video in 1995, was also absent.
The next chance to see a tribute to all the musicians lost in 2025 is the BET Awards in June, which will likely encompass most of the Black artists who passed in the last year.
See social media’s reaction to the moving tribute below.
Lauryn Hill Leads Star-Studded D’Angelo Tribute At Grammys was originally published on cassiuslife.com
