Tonight (February 27), D’Angelo headlined a VERZUZ event live from the Apollo Theater, taking the stage as a solo performer with DJ Scratch with other collaborators. Take a look via Instagram or Apple Music.
D’Angelo’s set broke from the typical VERZUZ format: its events have so far been one-on-one battles with occasional surprise guests, like Dionne Warwick dropping in on Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle last year. Noting the change of style, he opened with new material joined by trumpeter Keyon Harrold before covering Smokey Robinson’s “Cruisin’.” Method Man and Redman came out for “Left & Right” before Method Man took the lead for “Break Ups 2 Make Ups.”
After working through a few tracks from 2014’s Black Messiah, D’Angelo noted that he’d gotten his professional start after winning an amateur night competition at the Apollo as a teenager. The 2019 documentary Devil’s Pie claimed that he’s been working on the follow-up to Black Messiah. D’Angelo continued through his catalog, running through favorites from Voodoo and Brown Sugar like “One Mo’ Gin,” “Jonz in My Bonz,” and “Another Life.”
After “Brown Sugar,” H.E.R. came out onstage, first performing her Daniel Caesar collaboration “Best Part” before the pair duetted on Lauryn Hill’s “Nothing Even Matters.” He closed his set with “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” keeping on his oversize fur coat throughout.
D’Angelo:
(Untitled New Song) (with Keyon Harrold)
Cruisin’ (Smokey Robinson)
Alright
Lady
Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine
Left & Right (with Method Man and Redman)
Method Man: “Break Ups 2 Make Ups”
1000 Deaths
Back to the Future, Pt. 1
Sugah Daddy
Devil’s Pie
One Mo’ Gin
Chicken Grease
Feel Like Makin’ Love
Jonz in My Bonz
Really Love
Another Life
Send It On
Spanish Joint
H.E.R.: Best Part
Nothing Even Matters (with H.E.R.)
The Root
Brown Sugar
Untitled (How Does It Feel)