D'Angelo's 'SNL' Performance Praised by Eric Garner's Family
D’Angelo and The Vanguard’s debut performance on Saturday Night Live over the weekend included several poignant political statements about police brutality that were inspired by the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner.
When playing “The Charade,” the singer wore a hoodie, a trademark from the Martin case, and his background vocalists wore T-shirts bearing the messages “I Can’t Breathe” and “Black Lives Matter.” His background set included a chalk outline of a dead body at a crime scene. He also addressed the deaths in the song lyrics, singing, “Alls we wanted was a chance to talk/’Stead we only got outlined in chalk.”
Steven Flagg, Garner’s brother, appreciates D’Angelo’s message. “I like it,” Flagg told Yahoo Music. “As a family, we need everyone to participate to help get justice. At the same time, it’s just not our struggle. It’s for everybody. D’Angelo is one of my favorite artists.”
"The Charade" was one of two songs D’Angelo played on SNL. The night’s first track, “Really Love,” didn’t include any special message, but it played up the song’s Spanish-guitar feel. D’Angelo sang in a light falsetto and wore a Spanish cowboy hat, a poncho over his brown suit, rolled-up sleeves and fingerless gloves.
The SNL appearance received rave reviews. Entertainment Weekly said D’Angelo made the episode a standout in SNL history. “D’Angelo and the Vanguard’s performance of ‘The Charade’ was spectacular and impactful. If nothing else, it’s the moment from this episode worth checking out.” The Huffington Post echoed the sentiments, writing, “D’Angelo makes SNL matter for a few mesmerizing minutes.”
The surprise December release of Black Messiah was met with rave reviews and a top 5 debut.
