AFROPUNK 2014: D’Angelo Casts A Spell Over Brooklyn [VIDEO]

As the area packed to the gils, BRIC Arts was chronicling the whole entire thing with a rig set. “What time is he supposed to go on?” a fan questioned as we listened to a DJ try to keep us engaged. “8:30,” I responded. But by around 9:45 p.m., there were a few people in our area who had enough with waiting for the unicorn-esque singer to appear and left frustrated. I was not going to miss this opportunity, so waiting an hour (for whatever reason) was made moot since those who stand were really fun.

The first person to hit the stage was Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of the Legendary Roots Crew. The crowd instantly perked up, knowing that all those fables and lore about D’Angelo were about to come true. Guitarist Martin Luther took the stage, the background singers held their marks, it was all beginning to take shape. The crowd increased their fervor, awaiting the moment the Prodigal Son would take hold of our ears, and we hoped he’d never let them go.

And then, boom! He showed up. D’Angelo appeared less “How Does It Feel” and more ready to shake up the ground with his brand of ominous funk. The hour-long set was mired in topics relevant to the Black way of living, as his first song was a stirring rendition of Bob Marley’s “Burning & Looting,” which touched on police brutality. The new, improved D’Angelo would only give his starving fans one tiny bit of old soul in the form of “Greatdayndamornin,” which separated the hardcore fans from the casual.

See a bit of the performance below:

Immediately after I pressed ‘stop’ on my phone, a would-be fan shouted out in the midst of the dead air, “Play a song that we know!” It managed to elicit a few laughs from those around, but really I believe that D’Angelo heard it because his next few songs appeared to be more apt in showing just how dope his new work is instead of reflecting on his past successes. I can even understand the crowd agitation, as no one has really heard anything from the man born Michael Eugene Archer in 14 years. So, to witness the man, live and in living color, you can expect many to want a nostalgic show, but that wasn’t how D was gonna give it to us.

On the next page, witness just how funky this new, improved D’Angelo really is…