The late D'Angelo will forever be an icon, something performance tributes to his memory continue to celebrate. At the 2026 BET Awards this year, his children introduced a medley performance from his band The Vanguard, Ari Lennox, RAYE, George Clinton, Durand Bernarr, and BJ The Chicago Kid as a special tribute.
Imani Archer, Morocco Archer, and Michael "Swayvo Twain" Archer Jr. took the stage to kick things off, as caught by R&B RADAR on Twitter. "To the world, he was D'Angelo. To us, he was just Dad," Imani expressed.
"Our biggest hypeman and protector," Morocco shared. "One of the things that brought our father the most joy was performing with his band, The Vanguard."
"So it's only right that they're here with us, along with some other special guests to honor the man that meant the world to us," Swayvo remarked. "To Pops, this one's for you. Let's do it."
After a clip of the legendary singer performing "Untitled (How Does It Feel)," The Vanguard introduced Ari for a rendition of "Really Love," followed by RAYE taking on "Spanish Joint." George Clinton of Parliament-Funkadelic and Isaiah Sharkey took on "Chicken Grease," followed by Durand Bernarr with "S**t, Damn, Motherf***er." Finally, all the performers came together and BJ The Chicago Kid led a cover of "Devil's Pie."
BET's D'Angelo Tribute
Elsewhere, we have learned of other recent developments that seek to honor D'Angelo's legacy. For example, Questlove revealed a few months ago that he would be reuniting The Soulquarians and continuing that legacy. The collective of collaborators continues to influence so much music today, so this could have very special results.
There are also rumblings of posthumous D'Angelo music that have some fans feeling nervous. Handling situations like those is always difficult, and fans hope any releases would be properly respectful and worthwhile additions to a historic career.
The music world will keep paying their respects to the soul and funk icon for an eternity, so fans can expect many more performances and tributes like these. While they don't fill the void D'Angelo left behind, they do remind fans of his eternal resonance and heartening craft.
