RECAP: D'Angelo VS Friends

Last night, the Internet was blessed with another Verzuz battle via Instagram and Apple TV. For those who don't know what Verzuz is, you are quite late, but it's never too late to join the next battle! Verzuz is a pandemic phenomenon created by producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz to give artists a space for friendly competition and give fans a taste of normalcy with the cancellation of concerts due to COVID-19. Last night, February 27, Verzuz hosted D'Angelo VS Friends.

The rollout for this event was perfect as fans, myself included, speculated for weeks about who the friends would be. Lauryn Hill? Maxwell? Angie Stone? The list goes on. Notes and Melodies even used #ThrowbackThursday to celebrate the classic D'Angelo hit, "Untitled (How Does It Feel)." Saturday came and I can say that I think viewers walked away satisfied and reminded of one of the smoothest voices in music.

The event, held in the iconic Apollo Theater, began at 9 pm EST with DJ Scratch on the ones and twos. HE KILLED IT! DJ Scratch took us back to a 90s/2000s house party with hits like Salt N Pepa's "I'll Take Your Man," Too Short's "Blow The Whistle," and DMX's "Lose My Mind." It's a good thing that DJ Scratch was doing so well because D'Angelo would leave viewers waiting for one hour! However, when he finally came, he did not disappoint.

D'Angelo came to the Verzuz dressed to the nines in a full fur coat that stole a bit of attention until the singer began to perform. He addressed the speculations regarding his friends for the battle. "You all have joked that I will be the first to do a Verzuz by myself. Well, you're right. You all are my friends." HUH??? Definitely wasn't ready for that plot twist.

The singer performed some of his hits from his first studio album Brown Sugar, including "Cruisin'" and "Lady." He then took us to his second studio album Voodoo, performing a good majority of the album from "Send It On" and "The Line" to "Playa Playa" and "One Mo'Gin." However, the show picked up when D'Angelo finally introduced his friends Method Man and Redman to perform D'Angelo's "Left and Right." It felt good to see the group together and enjoying the performance.

After Method Man and Redman left the stage, D'Angelo continued his solo performance, taking us to his 2014 album Black Messiah. The singer made everyone swoon, singing "Really Love" and "Sugah Daddy." Then, he announces that he got a text revealing that another friend has arrived. All of a sudden, the beginning melody to "Nothing Even Matters" begins and the Internet went wild when HER appeared on stage. They performed a beautiful mash-up of HER's song "Best Part" and D'Angelo's song with Lauryn Hill, "Nothing Even Matters." An unbelievable moment for sure.

The night was winding down as everyone vibed out to "Brown Sugar" and more. D'Angelo was preparing to exit when his DJ reminded him that he forgot one very important song. Then, we hear "Untitled." As the song plays, Twitter showered D'Angelo in praise for his smooth vocals and beautiful lyrics praising, adoring, and uplifting Black women. The night ended with a thank you to sponsors Ciroc, Self Financial, Target X the McBride Sisters and a "Happy Birthday" to the late Dominique Trenier, D'Angelo's former manager and a pioneer in the neo-soul movement.

Whew! What a night. All in all, the Verzuz was a viewer favorite, with one person saying "the best one yet." Follow @VerzuzTV on Instagram and Twitter to tune in for the next battle and join the fun!