October 15, 2025 • 24 mins
R&B/Neo Soul Singer D’Angelo passes away at 51. Hear more on this story on today's podcast.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Broadcasting from the Civic Ciphers studios. Welcome to the QR code,
where we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape outcomes. The
man you are about to hear from is a man
who would rather text than talk on the phone, but
indeed he does his best to answer my calls because
I like talking on the phone. He is the Q
(00:21):
in the QR code. He goes by the name of
the q Ward.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
The voice that you just heard is the man that
like you go to reach out to shake his hand
and he says, no, I'm a hugger, as if that
disqualifies the fact that you shake hands. He is the
R in the QR code and he goes by the
name ramses Jah.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
And we needed to stick around a little. Later on
the show, we're going to be talking about how airports
have some airports at least have opted to stop playing
the partisan messaging from Homeland Security. I don't know if
you're a traveler like me and Q but that is
a welcome relief. We're going to talk about that and
how there might be a little bit of a trend
(01:00):
that we can get behind there. Before that, q Ward
is going to talk to us about the concerning young
Republican leadership. I got a chance to peek behind the
curtain of what is to come, and I definitely think
you should stick around for that. Before we break, we're
going to talk about a police encounter where the police
mistook a fifty three year old black man former NFL
(01:23):
player for a white teenager, handcuffed him, guns out, the
whole thing, and now he is suing. We're going to
start the show off talking about what's going on in
the culture. Sad News, R and B slash Neil soul
legend singer DiAngelo has passed away at age fifty one,
(01:44):
and Q and I are going to share our reflections
on that. That was a big deal. And as always,
we like to start off the show with a feel
good feature, and so today's feel good feature is coming
from Montana Free Press. Though people have celebrated Indigenous People's
Day in Montana for years, Monday marked the first time
(02:07):
the state had officially commemorated the day as a legal holiday.
So shout out to Montana for being somewhat progressive. After
a group of state lawmakers and advocates spent a decade
urging recognition of the holiday, Republican Governor Greg gian Fort
I think that's how I say that signed Senate Bill
two to four in the law of this spring, establishing
(02:28):
Indigenous People's Day as an official state holiday alongside Columbus Day.
Senator Shane Morigo, the Democratic Senator from Missoula who sponsored
SB two two four, said state recognition of the holiday
is a symbol of respect. While Indigenous People's Day is
not our federal holiday. Montana joins a growing list of
more than a dozen states and at least two hundred
(02:49):
cities that officially recognize the day. Former President Joe Biden
in twenty twenty one issued the first presidential proclamation recognizing
Indigenous People's Day. Last spring, however, President Donald Trump on
True Social that he is bringing Columbus Day back, and
October ninth, he issued a proclamation recognizing Columbus Day, already
a federal holiday, calling Chris Columbus a true American hero.
(03:13):
Asked about the president's proclamation, Small said people can celebrate
whatever holiday they want. Quote, I just want this day
to be about healing and moving forward. She said. This
is about getting people to get along instead of constant
fire fighting. I'm bored of that unquote, so Montana is
one of those places that you don't expect this sort
(03:34):
of thing from. And you know, I've been to Montana.
I know that there's a significant amount relative to other states,
a significant amount of Native folks there that I'm sure
have been advocating for Indigenous People's Day. I'm glad that
more and more people are awakening to the atrocities committed
by Columbus, the fact that he is no hero, and
(03:57):
that it should be a day of remembrance for the
once great tribes. There's still great tribes with the once
great and numbers tribes that have existed on these lands.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Go ahead, Q, just before we moved on, because you
know how sometimes I be tripping.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
What's up?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
The President said that Christopher Columbus was a great American.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Let me see, he says, a true American hero. Yeah,
basically he was Italian talking.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
About the Italian dude that went back to Italy English monarchy. Yeah, yeah, okay,
because sometimes I be tripping, So I didn't No, no, no,
you're not triven. That's other Christopher Columbus. That okay, okay, yeah,
my bad, sorry, okay, all right, So yeah, as mentioned
(04:51):
R and B slash neosol singer D'Angelo dad at fifty one.
You know, Q and I we deal with a lot
of things, things that are political and nature. We deal
with a lot of things that I mean, we're activists
and broadcasters and DJs and all these things in the
same body, right, and so all of these things can
(05:11):
be significant. I recognize there are some people who, you know,
maybe they're a lot younger, some people maybe they didn't
really get into soul music.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
R and B music, neil soul, that sort of thing.
It just feels really important to share what DiAngelo meant
to me. And I know that you will have some
thoughts here as well. So I'm going to get into
the article and then we'll talk about kind of what
this meant. On Tuesday, October fourteenth, DiAngelo died in New
(05:45):
York City following a private battle with pancreatic cancer. His
family and former manager Keeter Massenberg confirmed quote, the shining
star of our family has dimmed his light for us
in this life after a prolonged and courageous battle with cancer.
We are heartbroken to announce that Michael DiAngelo, Archer known
to his fans around the world as DiAngelo, has been
called home, departing this life today October fourteen, twenty twenty five.
(06:07):
We are sadden that he can only leave dear memories
with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the
legacy of extraordinary, moving music he leaves behind. We ask
that you respect our privacy during this difficult time, but
invite you all to join us in mourning his passing,
while also celebrating the gift of song that he has
left for the world. DiAngelo's family said that in a statement.
According to Variety, Born Michael Eugene Archer, DiAngelo rose to
(06:30):
fame in nineteen ninety five with his critically acclaimed debut album,
Brown Sugar, establishing himself as a defining voice in Neil soul.
Over the course of his career, DiAngelo won four Grammy Awards,
including Best R and B Album for Voodoo in two
thousand and one in Black Massiah in twenty sixteen. He
also took home Best R and B Song in twenty
sixteen for Really Love, and Best Male R and B
Vocal Performance for his hit untitled how Does It Feel?
(06:52):
DiAngelo worked well the wide range of artists, including jay Z,
Snoop Dogg, and Q Tip. Fans had been eagerly awaiting
new music from the singer. In a twenty twenty two interview,
producer Raphiosadique said he's excited. He's working on six pieces
right now, and he seems super excited. DiAngelo is survived
by his two sons and a daughter. The mother of
his first son, singer Angie Stone, died earlier this year
(07:14):
in a car crash. In a car crash. Yeah, arrest
in peace, D'Angelo. Okay. One of the things that I
want to say about di'angelo is di'angelo presented a an
(07:36):
alternative to what MTV was playing at the time in
terms of how he presented. Okay, di'angelo when he first debuted,
had kind of the corn rows to the back, baggy clothes,
(07:59):
you know what, the sort of he described the same
way one would have described as sort of gangster type
of person, a thug type of person back then. And di'angelo,
being a singer, presented an alternative to this figure that
(08:21):
had become scary in the minds of a lot of people,
not justifiably, but because of how it was presented. And
you know that that figure had been overrepresented in like
gangster rap, that type of stuff, right, DiAngelo showed that
young black men had range. D'Angelo injected a lot of
(08:45):
feelings into music. And the thing that was very special
about Di'angelo, I think above all else, is that di'angelo
made songs. D'Angelo and Maxwell are two people that I
know this to be true. They made songs about brown
skinned black women, and they made hits, hits after hits,
(09:14):
after hits after hits, so many of them. And Diane
Dangel was the first one to do it, and he
played his instruments. He of course, he's a vocalist and
a singer, and he was like a hero at a
time when I don't even know that I knew that
(09:36):
I was looking up to him in that way. I
remember me and funnily enough, one of my best friends
his name is DiAngelo or D'Angelo is how he would
pronounce it. But he's another radio personality. And when we
were very little, we might have been thirteen fourteen years old,
we were listening to voodoo and brown Sugar and all
(10:00):
of this stuff, you know, as his albums came out,
and de'angelo is a singer. Indida's wife is a singer.
They're singers, and so they love this music. And to
know that we lost Angie Stone and they were partnered.
For folks that don't know Angie Stone, she's another you know,
brown skinned woman, a soul singer, a beautiful voice, hit maker,
(10:23):
et cetera. They were coupled in the late nineties. If
I'm not mistaken, they have a child together. To lose
Angie Stone and di'angelo in the same year is just
kind of a it's a sad reality to live in.
But I think that also we can celebrate the dynamic
that he introduced to the musical landscape at that time,
(10:46):
being sort of an R and B sort of thug
type of person. I don't like that language. That's why
I'm kind of struggling with putting it together, because a
lot of these people are simply people that make music
that sells. They're not actual thuggs quote un quote in
their real life. Some people are, and they're making music
that's a reflection of their reality. But I think that
as a culture, we've kind of moved in a way
(11:08):
that shows that there's a more diverse palette, musical palette
that can be consumed by the people of this country,
in the world. But di'angelo is in my estimation, one
of the first movers to take his authentic self, how
his hair grows, how he dresses, and make beautiful music
(11:31):
about being in love and being black and being black
and in love. And this one hit different. This was like, yeah,
this was a big deal. C any thoughts here?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
The super nova that was DiAngelo And it's kind of
sickening talking about him in the past, tense with all
the talent, he never sat your ed the market with
his art, like he gave us just enough for the city,
like and every album, three albums, three classics, no skips,
(12:15):
And when the new D'Angelo came out, it's like you
knew that you didn't you weren't listening to when no,
you just press play and walked away and let that
music infect the room in your car and your your
headphones because you already knew what you were going to get.
And if you were ever lucky enough to go and
see D'Angelo live, it kind of messed it up for
(12:37):
other live performers, especially those who claim to be vocalists,
because his mastery of so many instruments, the way that
he was able to inflect and use his voice. You know,
my favorite, D'angelo's song was actually a cover that he
did of Smokey Robinson's Cruising Yeah. And for him to
(12:57):
on his first album say let Me Tap into Motown
is like he brought the seventies to the two thousands,
and even with his more contemporary music that was original.
His way of doing soul, R and B music harkened
back to a generation before him. So we were all
lucky to be alive in the time where we got
(13:20):
to experience Dangelo live for the first time. Like I'm
sure him passing, a lot of people are going to
be looking up to see who this person is that
passed away that so many people aren't reacting to, and
they're going to hear his music now and it's not
going to be the same as we heard a debut
And we got to look at each other like, yo,
who and what is that?
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Right?
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Neo soul was a new thing and he kicked the
door down and brought that with him. So to his family,
to his fans, to all of us, collected me and
rest in peace, rest in power to one of the
greatest to ever do it, DiAngelo.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah, I feel like there's a lot more to talk
about there. These clocks many they keep us confined. But
you know, I guess we have to keep talking. So
we do have some opinions about this incident at Sky
(14:18):
Harbor Airport in Arizona. So again, the police mistook I'm
going to say that in quotations, a fifty three year
old black man for a white teenager. So I'll share
this story here. This from bi innews dot com, a
former NFL player seeking justice after he and his daughter
were held at gunpoint by Arizona officers who mistook him
for a white teenage suspect. According to Atlanta Black Star,
(14:39):
Wesley Lacy, a fifty three year old black man who
played for the Arizona Cardinals in the nineteen nineties, filed
the notice of claim this week against the Mesa and
Phoenix police departments, seeking one million dollars and damages, taking
the initial legal step before a lawsuits filed. Quote, I've
never been so afraid in my entire life, unquote, told
(15:00):
NBC News. Goes on to say that will be with
me until my time comes. The incident unfolded on April tenth,
when Lisi was picking up his twenty six year old daughter.
Her name is Jade, from Phoenix. Sky Harbor International airport.
The two were reuniting at the airport, hugging and loading
Jade's luggage into his car, when the police swarmed them
with guns drawn, shouting orders to get on the ground.
(15:23):
Body camera video shows the pair complying immediately. According to Mesa,
police officers and a helicopter had been tracking a white
Mercedes Bins with temporary tags driven by a white male suspect,
but lost sight of it. Lisi, who also drives the
white Mercedes with temporary tags, became the target. Quote. There
are a ton of white Mercedes that are around here,
Lisi said, noting that he had just purchased the car
(15:44):
in Scottsdale, where he lived, and that it's not unusual.
Lisi and his daughter were handcuffed and detained for about
twenty minutes before officers realized their mistake. The suspect, nineteen
year old Hayden Beaver, was white and looked nothing like Leasi.
Beaver was arrested five days later and has said it's
been convicted and sentenced to prison. During the airport's stop,
police didn't explain why Leasy and his daughter were being detained. Quote.
(16:07):
There was physical force applied in order to handcuff mister Leasey.
He asked for an explanation, but he did not receive
one until he was released unquote, the legal claim states.
The claim describes the incident as embarrassing and traumatizing for
both the father and daughter. A former co worker of
Jades who witnessed the incident tried to vouch for her
on the scene, confirming she had just returned from a
business trip. Quote. Mister Leci and his daughter could have
(16:28):
been killed by in Phoenix police unquote, their attorney, Benjamin
Taylor said in a statement. This attorney goes on to
say the suspect was a white young male that looks
nothing like Leasi or his daughter. Quote. The Lysis have
suffered mentally and physically by the abuse of having police
rifles pointed at their head for no reason. We are
seeking justice for them unquote. To your reflections. First, if
(16:49):
we have time, I'll follow up with mine, but I
want to make sure that you can kind of weigh
in here.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
My first thoughts. It's not an enough. A million dollars
is not enough. Yeah, because of course they could.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Have been killed right plainly.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
The automatic reaction to law enforcement abducting you, pursuing you,
arresting you, putting you in cuffs, apprehending you today when
regular people can claim to be law enforcement and snatch
(17:31):
you up when you don't know what or why you're
even being pursued for or about. And then imagine learning,
as a retired NFL player and a black man, that
the suspect is a white man, and they knew that
(17:53):
before they handcuffed you. Yeah, and police being so tied
to their power and their autonomy to do whatever they
want in real time that they know they're pursuing a
white man, they see a black man and a black
woman and say, hey, let's handcuff them because they're here,
(18:17):
and we can terror, fear, stress, anxiety, anger, sadness all simultaneously.
(18:37):
The father that can't protect his daughter, The two black
people who know they could not survive this incident for
no reason other than that they're black and present, the
officers who know they're pursuing a white man, but handcuff
and detain the two black people anyway, and there's nothing
anyone can do to stop it. Ever, you know, all
(19:00):
of these things that continue to happen to us make
me harken back to this idea that our two a
people are so obsessed with with regards to their right
to bear arms because argument one two three, Section C,
Section B, Section A, Article three Roman numeral eight. As always,
(19:21):
we have to maintain our second right so that you know,
if this tyrannical government ever rises up against us, or
that you know we ever need to protect ourselves from
the blah blah blah blah blah, write some letter of
the law, reason for the law. Rhetoric that they don't
realize made a lot more sense.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
In the seventeen three hundred years ago, when you had
to load your gun with gunpower and pebbles, and okay,
as long as we've doing it, I guess we can
have this fight when the military didn't have drones and
fighter jets and battleships and tore pedos and missiles and rockets, and.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
When, yeah, when your little militia could fight the other
militia and try to maintain some sort of freedom. There's
nothing that all of the Americans and all their weapons
can do if law enforcement and or the military decide
that you're who they're coming after. And this incident proves
(20:26):
that even when everything points to them being wrong, they
will disrespect you. Violate your rights, take away your dignity
and your self respect, embarrass you, scare you, harm you,
just because they can't in their own head stop and say, hey, you.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Guys, you think we might be doing the wrong thing here? Ever,
watch this queue. I don't know if I ever told
you this story, but and I know you know that
you're right, but I don't know if you know how
right you are. So once upon a time I was.
(21:08):
I was actually in Arizona. I went to Arizona State University.
I was on Mill Avenue, which is kind of the
party street that leads to Arizona State, out with some
friends one night. Side note, I'm from Compton, California, right.
I grew up poor in the hood. Everywhere I lived
(21:28):
was the hood. Only time a gun has ever been
pointed at me in my life was by the police,
several times. I'm gonna tell you one story. So I'm
out on Mill Avenue. They had horses back in the day.
I don't know if they still do, but they had
horses that they would be on. You know, it was Arizona.
So police roll up to my friend group. You know,
(21:51):
it's like maybe four or five of us there. You
you you get on the ground. Get on the ground.
Guns out on a horse pointing at me. Get on
the ground. And then there's some bike police to come
up on the other side, and they're like looking at
me like and I'm like me, what did I what
did I do?
Speaker 3 (22:09):
What?
Speaker 1 (22:10):
You know what I'm saying, And I'm in a dog
watch this. I'm in a bright yellow aver Rex aver
Rex with the headband. This is back in the day, headband,
the long baggage sweater and some yellow pants. So i
gotta get on the ground. I'm like, I'm gonna get
my clothes dirty. So I'm a little slow, like y'all
sure is me? I don't get on the ground, you know.
Like so I'm like, shoot right, and uh, I'm scared.
(22:35):
I'm so scared because I'm like, these are guns, Like
they could just keep screaming and shoot. They're already angry
and they have a gun out right. This is one
of the time. You know, some of the other times
that the police have put guns on meque but you know,
this is one of the times I'm terrified. I lay
on the ground. I overhear them. After a while, all
my friends are like backing up because they make a perimeter.
(22:58):
I overhear him say they're looking for a white guy
wearing yellow, and I'm like, so what am I doing
on the ground Because that sentence starts with white guy,
then it ends with wearing yellow, right, just like this
white guy was driving white Mercedes with a paper tag. Right,
(23:21):
as soon as you see that these aren't the people. Sure,
I understand and respect the fact that you have to
go and check the car out. Hey, are you guys
being held hostage? Is there anyone else in the car?
Can I check the trunk? Blah blah blah. But it's
hard to imagine the police approaching Wesley Leasey, guns out,
having him lay on the ground if he's remember what
I always say, sixty five year old, privileged corporate executive,
(23:44):
white male. They get away with this stuff because black people.
I don't even want to finish that sentence. Whatever your
brain told you, that's the truth, black people. That's all
I have to say.
Broadcasting from the Civic Ciphers studios. Welcome to the QR code,
where we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape outcomes. The
man you are about to hear from is a man
who would rather text than talk on the phone, but
indeed he does his best to answer my calls because
I like talking on the phone. He is the Q
(00:21):
in the QR code. He goes by the name of
the q Ward.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
The voice that you just heard is the man that
like you go to reach out to shake his hand
and he says, no, I'm a hugger, as if that
disqualifies the fact that you shake hands. He is the
R in the QR code and he goes by the
name ramses Jah.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
And we needed to stick around a little. Later on
the show, we're going to be talking about how airports
have some airports at least have opted to stop playing
the partisan messaging from Homeland Security. I don't know if
you're a traveler like me and Q but that is
a welcome relief. We're going to talk about that and
how there might be a little bit of a trend
(01:00):
that we can get behind there. Before that, q Ward
is going to talk to us about the concerning young
Republican leadership. I got a chance to peek behind the
curtain of what is to come, and I definitely think
you should stick around for that. Before we break, we're
going to talk about a police encounter where the police
mistook a fifty three year old black man former NFL
(01:23):
player for a white teenager, handcuffed him, guns out, the
whole thing, and now he is suing. We're going to
start the show off talking about what's going on in
the culture. Sad News, R and B slash Neil soul
legend singer DiAngelo has passed away at age fifty one,
(01:44):
and Q and I are going to share our reflections
on that. That was a big deal. And as always,
we like to start off the show with a feel
good feature, and so today's feel good feature is coming
from Montana Free Press. Though people have celebrated Indigenous People's
Day in Montana for years, Monday marked the first time
(02:07):
the state had officially commemorated the day as a legal holiday.
So shout out to Montana for being somewhat progressive. After
a group of state lawmakers and advocates spent a decade
urging recognition of the holiday, Republican Governor Greg gian Fort
I think that's how I say that signed Senate Bill
two to four in the law of this spring, establishing
(02:28):
Indigenous People's Day as an official state holiday alongside Columbus Day.
Senator Shane Morigo, the Democratic Senator from Missoula who sponsored
SB two two four, said state recognition of the holiday
is a symbol of respect. While Indigenous People's Day is
not our federal holiday. Montana joins a growing list of
more than a dozen states and at least two hundred
(02:49):
cities that officially recognize the day. Former President Joe Biden
in twenty twenty one issued the first presidential proclamation recognizing
Indigenous People's Day. Last spring, however, President Donald Trump on
True Social that he is bringing Columbus Day back, and
October ninth, he issued a proclamation recognizing Columbus Day, already
a federal holiday, calling Chris Columbus a true American hero.
(03:13):
Asked about the president's proclamation, Small said people can celebrate
whatever holiday they want. Quote, I just want this day
to be about healing and moving forward. She said. This
is about getting people to get along instead of constant
fire fighting. I'm bored of that unquote, so Montana is
one of those places that you don't expect this sort
(03:34):
of thing from. And you know, I've been to Montana.
I know that there's a significant amount relative to other states,
a significant amount of Native folks there that I'm sure
have been advocating for Indigenous People's Day. I'm glad that
more and more people are awakening to the atrocities committed
by Columbus, the fact that he is no hero, and
(03:57):
that it should be a day of remembrance for the
once great tribes. There's still great tribes with the once
great and numbers tribes that have existed on these lands.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Go ahead, Q, just before we moved on, because you
know how sometimes I be tripping.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
What's up?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
The President said that Christopher Columbus was a great American.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Let me see, he says, a true American hero. Yeah,
basically he was Italian talking.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
About the Italian dude that went back to Italy English monarchy. Yeah, yeah, okay,
because sometimes I be tripping, So I didn't No, no, no,
you're not triven. That's other Christopher Columbus. That okay, okay, yeah,
my bad, sorry, okay, all right, So yeah, as mentioned
(04:51):
R and B slash neosol singer D'Angelo dad at fifty one.
You know, Q and I we deal with a lot
of things, things that are political and nature. We deal
with a lot of things that I mean, we're activists
and broadcasters and DJs and all these things in the
same body, right, and so all of these things can
(05:11):
be significant. I recognize there are some people who, you know,
maybe they're a lot younger, some people maybe they didn't
really get into soul music.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
R and B music, neil soul, that sort of thing.
It just feels really important to share what DiAngelo meant
to me. And I know that you will have some
thoughts here as well. So I'm going to get into
the article and then we'll talk about kind of what
this meant. On Tuesday, October fourteenth, DiAngelo died in New
(05:45):
York City following a private battle with pancreatic cancer. His
family and former manager Keeter Massenberg confirmed quote, the shining
star of our family has dimmed his light for us
in this life after a prolonged and courageous battle with cancer.
We are heartbroken to announce that Michael DiAngelo, Archer known
to his fans around the world as DiAngelo, has been
called home, departing this life today October fourteen, twenty twenty five.
(06:07):
We are sadden that he can only leave dear memories
with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the
legacy of extraordinary, moving music he leaves behind. We ask
that you respect our privacy during this difficult time, but
invite you all to join us in mourning his passing,
while also celebrating the gift of song that he has
left for the world. DiAngelo's family said that in a statement.
According to Variety, Born Michael Eugene Archer, DiAngelo rose to
(06:30):
fame in nineteen ninety five with his critically acclaimed debut album,
Brown Sugar, establishing himself as a defining voice in Neil soul.
Over the course of his career, DiAngelo won four Grammy Awards,
including Best R and B Album for Voodoo in two
thousand and one in Black Massiah in twenty sixteen. He
also took home Best R and B Song in twenty
sixteen for Really Love, and Best Male R and B
Vocal Performance for his hit untitled how Does It Feel?
(06:52):
DiAngelo worked well the wide range of artists, including jay Z,
Snoop Dogg, and Q Tip. Fans had been eagerly awaiting
new music from the singer. In a twenty twenty two interview,
producer Raphiosadique said he's excited. He's working on six pieces
right now, and he seems super excited. DiAngelo is survived
by his two sons and a daughter. The mother of
his first son, singer Angie Stone, died earlier this year
(07:14):
in a car crash. In a car crash. Yeah, arrest
in peace, D'Angelo. Okay. One of the things that I
want to say about di'angelo is di'angelo presented a an
(07:36):
alternative to what MTV was playing at the time in
terms of how he presented. Okay, di'angelo when he first debuted,
had kind of the corn rows to the back, baggy clothes,
(07:59):
you know what, the sort of he described the same
way one would have described as sort of gangster type
of person, a thug type of person back then. And di'angelo,
being a singer, presented an alternative to this figure that
(08:21):
had become scary in the minds of a lot of people,
not justifiably, but because of how it was presented. And
you know that that figure had been overrepresented in like
gangster rap, that type of stuff, right, DiAngelo showed that
young black men had range. D'Angelo injected a lot of
(08:45):
feelings into music. And the thing that was very special
about Di'angelo, I think above all else, is that di'angelo
made songs. D'Angelo and Maxwell are two people that I
know this to be true. They made songs about brown
skinned black women, and they made hits, hits after hits,
(09:14):
after hits after hits, so many of them. And Diane
Dangel was the first one to do it, and he
played his instruments. He of course, he's a vocalist and
a singer, and he was like a hero at a
time when I don't even know that I knew that
(09:36):
I was looking up to him in that way. I
remember me and funnily enough, one of my best friends
his name is DiAngelo or D'Angelo is how he would
pronounce it. But he's another radio personality. And when we
were very little, we might have been thirteen fourteen years old,
we were listening to voodoo and brown Sugar and all
(10:00):
of this stuff, you know, as his albums came out,
and de'angelo is a singer. Indida's wife is a singer.
They're singers, and so they love this music. And to
know that we lost Angie Stone and they were partnered.
For folks that don't know Angie Stone, she's another you know,
brown skinned woman, a soul singer, a beautiful voice, hit maker,
(10:23):
et cetera. They were coupled in the late nineties. If
I'm not mistaken, they have a child together. To lose
Angie Stone and di'angelo in the same year is just
kind of a it's a sad reality to live in.
But I think that also we can celebrate the dynamic
that he introduced to the musical landscape at that time,
(10:46):
being sort of an R and B sort of thug
type of person. I don't like that language. That's why
I'm kind of struggling with putting it together, because a
lot of these people are simply people that make music
that sells. They're not actual thuggs quote un quote in
their real life. Some people are, and they're making music
that's a reflection of their reality. But I think that
as a culture, we've kind of moved in a way
(11:08):
that shows that there's a more diverse palette, musical palette
that can be consumed by the people of this country,
in the world. But di'angelo is in my estimation, one
of the first movers to take his authentic self, how
his hair grows, how he dresses, and make beautiful music
(11:31):
about being in love and being black and being black
and in love. And this one hit different. This was like, yeah,
this was a big deal. C any thoughts here?
Speaker 2 (11:47):
The super nova that was DiAngelo And it's kind of
sickening talking about him in the past, tense with all
the talent, he never sat your ed the market with
his art, like he gave us just enough for the city,
like and every album, three albums, three classics, no skips,
(12:15):
And when the new D'Angelo came out, it's like you
knew that you didn't you weren't listening to when no,
you just press play and walked away and let that
music infect the room in your car and your your
headphones because you already knew what you were going to get.
And if you were ever lucky enough to go and
see D'Angelo live, it kind of messed it up for
(12:37):
other live performers, especially those who claim to be vocalists,
because his mastery of so many instruments, the way that
he was able to inflect and use his voice. You know,
my favorite, D'angelo's song was actually a cover that he
did of Smokey Robinson's Cruising Yeah. And for him to
(12:57):
on his first album say let Me Tap into Motown
is like he brought the seventies to the two thousands,
and even with his more contemporary music that was original.
His way of doing soul, R and B music harkened
back to a generation before him. So we were all
lucky to be alive in the time where we got
(13:20):
to experience Dangelo live for the first time. Like I'm
sure him passing, a lot of people are going to
be looking up to see who this person is that
passed away that so many people aren't reacting to, and
they're going to hear his music now and it's not
going to be the same as we heard a debut
And we got to look at each other like, yo,
who and what is that?
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Right?
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Neo soul was a new thing and he kicked the
door down and brought that with him. So to his family,
to his fans, to all of us, collected me and
rest in peace, rest in power to one of the
greatest to ever do it, DiAngelo.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah, I feel like there's a lot more to talk
about there. These clocks many they keep us confined. But
you know, I guess we have to keep talking. So
we do have some opinions about this incident at Sky
(14:18):
Harbor Airport in Arizona. So again, the police mistook I'm
going to say that in quotations, a fifty three year
old black man for a white teenager. So I'll share
this story here. This from bi innews dot com, a
former NFL player seeking justice after he and his daughter
were held at gunpoint by Arizona officers who mistook him
for a white teenage suspect. According to Atlanta Black Star,
(14:39):
Wesley Lacy, a fifty three year old black man who
played for the Arizona Cardinals in the nineteen nineties, filed
the notice of claim this week against the Mesa and
Phoenix police departments, seeking one million dollars and damages, taking
the initial legal step before a lawsuits filed. Quote, I've
never been so afraid in my entire life, unquote, told
(15:00):
NBC News. Goes on to say that will be with
me until my time comes. The incident unfolded on April tenth,
when Lisi was picking up his twenty six year old daughter.
Her name is Jade, from Phoenix. Sky Harbor International airport.
The two were reuniting at the airport, hugging and loading
Jade's luggage into his car, when the police swarmed them
with guns drawn, shouting orders to get on the ground.
(15:23):
Body camera video shows the pair complying immediately. According to Mesa,
police officers and a helicopter had been tracking a white
Mercedes Bins with temporary tags driven by a white male suspect,
but lost sight of it. Lisi, who also drives the
white Mercedes with temporary tags, became the target. Quote. There
are a ton of white Mercedes that are around here,
Lisi said, noting that he had just purchased the car
(15:44):
in Scottsdale, where he lived, and that it's not unusual.
Lisi and his daughter were handcuffed and detained for about
twenty minutes before officers realized their mistake. The suspect, nineteen
year old Hayden Beaver, was white and looked nothing like Leasi.
Beaver was arrested five days later and has said it's
been convicted and sentenced to prison. During the airport's stop,
police didn't explain why Leasy and his daughter were being detained. Quote.
(16:07):
There was physical force applied in order to handcuff mister Leasey.
He asked for an explanation, but he did not receive
one until he was released unquote, the legal claim states.
The claim describes the incident as embarrassing and traumatizing for
both the father and daughter. A former co worker of
Jades who witnessed the incident tried to vouch for her
on the scene, confirming she had just returned from a
business trip. Quote. Mister Leci and his daughter could have
(16:28):
been killed by in Phoenix police unquote, their attorney, Benjamin
Taylor said in a statement. This attorney goes on to
say the suspect was a white young male that looks
nothing like Leasi or his daughter. Quote. The Lysis have
suffered mentally and physically by the abuse of having police
rifles pointed at their head for no reason. We are
seeking justice for them unquote. To your reflections. First, if
(16:49):
we have time, I'll follow up with mine, but I
want to make sure that you can kind of weigh
in here.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
My first thoughts. It's not an enough. A million dollars
is not enough. Yeah, because of course they could.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
Have been killed right plainly.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
The automatic reaction to law enforcement abducting you, pursuing you,
arresting you, putting you in cuffs, apprehending you today when
regular people can claim to be law enforcement and snatch
(17:31):
you up when you don't know what or why you're
even being pursued for or about. And then imagine learning,
as a retired NFL player and a black man, that
the suspect is a white man, and they knew that
(17:53):
before they handcuffed you. Yeah, and police being so tied
to their power and their autonomy to do whatever they
want in real time that they know they're pursuing a
white man, they see a black man and a black
woman and say, hey, let's handcuff them because they're here,
(18:17):
and we can terror, fear, stress, anxiety, anger, sadness all simultaneously.
(18:37):
The father that can't protect his daughter, The two black
people who know they could not survive this incident for
no reason other than that they're black and present, the
officers who know they're pursuing a white man, but handcuff
and detain the two black people anyway, and there's nothing
anyone can do to stop it. Ever, you know, all
(19:00):
of these things that continue to happen to us make
me harken back to this idea that our two a
people are so obsessed with with regards to their right
to bear arms because argument one two three, Section C,
Section B, Section A, Article three Roman numeral eight. As always,
(19:21):
we have to maintain our second right so that you know,
if this tyrannical government ever rises up against us, or
that you know we ever need to protect ourselves from
the blah blah blah blah blah, write some letter of
the law, reason for the law. Rhetoric that they don't
realize made a lot more sense.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
In the seventeen three hundred years ago, when you had
to load your gun with gunpower and pebbles, and okay,
as long as we've doing it, I guess we can
have this fight when the military didn't have drones and
fighter jets and battleships and tore pedos and missiles and rockets, and.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
When, yeah, when your little militia could fight the other
militia and try to maintain some sort of freedom. There's
nothing that all of the Americans and all their weapons
can do if law enforcement and or the military decide
that you're who they're coming after. And this incident proves
(20:26):
that even when everything points to them being wrong, they
will disrespect you. Violate your rights, take away your dignity
and your self respect, embarrass you, scare you, harm you,
just because they can't in their own head stop and say, hey, you.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Guys, you think we might be doing the wrong thing here? Ever,
watch this queue. I don't know if I ever told
you this story, but and I know you know that
you're right, but I don't know if you know how
right you are. So once upon a time I was.
(21:08):
I was actually in Arizona. I went to Arizona State University.
I was on Mill Avenue, which is kind of the
party street that leads to Arizona State, out with some
friends one night. Side note, I'm from Compton, California, right.
I grew up poor in the hood. Everywhere I lived
(21:28):
was the hood. Only time a gun has ever been
pointed at me in my life was by the police,
several times. I'm gonna tell you one story. So I'm
out on Mill Avenue. They had horses back in the day.
I don't know if they still do, but they had
horses that they would be on. You know, it was Arizona.
So police roll up to my friend group. You know,
(21:51):
it's like maybe four or five of us there. You
you you get on the ground. Get on the ground.
Guns out on a horse pointing at me. Get on
the ground. And then there's some bike police to come
up on the other side, and they're like looking at
me like and I'm like me, what did I what
did I do?
Speaker 3 (22:09):
What?
Speaker 1 (22:10):
You know what I'm saying, And I'm in a dog
watch this. I'm in a bright yellow aver Rex aver
Rex with the headband. This is back in the day, headband,
the long baggage sweater and some yellow pants. So i
gotta get on the ground. I'm like, I'm gonna get
my clothes dirty. So I'm a little slow, like y'all
sure is me? I don't get on the ground, you know.
Like so I'm like, shoot right, and uh, I'm scared.
(22:35):
I'm so scared because I'm like, these are guns, Like
they could just keep screaming and shoot. They're already angry
and they have a gun out right. This is one
of the time. You know, some of the other times
that the police have put guns on meque but you know,
this is one of the times I'm terrified. I lay
on the ground. I overhear them. After a while, all
my friends are like backing up because they make a perimeter.
(22:58):
I overhear him say they're looking for a white guy
wearing yellow, and I'm like, so what am I doing
on the ground Because that sentence starts with white guy,
then it ends with wearing yellow, right, just like this
white guy was driving white Mercedes with a paper tag. Right,
(23:21):
as soon as you see that these aren't the people. Sure,
I understand and respect the fact that you have to
go and check the car out. Hey, are you guys
being held hostage? Is there anyone else in the car?
Can I check the trunk? Blah blah blah. But it's
hard to imagine the police approaching Wesley Leasey, guns out,
having him lay on the ground if he's remember what
I always say, sixty five year old, privileged corporate executive,
(23:44):
white male. They get away with this stuff because black people.
I don't even want to finish that sentence. Whatever your
brain told you, that's the truth, black people. That's all
I have to say.
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