As the 2026 Grammys nears, there’s a little bit of drama surrounding an upcoming tribute to late singer D’Angelo. And now his son, Michael Archer II is breaking his silence about it.
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As you may have heard, Lauryn Hill is expected to perform as part of the In Memoriam segment at this year’s ceremony Sunday. Her set will be in honor of the aforementioned “Brown Sugar” singer and the late Roberta Flack, both of whom died in 2025. And while the news of Hill’s return to the stage and screen may be exciting for fans, it proved to be a slightly controversial decision as Archer II later revealed that he nor his siblings had been invited to this year’s show to catch the tribute in person.
Speaking to “The Breakfast Club”‘s Loren Lorosa via statement, D’Angelo’s son began by thanking The Recording Academy for choosing to honor his father’s legacy. However, he proceeded to call them out for not being able to be part of the special moment.
“I want to start by expressing my gratitude to the Recording Academy for honoring my father’s legacy on one of the biggest night in music. Any recognition of his impact and contributions to the culture truly means a lot to my family and me,” Archer II said. “It would’ve been a pleasure to attend but unfortunately my siblings and I haven’t received an invitation to be part of this moment celebrating our parents’ lives and work. We remain thankful for the acknowledgment of my father and for the love people continue to show his music and legacy. Our respect for what Pops built will always come first.”
Not too long after that, a rep for The Recording Academy came back and slightly pushed back against Archer II and said that their event organizers had gotten in contact with D’Angelo’s daughter Imani and his brother Luther— both of whom they say are expected to attend.
Now, it looks like there’s been some movement to rectify things. A Recording Academy rep later shared with “The Breakfast Club” on Friday that they’d been attempting to contact Archer II and were looking to get placed in contact with him directly to extend an invite to the awards show.
As of this article’s writing, neither Archer II nor The Recording Academy have confirmed whether or not he’ll be there.
The 68th Annual Grammy Awards will take place Sunday, Feb. 1 at 8p.m.ET, airing live from Los Angeles on CBS and available to stream live on Paramount+ and on-demand.
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