“I feel, like, cheated in a sense, you know, especially with my father … [with] me being a man now and, like, us building that bond as men. I just was excited for the future ahead of us.”
That’s one of the reflections that D’Angelo’s son Michael Archer Jr. shares in an exclusive clip from the ABC News Live special, Love & Neo-Soul: Honoring D’Angelo. The special, which airs Thursday (Feb. 19) at 8:30 p.m., marks Archer Jr.’s first primetime interview since the 2025 deaths of his Grammy Award-winning father and Grammy-nominated mother, Angie Stone. In the special, he also reflects on the roof-raising, star-studded tribute to his father and Roberta Flack (“I love the tribute; it’s just bittersweet”) led by Ms. Lauryn Hill at the Grammy Awards in February, and how he’s working through his grief.
In the exclusive clip featured on Billboard.com, Archer Jr. says he learned about his father being sick in “like June or July” of last year before D’Angelo lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in October. “His voice sounded weak,” Archer Jr. remembers, “but he was still trying to talk to me.” At the same time, Archer Jr. was still mourning the loss of mom Stone, who died in a car crash seven months earlier in March.
When Diaz asks Archer Jr. (who performs under the stage name Swayvo Train) to share some of his favorite songs by his parents, he cites a single — written in 1998 after his birth — from D’Angelo’s 2000 Voodoo album. “Definitely ‘Send It On’ by my pops,” Archer Jr. answers. “Him and my mom wrote that together.” He later notes of his dad, “He left a stamp on the world.”
Love & Neo-Soul: Honoring D’Angelo is hosted by ABC News’ Rocsi Diaz. In addition to Archer Jr., Diaz talks with Grammy-winning and Academy Award-nominated singer-songwriter-actress Andra Day and DJ-producer-rapper D-Nice about D’Angelo’s pioneering role in the ‘90s neo-soul movement. She also speaks with several artists influenced by the four-time Grammy winner, including Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Ari Lennox, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Lucky Daye and British-Sudanese singer-songwriter Elmiene.
ABC News Live will stream Love & Neo-Soul: Honoring D’Angelo tonight on ABC News Live at 8:30 p.m. ET. The network broadcast is available as well on Disney+, Hulu and the ABC News website, among other outlets and apps.
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