Grammy-Nominated Bilal Joins Lauryn Hill to Honor D’Angelo During the 68th Annual Grammy Awards In Memoriam

GRAMMY-NOMINATED BILAL TAKES THE 68TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS STAGE, THEN JOINS LAURYN HILL FOR A D’ANGELO TRIBUTE MOMENT ROOTED IN LINEAGE AND INTENTION

Los Angeles, CA — Fresh off a Grammy nomination for Adjust Brightness in the Best Progressive R&B Album category, Bilal entered Grammy weekend with momentum that reflects the full scope of his artistry: forward-leaning, uncompromising, and rooted in soul. On Sunday night, February 1, that recognition expanded into a second headline moment when Bilal took the stage alongside Ms. Lauryn Hill as part of the Recording Academy’s In Memoriam tribute honoring D’Angelo, broadcast live from Crypto.com Arena during the 68th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

The tribute became one of the night’s most discussed segments, not because it chased spectacle, but because it centered musicianship. Led by Lauryn Hill and supported by an intergenerational lineup that included Raphael Saadiq, Lucky Daye, Leon Thomas, Anthony Hamilton, and Jon Batiste, the performance landed as a rare example of collective reverence on a major broadcast, with multiple outlets spotlighting the segment’s emotional weight and cultural significance.

For Bilal, the moment felt especially resonant in the context of his nomination. Adjust Brightness is an album built on risk and refinement, a body of work that honors tradition while refusing to stay inside the lines. That same sensibility came through onstage. His performance carried restraint, presence, and precision, leaning into the emotional discipline that defined D’Angelo’s work and honoring the spaces between notes as much as the notes themselves. It was the kind of performance that underscored why Bilal remains a touchstone for artists who value feeling over flash.

Bilal’s styling also drew attention as part of the night’s larger cultural conversation. Rather than approaching tribute as imitation, his look reflected mood and intention, a subtle visual nod to D’Angelo’s era and ethos: understated, grounded, and deliberate. In a room where many moments were built to trend, Bilal’s presence read as something else entirely. It read as alignment.

“Being nominated this year is meaningful because Adjust Brightness represents where I am creatively right now,” said Bilal. “And honoring D’Angelo on that stage was about respect. His work taught so many of us how to hold vulnerability, groove, and honesty at the same time.”

The nomination has also sparked renewed attention around the project in the physical world, with independent culture platform AllRightFresh spotlighting Adjust Brightness through vinyl offerings and related limited releases during Grammy season, reinforcing the album’s life beyond streaming and reaffirming the listeners who have always met Bilal where he actually lives: in craft, in experimentation, and in soul.

Taken together, the weekend captured Bilal in full, both celebrated for his current chapter and positioned inside the lineage that shaped it. The nomination acknowledges the artist he is now. The tribute honored the artists who made that kind of fearlessness possible in the first place.

Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Chaka Khan, Raphael Saadiq, Bilal and more pay tribute to Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo at the 2026 Grammys.

Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty