Surprised there wasn’t a BET Awards live blog last night? Well, your favorite Blerd had other stuff happening, so unfortunately, I was unable to provide commentary for what must have been a phenomenally laughable show.

I was sad, however, that I missed D’Angelo’s first televised live performance in over a decade (twelve years? Probably not. I’m sure he played either the Grammys or the Soul Train Awards in ’01) The man tore it down. In a music landscape where artists like D’Angelo are generally not celebrated by the likes of BET, it’s hard to tell whether the performance was so dope just because the performance was dope, or whether it’s the fact that so many people have been trained to believe that black folks don’t make this kind of music anymore. But that’s a whole ‘nother story for a whole ‘nother article, I guess.

What makes me smile more than the fact that D appears to be back and ready to kick major ass is the audience reaction shots. Particularly Nicki Minaj, who has a look on her face like “what the hell is this?” It’s called music, darling.

Anyway, according to Gawker.com, the new song is called “Sugar Daddy.” I’m feeling it. Also, feeling the Trayvon Martin T-shirt Jamie Foxx is rocking. Might have to cop one of those for myself.

Welcome back, brother.

View D’Angelo’s BET Awards performance here.