D'Angelo and Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale did an interview with the New York Times in which they discussed race, politics, protest and where music fits into all of that

D'Angelo, 41, remembered coming up on Public Enemy and lamented the music industry's turn away from that type of socially conscious content.

Now the trend ... it’s just [expletive]," D'Angelo told the Times. But to tell you the truth, there are a lot of people who feel the same way that I feel and that are making great music, conscious music. But for some reason or another it seems like the gatekeepers are not allowing that stuff to filter through to the mainstream. Kendrick Lamar, he’s an example of someone who is young and actually trying to say something. Who else? You got Young Jeezy and Young Thug. You know what I’m saying? It’s stupid. It’s ridiculous.”