A Brits Performance for the Ages: Meet Dave
Donning a cloud and blue-sky patterned suit, sitting at a grand piano with powerful imagery decrying inequality projected onto it, British artist Dave graced our screens with what would be a near 5 minutes of silence in the crowd, all awe-struck by his enrapturing stage presence.
Black is distant, it's representin' countries
That never even existed while your grandmother was livin'
Black is my Ghanaian brother readin' into scriptures
Doing research on his lineage
Finding out that he's Egyptian
Black is people namin' your countries on what they trade most
Coast of Ivory, Gold Coast, and the Grain Coast
But most importantly to show how deep all this pain goes
West Africa, Benin, they called it slave coast
Black is so confusing, 'cause the culture?
They're in love with it
They take our features when they want and have their fun with it
Never seem to help with all the things we know would come with it
Loud in our laughter, silent in our suffering
Those are the lyrics to the young 21-year-old singer/rapper/songwriter’s “Black.” The track’s poignant verses match many of those on his album Psychodrama, for which Dave won the coveted Album of the Year award at the 2020 BRITs on February 18th.
Dave joined his peers like Tyler, The Creator (winner of best International Male Solo Artist) and Stormzy (best British Male Solo Artist) in calling out politicians and racism in the UK. Dave’s words come at a time where more and more people are voting for the Conservative right-wing party, where a (now resigned) adviser to the PM suggested that black people have lower IQs than white people, and where Boris Johnson himself has made offensive remarks about Muslim women, Africans, and Barack Obama (to Google at your will).
Unsurprisingly, Dave’s performance has been criticized just as much as it’s been praised: the televised event has received hundreds of complaints from viewers at home for his “racist” performance. The BRIT board has not yet stated if they will investigate into these complaints.
In his performance, Dave added a striking 4th verse:
It is racist, whether or not it feels racist
The truth is our Prime Minister’s a real racist
They say, “You should be grateful we’re the least racist”
I say “The least racist is still racist”
And if somebody hasn’t said it
Equality’s a right, it doesn’t deserve credit
Now if you don’t wanna get it then you’re never gonna get it
How the news treats Kate versus how they treated Megan
And that is how you get the people talking. Even Secretary of State for the Home Department Priti Patel labeled Dave’s lyrics regarding the PM as “utter nonsense.” Many, however, saw Dave’s boldness as a necessary step in confronting the issues that the UK faces today. Dave’s goal, more than anything else, was to recognize the intricacies of inequality, to acknowledge the many forms it can take.
In choosing to perform “Black,” Dave took a risk. He could’ve chosen a crowd-pleasing hit, allowing the audience to sing and dance to his hit track “Location” featuring Burna Boy. Instead, Dave used his voice to pay tribute to the victims of the London Bridge terror attack (who were attending a university prison rehabilitation event), as well as to those who perished in the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire. Finally, he spoke of the long-overdue support needed for those affected by the Windrush scandal, which saw the wrongly-committed detainment and deportation of born British subjects in 2018. Many of these Britons were brought over from the West Indies to the UK by the Empire Windrush ship in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
All he would wanted was unity, funding for communities
Equal opportunities, people under scrutiny
No more immunity, way less hatred
More conservation, less deforestation
We want rehabilitation, now that would be amazing
But Grenfell victims still need accomodation
And we still need support for the Windrush generation
Reparations for the time our people spent on plantations
I’m done
With that, Dave closed out his show-stopping performance. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not Dave achieves a stateside crossover. Regardless, the inspiring artist’s performance won him a standing ovation, headlines for days, and a new spot in the hearts of many.
Featured image via.
