Last week, Dev Hynes took the Guardian to task for allegedly removing him from the Guardian Guide’s cover after he was “reluctant†to be part of that magazine’s “perception of a Black Lives Matter story.†It’s not because Hynes has nothing to say about black life — quite the opposite — he just prefers to use the language of music to communicate his feelings. Last night on Conan, he used his performance as Blood Orange to stage a poignant memorial service honoring three recent victims of this violent summer: Philando Castile, a black man killed by Minnesota police in July; Hande Kader, a Turkish trans activist who was found mutilated and burned to death after she went missing earlier this month; and Terrence McCrary Jr. (a.k.a. T Mack), a young black man shot and killed at an art gallery in Oakland, California, last week. Hynes solemnly performed “Augustine†and “Thank You†with their portraits in front of his piano, taking a knee beside them at the latter song’s devastating end.
Blood Orange Performed a Stirring Tribute to Philando Castile and Hande Kader on Conan
