I was grooving to Untitled by DAngelo and I always knew it was heavy on the Prince sound but I am starting to think that he should have paid Prince a fee for all the stuff he borrowed on this cut!

Oh yes... I was listening to 'Free' recently and realized again how similar the arrangements are both that and 'untitled'.

BTW.. it's untitled because what else can he call it than "prince rip off'.

D'angelo did it on purpose I'm sure.

Ronny

I f*cking love this song

Much love Pochacco

was there ever a continuation to the song found anywhere?
i always get a kick out of the princely screams at the end... and then it's suddenly gone. everyone that ever listened to it with me always groaned in disappointment cuz of the abrupt chop!

I think "Untitled" was meant as a tribute to a favorite musical influence...similarities in style intentional in a love/musical respect kind of way...

AprilMichelle said:

BINGO!!

I like D' very much but I call this to plagiarize. If he wanted to pay tribute to Prn, why didn't he just mention it? Besides, I think he is much better at making his own music,which sounds more like himself ( Devil's pie, Feel like makin' love, Africa...). I don't think he is more talented or even as talented as Prince. Except physically speaking of course!

Just sit back and enjoy it for what it is... an excellent song. He's always been open about "Untitled" being a tribute to early 80s Prince ballads.

Well I remember reading that ?uestlove purposefully used a some of the elements that were on the Parade album on Voodoo. Like the drums you hear on "I Wonder U", ?uest played the drums like that on "Africa".
[This message was edited Thu Jan 9 11:25:22 PST 2003 by FirstAvenue]

Essence said:

I agree with that. D'Angelo is too creative to rip off another artist just to get a hit. This song is a tribute and I've always loved it.

Untitled is a classic!

I LOVE the ending of it, it reminds me how Prince cut off "Life Can B So Nice"

I like the ending because nobody in their right mind would just do a classic like that!

Remember also that Raphel Saddiq helped write that song. Another Prince psycologist, but his music has proven also that he stands above just being catergorized. All that Toni Tone Tony work is classic

like all great artists d'angelo uses his
influences in a creative way 2 do something
original & unique.both "brown sugar"
& "voodoo" change the whole soulscéne around.
live D took his sound even further & I can´t
wait 2 hear his forthcoming 3´d album.
peace/manki

man u guys need 2 get vodooo and listen 2 the song called THE ROOT. man this is about the best groove i heard in 2002. what a memorable chorous the sing. the music is --it
so unprince like. this is by far his best jam. anybody out there feel me on this.

4LOVE said:

was his name-o?

If D'Angelo has to pay Prince, Prince has to pay James Brown for the JB excursions he rides. I think in both instances the homages are purposeful and out of respect, not really an I'm out of ideas, I need to steal a Prince/JB song mentality.

"Untitled" was co-written by Rapahel Saadiq who also heavily digs Prince thus, the guitars, and "Africa" BLATANTLY has "I Wonder U" written all over it... Amazing end 2 an album tho'!!!

'dre

Untitled is homage to Unsatiable style Prince ballad.. Un and Un..how bout that.

paisleypark4 said:

Too true

Just because D`Angelo sounds a bit like Prince , most people naturally assume that his most Princely sound is all him , but the part of Raphael Saadiq is seriously underestimated.
In my view Raphael`s career is very similar to Prince (if you take purple Rain out of the equation) , both are very prolific and influential to the extent that they have re-defined black music by putting a modern twist on an older traditional sound , both like to collaborate and be in a band (even though they could do it all themselves) , and both clearly struggle to maintain this hence the bad blood that exists from some ex-musicians they have worked with and finally neither have really got the respect they deserve from critics and fans for what they have created.

One Soul Brother too another saying Thank You.

Supernova said:

You are now officially the shit! Thank you for pointing this out to some people.

chickengrease said:

Why thank yewww!

Great song, although it's a blatant Prince rip-off. But I don't mind because it is done in a very tastefull manner.

I love the whole Voodoo album and I think it might have inspired Prince to return to a more organic sound.

'untitled' must be one of the better tunes on 'voodoo' without a doubt. 'playa playa' kicks ass too; took me a while to dig it, but i'm there now! besides those two 'devil's pie', 'chicken grease', 'one mo'gin', 'spanish joint' and 'africa' stand out for me. the rest is ok.

Love this song... I don't think it sounds too Princey... there are similarities, yet, they do their work with a totally different energy because they are different people. Even if someone is trying to blatantly rip off another artist, who they fooling, really, but themselves? I agree with Manki that influences are just that... I just think that if someone is trying to copy another, sometimes it can sound good, sometimes I hear it and think 'God, that sounds like so + so...' I wonder what the artist is feeling when putting it together and down? Ain't no great shakes in my book.

What bothers me more, is listening to so called 'hits' when I don't have the choice not to (ie, in someone elses home) and feeling my heart sink because what they are putting down is not coming from them, someone else has made it and they just have to look good and be a horny mo fo!! What is their intention to perform? I just don't respect that. And that is different than hearing someone who has written their own music and I just don't dig it. I can appreciate talent, I just don't always enjoy it.

That's my HO anyways...

joelmarable said:

"The Root" is great yeah, I had listened to it many times before the one occasion it just clicked and is now a firm favourite. That said there isn't a weak song on Voodoo IMO.

HEY NOW!!!
Im GLAD that D'angelo made "Untitled" (How does it Feel) the way he did.
I dont think he plagarized Prince @ all. Plagarizing it would make it sound exactly like..."Insatiable" or "Adore" or something w/out N E changes.
If U were 2 turn on the radio & hear a Prince or D'angelo song, U could distinctly tell the difference btwn PRINCE & D'angelo N their voices & I AM GLAD D'angleo paid tribute 2 Prince this way...he couldnt have done it in N E better way...

Now LADIEZ..imagine Prince & D'angelo on this track 2gether?? :whiP:

Essence said:

i don't totally agree with you. i think 'voodoo' is a great album, but it has too many songs on there. 13 is too much; i've always believed 10 or 11 songs should be the maximum. like 'brown sugar'; that album is in balance. with 10 songs on there, all equally interesting and beautiful. 'voodoo' has better songs than 'brown sugar', but as a whole i like 'brown sugar' a little bit more. don't get me wrong, i hope d'angelo will further explore the route he has taken with 'voodoo', but somehow this album just isn't completely satisfying for me.
where i think 'playa playa' is a great tune (perhaps one of my favs), i think it's absolutely misplaced on this album, and certainly as an opener (why not 'devil's pie'?). besides that i kinda dislike 'greatdayndamornin''; where critics have said that d'angelo defines the art of "leaving out", meaning he breaks his music down to only the essential, he kinda did the opposite on this one imo (do like the outro 'booty' though!). and somehow the laidback tune 'feel like makin' love' does not hit the spot for me. with exclusion of the last 2 songs mentioned, what remains is a collection of classic songs; 'voodoo' would have been a classic imo. that said i must apologise for whining about a great record, but that's what these boards are for, right?

purpleone said:

Cool, we all can only give opinion on how we hear it. "Feel Like Makin' Love" is a cover of the Roberta Flack classic btw, do you dislike the song or just D's take? One cover on each album.

Personally I feel he hasn't put his name on a weak track period, I know he isn't exactly prolific but right down to the colaborations, soundtracks, remixes, B-sides... the quality has been sustained.

Essence said:

i like his version of 'feel like makin' love', but there's just too little happening in the song. the live version on the other hand is just too funky; a lot is happening there! i think it's alright to cover songs like he's done, cause he definitely knows what he's doing, but to make it a tradition for every album he releases, that idea i don't like!


absolutely. he releases quality stuff. talking about b-sides; have you heard 'everybody loves the sunshine'.. man, this (roy ayers) tune is just beautiful. makes me wonder if we'll ever hear the unreleased song 'bitch'; also a song with quest, supposedly sounding as raw and dark as 'playa playa'..

BLACKMF said:

PRINCE SHOULD BE PAYING THE FAMILY OF JIMMY HENDRIX FOR
ALL THE SHIT HE RIPPED OFF HIM, FROM MUSIC TO STAGE
PRESENSE... NOT TO MENTION PHOTO IDEAS!!!