I hope this isn't posted already but SPIN has a very interesting "What Happened" article on D'Angelo. Among other things (a friends suicide) it appears D got constantly heckled by horny broads during his brilliant tour back in the early 00's to take off his clothing during EVERY song! This angered and depressed him apparantly. He was also hampered by credibility issues and apparantly CAVED under the pressure of being the "savior" of soul.

It seems he's gotten his health back together and has a great batch of new material ALMOST ready, but the article explains a lot.


What I learned? Again, NEVER take yourself TOO seriously!

CynicKill said:

Thanks for the headzup!



...

CynicKill said:

Thanks. Sounds like an interesting read. Hope someone can post it here.

Let me tell you guys something. All of these so called neo soul guys go through this dramatic..I need to find myself before I can make more music bullshit! It's like they are never comfortable with their success and the pressure of reproducing whatever sound got them into the dance..and they go Lauren Hill and Maxwell on us..screw them and all their deepness. Hey it's your fucking job to make music and yeah it can be a little stressful when you are at work...that doesn't stop tables from getting bused, food being served, and babies being delivered....Give me a freaking break!

And another thing..Stevie would have put out 10 albums, James Brown about 30 singles,and Prince would fill another vault in the time that it takes these jokers to put out 1 decent album!!!!! Don't get me started!

popgodazipa said:

-----
ThanK you for saying this. What sort of pressure do you think P was under after PR but he kept on working which what D'Angelo should have done instead of using drugs. Your an entertainer it is your job to entertain people and selling records is a part of the program.

i don't really understand the schizo stance to fame and a second or third
album.

if they're so uncomfortable with the fame why do they care to make a new
album that's so damn good they can't get it together for 10 years?

just release a nice new disc of music and keep a low profile. make those
rabid followers take a step back and just don't tour.

then go back to the studio and do whatever feels good. don't tour untill
you feel good and ready.

there are ways to stay in the spotlight without riding the tidal wave of
glittery fame.

popgodazipa said:

IstenSzek said:

Nice!

popgodazipa said:

Couldn't have said it any better.

popgodazipa said:

Tell 'em why you mad!

But I get what you're saying tho.

popgodazipa said:

Agreed! Just for once,it would be nice to see an artist who can be really successful and not lose their minds in the process You know...someone who releases music and tours regularly without self-destructing and disappearing for 8 years.Just imagine the amazing career that Lauryn Hill could have had.

popgodazipa said:

PREACH!!!!

SoulAlive said:

Exactly. That's a shame.

CynicKill said:

I feel for the dude, I really do, but if he hadn't put it out there in the Untitled video those chicks wouldn't have been bothering him before and he wouldn't need to be all angry and depressed.

It's interesting. Working at EMI i know we waited and waited and waited for a new album, and then i ran into Alan Leeds at a conference and asked him about D and that was pretty much the story he told me. D really wasn't comfortable at all with the imagery of the "Untitled" video and was really really bothered by fans not even wanting to hear the music and just screaming for him to take his clothes off.

So almost Marvin Gaye like, he decided to grow a beard, gain some weight and not give a fuck.

I'm glad he's dealing with his issues and is going to FINALLY release some new music! We need it!

popgodazipa said:

Co-sign.

Graycap23 said:

I don't agree. ARTISTS go through shit sometimes. Goes with being one. Some artists never have problems. Others (Marvin, Billie, Miles, etc) have some issues. And sometimes that's part of what makes them great. I know she's a lightning rod in here, but if we never get any more music out of Amy Winehouse we'll have those two AMAZING albums and it's that flirtation with chaos that makes them brilliant.

I don't put Lauryn Hill in this category because it's well known what her problem is, she got exposed as a fraud. She took all the credit for her brilliant debut, and then it was discovered that she didn't do it by herself. And now no one will work with her. She's fucked. And crazy.

I mean no one rips Sade when she takes 10+ years off between albums. So as far as i'm concerned, Maxwell and D'Angelo can take their time.

ButterscotchPimp said:

Well what did he think was going to happen when he did that video? And then a number of the press articles that came out at that time were of him with his shirt off or posing in his drawers. I mean really.

ButterscotchPimp said:

I hear u.....but I'm a results kind of guy. D has released 2 cd's in his career. That's weak and any excuse will NOT do.

ButterscotchPimp said:

the difference is that Sade doesn't appeal to the same overall audience that Maxwell, D'angelo and Lauren Hill did. And Sade, while extremely beautiful did not exploit herself or let herself be exploited in a sexual way or try to recreate what older artists that came before her did and act like she did something new and unusual -- and then not be able to handle the pressure to put up or shut up that comes with those actions. Maxwell, D'Angelo and Lauren did.

Ifsixwuz9 said:

I don't think he gave it much thought. I think his managers were like here's an idea for the video. I don't think he thought "well, now i'm going to be a huge sex symbol and for the rest of my life women will be screaming for me to take my shit off".
[Edited 7/25/08 7:51am]

Ifsixwuz9 said:

whaaaaatever. I love when people who don't do music, or aren't artists love to criticize how every other artist should act.

Sade for SURE used her sexuality to sell records! Get outta here with that. Sure, she didn't do a "naked" video, but she sure as hell used her looks to sell some records for sure. Who did Maxwell try to "recreate"? Who did Lauryn try to "recreate"? I won't ask that question about D'Angelo, because i know what bullshit answer i'd get back on that one.....
[Edited 7/25/08 7:55am]

ButterscotchPimp said:

I'm not telling them how they should act I'm just pointing out that there are consequences to their actions that they should have seen coming a mile away.

And Sade did not exploit her looks. She's pretty, she can't do anything about that except wear a bag over her head. She didn't use that to expressly sell records. She didn't come on stage half dressed or appear in every other press article half dressed, and like I said her music appealed to a totally different overall audience than the other three.

And Maxwell was basically being called the next Marvin Gaye because of the way he sang, and his stage shows. And a lot of the songs on Lauren Hill's first album had that whole Stevie Wonder kinda vibe to them which she wasn't responsible for creating and she took credit for everything. And then couldn't back it up on her second album. Hello!?

As for D'Angelo yeah you know he's a Prince fan and tried to get into that vibe. And to try and deny it is bullshit. Most of the articles and press on him was that he doing what Prince could have/should have been doing, etc., etc.
Why are you trying to act like that's not what was being written?
.
[Edited 7/25/08 8:39am]

Ifsixwuz9 said:

I so don't want to have this debate in here yet again. If some reviewer compared Maxwell to Marvin, that's not on MAXWELL that's on the reviewer. Ditto with the snobbery that goes on in here every time someone gets compared to P.

Lauryn Hill's album had a "Stevie Wonder" vibe to it? WTF?

I already blasted Lauryn for what she did wrong. If Maxwell and D'Angelo want to take their sweet time in getting motivated to put out an album, i don't see the problem. You want to give Sade a pass for "being original" but then want to blast everyone else for not being "original" and i think that's bullshit.

ButterscotchPimp said:

I said 'a lot' that does not mean the whole damn thing, don't try to divert the issues of where she went wrong with her career.

And the problem with Maxwell is it wasn't just "one" reviwer darn near every artcle written about the guy compared him to Marvin Gaye. It's not snobbery on my part the dude is talented but his stage shows and style did remind folks of Marvin.

As I said before I'm just pointing out that there are consequences to their actions that they should have seen coming a mile away. You're the one who got your shorts in a twist about it.

.
[Edited 7/25/08 8:30am]

according to my brother it was common knowledge in the okayplayer forums that part of D's meltdown was due to self image. questlove claims he would do push ups before shows and would ask if he still looked as good as the untitled video.

They say that the women who attended the shows would scream "take it off" but I guess that would be expected. He had the nerve to let a camera crew shoot him ass naked but freaked out because of the female fan reaction.

The human psyche is a fragile thing and each person varies from person to person, obviously their were already some self esteem issues already going on with this cat, and fame just brought it all out to the forefront.

When its all said and done his personal issues aside, I wouldn't mind hearing some new tracks, if and when they finally drop.

Same ol' Org, same ol' tired arguments about D'Angelo...

ButterscotchPimp said:

Since I have no strong feelings one way or the other on D'Angelo I don't have a foot in this argument, but I'm curious about the above comment. What makes one group's criticism more valid than another?

RipHer2Shreds said:

You weren't asking me but, a lot fans who happen to be artists of some sort that annointed D'Angelo as the next R&B ICON or at least the next big thing now have only 2 albums of original material from D in over the last 13 years kind of have to eat crow and are annoyed by it, thus they lash out about how non-musicians don't have the right to be critical and shouldn't comment on the lack of product. But like I said you didn't ask me sooo I could be wrong.