In July, 1995, 21-year-old singer/songwriter/producer D’Angelo released his debut album, Brown Sugar and changed the sound of soul music forever. As inspired by ’90s hip hop as he was by dusty R&B jams and gospel, the future Black Messiah born Michael Eugene Archer woodsheded for most of his teenage years, transforming his bedroom in Virginia into a home studio. Sonically merging his favorite genres to create what his manager would later dub “neo-soul,” D’Angelo’s sound influenced and inspired a generation of left-of-center artists to do their musical thing.

“It’s about doing something new with soul, not replicating old soul” D’Angelo told writer David Toop in 1995. “You have to use soul to create your own thing.” However, as Johns Hopkins University professor Lester Spence points out, “When you listen to D’Angelo you know it’s new music, but it’s grounded in that ’60s/’70s soul feel. There are times when he sounds like Prince and other times when he’s taking it Teddy Pendergrass deep.”

https://massappeal.com/da...r-neo-soul

mikemike13 said:

In July, 1995, 21-year-old singer/songwriter/producer D’Angelo released his debut album, Brown Sugar and changed the sound of soul music forever. As inspired by ’90s hip hop as he was by dusty R&B jams and gospel, the future Black Messiah born Michael Eugene Archer woodsheded for most of his teenage years, transforming his bedroom in Virginia into a home studio. Sonically merging his favorite genres to create what his manager would later dub “neo-soul,” D’Angelo’s sound influenced and inspired a generation of left-of-center artists to do their musical thing.

“It’s about doing something new with soul, not replicating old soul” D’Angelo told writer David Toop in 1995. “You have to use soul to create your own thing.” However, as Johns Hopkins University professor Lester Spence points out, “When you listen to D’Angelo you know it’s new music, but it’s grounded in that ’60s/’70s soul feel. There are times when he sounds like Prince and other times when he’s taking it Teddy Pendergrass deep.”

https://massappeal.com/da...r-neo-soul

Great article Thanks for posting! He is a stellar artist that is very underrated. You can definitly tell his influences but his music is so fresh and unique. He gets better and better with each album similiar to Erykah.

What a joke.

here we go with this d'angelo shit again....

D'Angelo is cool, a musical genius and stuff--he's just taking his time, lots of it, in the arena of publishing his own cohesive projects.

>

But it were Tony, Toni, Tone who came out of the blocks before he did, laying R&B, soul, and gospel tracks over a hip-hop beat (or at least their producers), weren't they?

YUP... + VERY Old 'News'

luvsexy4all said:

here we go with this d'angelo shit again....

[Edited 8/26/17 22:00pm]

He has crafted three completely flawless albums, and that's no easy feat. I get excited at the mere mention of him working on new material.

Identity said:

He has crafted three completely flawless albums, and that's no easy feat. I get excited at the mere mention of him working on new material.

Took him over 20 years to pull it off and he cannot even promote them properly. He is on the road to nowhere after wasting hugh amounts of time doing nothin.

he got a mention in season 4 of Orange is the New Black

laurarichardson said:

Identity said:

He has crafted three completely flawless albums, and that's no easy feat. I get excited at the mere mention of him working on new material.

Took him over 20 years to pull it off and he cannot even promote them properly. He is on the road to nowhere after wasting hugh amounts of time doing nothin.

But at least he has some intergrity and he is actually an artist that cares about his craft. He is not selling controversy or following trends in order to stay relevant or to sell records like a lot now.

mjscarousal said:

laurarichardson said:

Took him over 20 years to pull it off and he cannot even promote them properly. He is on the road to nowhere after wasting hugh amounts of time doing nothin.

But at least he has some intergrity and he is actually an artist that cares about his craft. He is not selling controversy or following trends in order to stay relevant or to sell records like a lot now.

You can record music at a normal pace and not sell out your integrity. Artist like Lauren Hill and Maxwell are ridculous for the amount of time between recordings.

They could have left major lables and put out more music independtly if the problem is with their companies but I thing they are their on worst enemies.

laurarichardson said:

mjscarousal said:

But at least he has some intergrity and he is actually an artist that cares about his craft. He is not selling controversy or following trends in order to stay relevant or to sell records like a lot now.

You can record music at a normal pace and not sell out your integrity. Artist like Lauren Hill and Maxwell are ridculous for the amount of time between recordings.

They could have left major lables and put out more music independtly if the problem is with their companies but I thing they are their on worst enemies.

You have a point.

laurarichardson said:

You can record music at a normal pace and not sell out your integrity. Artist like Lauren Hill and Maxwell are ridculous for the amount of time between recordings.

They could have left major lables and put out more music independtly if the problem is with their companies but I thing they are their on worst enemies.

laurarichardson said:

mjscarousal said:

But at least he has some intergrity and he is actually an artist that cares about his craft. He is not selling controversy or following trends in order to stay relevant or to sell records like a lot now.

You can record music at a normal pace and not sell out your integrity. Artist like Lauren Hill and Maxwell are ridculous for the amount of time between recordings.

They could have left major lables and put out more music independtly if the problem is with their companies but I thing they are their on worst enemies.

Seeing that Sade has only released 6 albums in 33 years, would you place her in a similar category? Is she her own "worst enemy"?

Identity said:

laurarichardson said:

You can record music at a normal pace and not sell out your integrity. Artist like Lauren Hill and Maxwell are ridculous for the amount of time between recordings.

They could have left major lables and put out more music independtly if the problem is with their companies but I thing they are their on worst enemies.

Seeing that Sade has only released 6 albums in 33 years, would you place her in a similar category? Is she her own "worst enemy"?

Sade has retired from recording and touring. So she knew when to call it a day and yes she was her own worst enemy as well. I just do not see how you can do music part-time or once a decade and expect your carreer to advance.

^ I see the point that you are making when it comes to D Angelo and Lauren Hill specifically because they do have many personal issues that have gotten in the way of them making music. However, Sade has had a very successful career. Each time her album drops and she tours they always sell out fast. She can go away for 10 years and still come back and sell out an arena, I doubt many artists of today could do this but then again, this is Sade, she is an icon and legend. Being visible and prolific isn't always good for an artist brand. It is ultimately goes back to impact and how much your music reasonates with people. D angelo was gone for years but when I saw him he headlined an arena, it was packed (and he is not nearly as visible as pop stars with a machine). Some singers can't go away and take long breaks because they need the visibility because their music doesn't make that much of an impact otherwise

[Edited 8/29/17 10:35am]

As usual, a D'Angelo thread turns to a legitimate argument about the volume of his output.

duccichucka sold me on this years ago -- the artist should be judged primarily by the body of work the artist has, not the body of work we wish he had. I am as frustrated as anyone by D's paltry output given his enormous talent, but I've come to appreciate him for what he is, not what I wish he would have been.

It's up to the artist to decide the level of effort he is going to put insuccess he wants commercially and critically. If D decides he's happy with 3 albums in 20 years, and can live off of that, who are we to say he should be making more albums and more money? Same goes for Sade, Maxwell, Badu and whomever else you want to name.

That said, D'Angelo wasn't and isn't a "black musical messiah." He left his imprint on music, but he didn't change it. R&B has evolved as if he never existed. He's entitled to live his life artistically and personally, but we can't put him on the same level legacy-wise as more prolific and commercially successful black music stars.

^ "R&B envolve as if he never existed?" Are you serious? Thats bullshit. D Angelo popularised Neo Soul with Brown Sugar. He was the first and the success of the album was vital in making Neo Soul Mainstream. That is why you have knock off acts like Frank Ocean and Miguel now and that whole movement which was heavily influenced by Neo Soul. D Angelo has definitly been influential in the scope and transition of contemporary R&B music and so has Lauryn Hill.

People can bash Lauryn Hill all they want too....but she has an ICONIC and CLASSIC album that was groundbreaking and still influences today. There has been NO commercial R&B pop star in the last 17 years that has made an album as groundbreaking as Miseducation. Its not about the quantity of your out put or how famous you are its about the QUALITY and the IMPACT it has on people.

[Edited 8/30/17 13:57pm]

mjscarousal said:

^ "R&B envolve as if he never existed?" Are you serious? Thats bullshit. D Angelo popularised Neo Soul with Brown Sugar. He was the first and the success of the album was vital in making Neo Soul Mainstream. That is why you have knock off acts like Frank Ocean and Miguel now and that whole movement which was heavily influenced by Neo Soul. D Angelo has definitly been influential in the scope and transition of contemporary R&B music and so has Lauryn Hill.

I knew that would fire somebody up. And right on cue.

Neo-soul came and went as a viable commercial force when D'Angelo, Maxwell, and the others on the vanguard became less prolific. Rap and Beats dominates "R&B" just as it did before Neo-Soul came along, perhaps even moreso. Sooo . . .

[Edited 8/31/17 8:48am]

namepeace said:

mjscarousal said:

^ "R&B envolve as if he never existed?" Are you serious? Thats bullshit. D Angelo popularised Neo Soul with Brown Sugar. He was the first and the success of the album was vital in making Neo Soul Mainstream. That is why you have knock off acts like Frank Ocean and Miguel now and that whole movement which was heavily influenced by Neo Soul. D Angelo has definitly been influential in the scope and transition of contemporary R&B music and so has Lauryn Hill.

I knew that would fire somebody up. And right on cue.

Neo-soul came and went as a viable commercial force when D'Angelo, Maxwell, and the others on the vanguard became less prolific. Rap and Beats dominates "R&B" just as it did before Neo-Soul came along, perhaps even moreso. Sooo . . .

[Edited 8/31/17 8:48am]

This post is proving my point.

Being prolific has nothing to do with impact.

You said that he had NO impact on R&B. That is false. Brown Sugar was the FIRST neo soul album that helped to bring the genre to the mainstream. It was vital for the genre being commercialised so you insisting that D Angelo had NO impact on the genre is complete and utter.... you know what.

This is the same argument that Lauryn Hill haters make. It doesn't matter if Lauryn just made one album. The album is ICONIC and a CLASSIC and influential. It would be delusional to say she has had NO impact on R&B just because she released one.

There artists who are prolific but dont make an impact at all with their music. One does not equal the other.

mjscarousal said:

namepeace said:

[Edited 8/31/17 8:48am]

This post is proving my point.

Being prolific has nothing to do with impact.

It really isn't, because I made the same point. You're not going by the title of the thread. I am.

You said that he had NO impact on R&B. That is false. Brown Sugar was the FIRST neo soul album that helped to bring the genre to the mainstream. It was vital for the genre being commercialised so you insisting that D Angelo had NO impact on the genre is complete and utter.... you know what.

Prove I said he had "no impact on R&B." Save your energy . . . I did not. I said he was no "messiah." Why? Because the sound of R&B has basically evolved in the same manner from 1995 to 2017 as it would have if D hadn't released any of his albums.

He's a brilliant comet, flashing across the sky once every 7 years or so. He didn't reset the order of the R&B universe. The artists you mentioned were not wholly influenced by him.

"Messiah" is simply inaccurate to describe D'Angelo. "Prophet" may be better.

This is the same argument that Lauryn Hill haters make. It doesn't matter if Lauryn just made one album. The album is ICONIC and a CLASSIC and influential. It would be delusional to say she has had NO impact on R&B just because she released one.

Lauryn Hill -- who I didn't bring up -- is a different case, because her one album helped change the landscape of popular music in a way that D'Angelo's 3 albums did not.

There artists who are prolific but dont make an impact at all with their music. One does not equal the other.

You're arguing against yourself, because I didn't say that. Re-read the post.

namepeace said:

mjscarousal said:

This post is proving my point.

Being prolific has nothing to do with impact.

It really isn't, because I made the same point. You're not going by the title of the thread. I am.

You said that he had NO impact on R&B. That is false. Brown Sugar was the FIRST neo soul album that helped to bring the genre to the mainstream. It was vital for the genre being commercialised so you insisting that D Angelo had NO impact on the genre is complete and utter.... you know what.

Prove I said he had "no impact on R&B." Save your energy . . . I did not. I said he was no "messiah." Why? Because the sound of R&B has basically evolved in the same manner from 1995 to 2017 as it would have if D hadn't released any of his albums.

He's a brilliant comet, flashing across the sky once every 7 years or so. He didn't reset the order of the R&B universe. The artists you mentioned were not wholly influenced by him.

"Messiah" is simply inaccurate to describe D'Angelo. "Prophet" may be better.

This is the same argument that Lauryn Hill haters make. It doesn't matter if Lauryn just made one album. The album is ICONIC and a CLASSIC and influential. It would be delusional to say she has had NO impact on R&B just because she released one.

Lauryn Hill -- who I didn't bring up -- is a different case, because her one album helped change the landscape of popular music in a way that D'Angelo's 3 albums did not.

There artists who are prolific but dont make an impact at all with their music. One does not equal the other.

You're arguing against yourself, because I didn't say that. Re-read the post.

Well you're right, you didn't say it verbatim BUT when you say things like "R&B evolved like he never existed" that DOES imply he did not make an impact on the evolution of R&B (HE DID). Your an intelligent man, I am sure you know what that statement implies.

namepeace said:

As usual, a D'Angelo thread turns to a legitimate argument about the volume of his output.

duccichucka sold me on this years ago -- the artist should be judged primarily by the body of work the artist has, not the body of work we wish he had. I am as frustrated as anyone by D's paltry output given his enormous talent, but I've come to appreciate him for what he is, not what I wish he would have been.

It's up to the artist to decide the level of effort he is going to put insuccess he wants commercially and critically. If D decides he's happy with 3 albums in 20 years, and can live off of that, who are we to say he should be making more albums and more money? Same goes for Sade, Maxwell, Badu and whomever else you want to name.

That said, D'Angelo wasn't and isn't a "black musical messiah." He left his imprint on music, but he didn't change it. R&B has evolved as if he never existed. He's entitled to live his life artistically and personally, but we can't put him on the same level legacy-wise as more prolific and commercially successful black music stars.

Totally agree.