D'Angelo was one of the founding fathers and leading lights of the
neo-soul movement of the mid- to late '90s, which aimed to bring the organic flavor of classic
R&B back to the
hip-hop age. Modeling himself on the likes of
Marvin Gaye,
Stevie Wonder,
Prince,
Curtis Mayfield, and
Al Green,
D'Angelo's influences didn't just come across in his vocal style -- like most of those artists, he wrote his own material (and frequently produced it as well), helping to revive the concept of the
R&B auteur. His debut album,
Brown Sugar, gradually earned him an audience so devoted that the follow-up,
Voodoo, debuted at number one despite a five-year wait in between.
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D'Angelo was one of the founding fathers and leading lights of the
neo-soul movement of the mid- to late '90s, which aimed to bring the organic flavor of classic
R&B back to the
hip-hop age. Modeling himself on the likes of
Marvin Gaye,
Stevie Wonder,
Prince,
Curtis Mayfield, and
Al Green,
D'Angelo's influences didn't just come across in his vocal style -- like most of those artists, he wrote his own material (and frequently produced it as well), helping to revive the concept of the
R&B auteur. His debut album,
Brown Sugar, gradually earned him an audience so devoted that the follow-up,
Voodoo, debuted at number one despite a five-year wait in between.
Michael D'Angelo Archer was born February 11, 1974, in Richmond, VA, the son of a Pentecostal minister.
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He began teaching himself piano as a very young child, and at age 18, he won the amateur talent competition at Harlem's Apollo Theater three weeks in a row. He was briefly a member of a
hip-hop group called I.D.U. and signed a publishing deal with EMI in 1991. His first major success came in 1994 as a writer/producer, helming the single "U Will Know" on the Jason's Lyric
soundtrack; it featured a one-time, all-star
R&B aggregate dubbed Black Men United. That helped lead to his debut solo album, 1995's
Brown Sugar. Helped by the title track and "Lady,"
Brown Sugar slowly caught on with
R&B fans looking for an alternative to the
hip-hop soul dominating the
urban contemporary landscape; along with artists like
Erykah Badu,
Lauryn Hill, and
Maxwell,
D'Angelo became part of a retro-leaning,
neo-soul revivalist movement.
Brown Sugar received enormously complimentary reviews and sold over two million copies, and
D'Angelo supported it with extensive touring over the next two years.
And then -- not much of anything happened.
D'Angelo took some time off to rest and split acrimoniously with his management; meanwhile, EMI went under, leaving his 1998 stopgap release Live at the Jazz Cafe out of print. On occasion,
D'Angelo contributed a cover tune to a movie
soundtrack, including
Eddie Kendricks' "Girl You Need a Change of Mind" (Get on the Bus),
the Ohio Players' "Heaven Must Be Like This" (Down in the Delta), and
Prince's "She's Always in My Hair" (
Scream 2). He also duetted with
Lauryn Hill on "Nothing Really Matters," a cut from her Grammy-winning blockbuster
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Still, fans awaiting a proper follow-up to
Brown Sugar remained frustrated -- at first by no news at all, and then by frequent delays in the recording process and the scheduled release date. Finally, the special-guest-laden
Voodoo was released in early 2000 and debuted at number one, an indication of just how large -- and devoted --
D'Angelo's fan base was. The extremely
Prince-like lead single, "Untitled (How Does It Feel)," was a smash on the
R&B charts and won a Grammy for Best Male
R&B Vocal; likewise,
Voodoo won for Best
R&B Album. Reviews of
Voodoo were once again highly positive, although a few critics objected to the looser, more atmospheric, more jam-oriented feel of the record, preferring the tighter songcraft of
Brown Sugar. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
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