D’Angelo
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Recalling Al Green in his heyday, D’Angelo wound his voice around the lyrics like taffy, silkily scatting while the crowd rushed the dance floor. Fans similarly responded to “Shit, Damn, Motherfucker,” his reinterpretation of the salacious 70s. A belligerent tale of betrayal and murder, the song throws rolling rhythms and Prince-like growling together with wrenching, threatening lyrics. “Why are you sleeping with my woman? / Why are you sleeping with my woman? / This comes as a total surprise / I just can’t believe my eyes / My best friend and my wife / Why the both of u’s buck-balled naked? / I tell ya what’s on my mind / I’m ’bout to get my nine and kill both y’all behind.” It could easily be a gansta-rap song, but the drowsily slow tempo, melancholy mood, and the tragic ending make D’Angelo’s treatment different. Far from the glory of the typical gangsta song, the closing verse makes it clear that the perpetrator pays for violence: “Why the both of u’s bleeding so much? / Why the both of u’s bleeding so much? / Why the both of u’s bleeding so much? / Why am I wearin’ handcuffs?”
By combining 70s sounds with 90s attitude, D’Angelo’s exposing young people to the same music that inspired contemporary artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Ice Cube, and Mary J. Blige. He lists Prince and Marvin Gaye as his chief influences, and has filled Brown Sugar, his debut album, with heavy 70s influences. His mid-tempo groove “Alright” sounds like it could have been on a Blaxploitation sound track, with its bouncing rhythms and psychedelic flow. “Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine” recalls the slow funk of Rufus and Chaka Khan, and “When We Get By” sounds like a jazzy tribute to Stevie Wonder’s best ballads.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Karen A. Peters.
