Last Tuesday was heavy. Already in the quicksand of loss, I had a very physical response to the news that D’Angelo had left us. I stood in the kitchen for almost half an hour, winded, pacing around… Freshly chopped onions and garlic left to dry out as a chilling air suddenly enveloped the night and swiped my appetite.
This wasn’t some melodramatic reaction to the end of a parasocial relationship. This is a man I have admired, studied, grown with (and through) over more than a quarter of a century. I was once told that things made with heart will reach the heart, which is to say that communion of that magnitude forms a significant bond that is worth grieving.
I’ve bought the albums, made the T-shirt, cut out the magazine pages and put them on the wall, sung his words everywhere from Brixton Academy to my bathroom. It was fandom in full effect. Devotion.
I still remember my first track. It was ‘Me & Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine’ on a Kiss Smooth Grooves double cassette compilation in 1996. Back then, I was in thrall to the bump and swing of RnB. The voice was immaculate, even to my novice ears, but it was all a bit too smooth and refined for me up against a Tony! Toni! Toné! ‘Let’s Get Down’ or Brownstone’s ‘If You Love Me’.
If I had bothered to check the album, I would have discovered a subtle edge to the man’s music, melded with the raw essence of soul that stood out amid all the polish and posturing of the day. Ok, ‘Sh*t, Damn, Motherf*cker’ ain’t so subtle. D talkin’ about gettin’ his nine… “I weren’t no choir boy,” he would later tell us.
A few years later, my uni mate Helen (aka Babs) handed me Brown Sugar. Digging in the crates by then and following the many tributaries of hip-hop that reached back to the ancestors – producers reimagining them for a new age – I was ready to receive it.
The one-time MC was a child of hip-hop, among other things, lest we forget. And he carried that musicologist’s curiosity throughout his career, always striving to connect the dots. He could trace the funk back to Otis Redding, see Sly Stone as “Ray Charles on acid”, sense rock god Jimi Hendrix was a blues man at heart and hear The Meters in Marley Marl.
At his audition for Jocelyn Cooper’s Midnight Songs publishing company, D’Angelo performed a Jodeci track, a gospel song and something by Miles Davis. He was 17 at the time. Trawl back far enough in his life and it all begins to make sense. D may have come from the church and gospel on the south side of Richmond, Virginia, but his musical ambitions lay on the frontier. At one point, he wanted to become a concert pianist.
By the end of the 90s, I wasn’t just listening to albums … I was analysing them, ‘training’ to become a music journalist and trying to encapsulate how these sounds made me feel. The soul boy within had progressed from popular releases to lesser-appreciated ones. Let’s say a Here, My Dear after Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, or a Fulfillingness’ First Finale after Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life. Ahead-of-their-time masterpieces were also in the mix, including There’s A Riot Goin’ On and Band of Gypsys.
The Godfather stoked my urge for funk and a syncopated groove, an instinct fully surrendered to years after first shakin’ my moneymaker to this Sony ad. When I wore a T-shirt with the iconic label “A James Brown Production”, I meant it. Some days, I would holla or just scream in his inimitable way, just to connect to that energy where I felt so alive, uninhibited and in the moment.
He led me to Prince, who burst out of the shadows of Michael Jackson – in my mind, anyway – as I began to appreciate musicianship, arrangement and synthesis more. A friend and I would scour the net for live performances, like this one from the Parade tour or this bizarre encounter that wasn’t so easy to find before social media. Or vintage Stevie taking studio recordings someplace else.
I wasn’t the only one studying. Stories of the making of D’s magnum opus Voodoo are beyond fable at this point. How he, co-pilot Questlove and others would spend weeks on end in the late 90s watching tapes of their “yodas” in action, soaking up black genius before jamming through the night at Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios. A bandcamp-cum-academy environment that produced more than 70 hours of music most of us have never heard.
That one I was not ready for back in 2000. Its murkiness, shifting states and the opacity of the vocals threw me off. But I was beckoned by Voodoo’s ritualistic opening and how ‘Playa Playa’ combined Roy Hargrove’s sweet horn arrangements with the gritty groove laid down by Pino Palladino and Questlove.
I could feel James in ‘Chicken Grease’, with its nod to Black Caesarin the ad libs, and went nuts for Voodoo’s audacious outlier ‘Spanish Joint’ from first play. The uncompromising commitment to his craft and aesthetic was compelling.
D set out to seek what his heroes sought. To allow himself to be a conduit for the spirits of the past. The recording of that album was like a three-year seance. Speaking to Vibe around the release, he cast off any concerns about sophomore jinx, instead plotting a path way into the future with the tools handed down to him.
“The way he [Sam Cooke] would do his vocals, with his musicians all playing major chords … And he would just come out of nowhere in this minor key — it’s hard to put in words the effect that has on you – the chills. It’s just evolutionary… I want to be free like that.”
Here’s the thing about D’Angelo and why his loss feels so devastating. He didn’t settle for emulating the sound of the masters. His inspirations were launchpads. How many of us could hear Hendrix in ‘The Root’?
From day one, his integrity was sky-high. The intention was to make art. For the son and grandson of Pentecostal preachers, catching the spirit and moving people were birthright and vocation – from the pulpit side to the stage. Just listen to ‘One Mo Gin’ live in LA from 2000. Image was secondary.
In that Vibe article, the writer Dream Hampton recalls D holding her hand throughout a two-hour conversation and says, “He hears what you’re saying, but what he really wants to do is feel you.” He loved giving guys a pound every 20 or 30 seconds, as DJ Premier told her. The Alchemist recently shared a hilarious weed story about that.
After spending so long in the past, I was looking around for someone to step up – to take it there. He was the one. D wanted to find his own conception of black music: sensual, spiritual, dynamic, liberating. To f*ck with time and texture, forming rhythms and intonations only he could imbue. To fuse the technical ingenuity of those early 70’s soul masterpieces with the ecstatic fervour and spectacle of a Prince, p-funk or Fela Kuti stage show.
He was willing to shoulder the responsibility of leadership and open himself up to scrutiny, not least through his own eyes. A God-fearing young man who dared to step out of his comfort zone behind the keys and transform himself into this carnal effigy onstage, if it could serve the music. But knowing how all that adulation and power had corrupted forbears such as Marvin Gaye.
Risking possession by dark spirits that threatened to render him a false idol, torment and consume him. Speaking to GQ in 2014, D said, “There are forces going on that I don’t think a lot of motherf*ckers who make music today are aware of. The stage is our pulpit, and you can use all of that energy and that music and the lights and the colours and the sound. But you know, you’ve got to be careful.”
Psalm 23:4 was D’s “creed”. tattooed on his left arm. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” In the end, his faith saw him through, which is why ‘Prayer’ from Black Messiah is one of the artist’s greatest personal triumphs.
I know that you will make it to the promised land, ohBut you gotta pray, you gotta prayOh, you gotta pray for redemption, LordLord, keep me away from temptationDeliver us from evil, oh yeahAnd all this confusion around meGive me peaceI believe in love
The mark of a great artist, to my mind, is someone who commits to growth, unwavering in the face of public expectation and industry demands. As they learn, we learn with them. And so it was with D’Angelo. His exquisite taste in covers led me to Parliament Funkadelic, Ohio Players, Curtis Mayfield deep cuts and gospel acts such as The Hawkins and The Pilgrim Jubilees. He would sprinkle source code into intros and interludes at shows.
Speaking to writer Nelson George in one interview before Black Messiah dropped almost 15 years after Voodoo, he vowed to carry the torch and teach the youth. Who talks like that nowadays? Who is willing to wait, no matter how frustrated their fans become?”
Who is willing to flout convention, the call for relentless consumption and instant gratification, to go away and tussle with that art until to takes the form it needs to, no matter how slow or arduous the process? To risk being ridiculed, forgotten or, worse still, hurt?
Looking around, there is a distinct lack of musicians who seem willing or able to transcend their influences. Industry forces may be a big factor in the restless urge for visibility and productivity over patient craft and wilful withdrawal. But standing for something and having a higher purpose are still critical. If that’s you, we need you now.
Oops. So much for writing a short covering note 🤦🏽♂️ I took my time, as I did with this show, in the spirit of D.
So over the next four hours, I am going to present the many dimensions of a remarkable artist. It will be more thematic than chronological. Travelling back and forth feels appropriate for a star so in their own orbit.
There will be demos, outtakes, covers, key studio recordings, lots of live renditions (where he did some of his greatest work) and revelations along the way. Dedicated to his family, close friends and collaborators.
This is how and why D’Angelo took it there 🙏🏾 🕊️ 🖤
THE SOULTRONICS – Fall N Love (Live in LA, 2000)
– D on growing up in Richmond and church beginnings –
– D does The Violinaires’ ‘The Upper Way’ –
– D on learning to let the spirit come through you –
D’ANGELO, RAPHAEL SAADIQ, ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMED, SPANKY ALFORD & QUESTLOVE – Lady (Fire outro live on Chris Rock Show, 1997)
D’ANGELO& THE SOUL DISCIPLES – Don’t Let Jesus Down
– D on grandmother Alberta’s encouragement –
ANGIE STONE – Everyday [Arista]
– On hip-hop being the nucleus and why love is gangsta –
D’ANGELO – Lady (DJ Premier Remix featuring AZ) [EMI]
COMMON – Ghetto Heaven (featuring D’Angelo) [MCA]
GZA – Cold World featuring D’Angelo (Rza Mix)[Geffen]
THE ROOTS – The Notic (featuring D’Angelo & Erykah Badu) [Dysfunctional Youth]
– Questlove on ‘auditioning’ for D @ The Soul Train Awards in 1996 –
– D on the funk and James Brown the foundation –
D’ANGELO, QUESTLOVE & CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE – Funky Drummer (Voodoo Outtakes)
D’ANGELO – Ghetto Music (Voodoo Outtakes featuring Q-Tip)
D’ANGELO – Instrumental 5 (Voodoo outtakes)
– D on being influenced by Prince’s influences –
D’ANGELO – Playa Playa [Virgin]
– Voodoo promo –
D’ANGELO – Chicken Grease [Virgin]
– D on playing live and being free –
D’ANGELO & THE SOULTRONICS – Feel Like Makin Love (live in Stockholm, 2000)
D’ANGELO & THE VANGUARD – Ain’t That Easy / Vanguard Theme (live at North Sea Jazz Festival 2015)
D’ANGELO – Can’t Hide Love (live at the Jazz Café, London, 1995) [EMI]
D’ANGELO & QUESTLOVE – Woman’s Gotta Have It / The Line (live at Brooklyn Bowl, 2013)
D’ANGELO – Sh*t, Damn, Motherfu*ker (live in Stockholm, 2000)
– D on ‘Devil’s Pie and the cotton fields –
D’ANGELO & THE SOULTRONICS – Devil’s Pie (live in Stockholm, 2000)
– D on the blues thread –
D’ANGELO – 1000 Deaths (demo)
D’ANGELO & THE VANGUARD – I’ve Been Watching You (live at Zenith Paris, 2012)
RAPHAEL SAADIQ – Be Here (featuring D’Angelo) [Universal]
– D on falsetto –
D’ANGELO & PRINCESS – Sometimes It Snows in April (live on Tonight with Jimmy Fallon)
D’ANGELO – I’m So Glad You’re Mine/Lady (live at Jazz Café, London, 1995) [Virgin]
D’ANGELO & THE VANGUARD – Really Love (live at North Sea Jazz Festival 2015)
D’ANGELO & THE SOULTRONICS – One Mo Gin (live in LA, 2000)
– D makes “black music”
RED HOT & RIOT – Water No Get Enemy (featuring D’Angelo) [Red Hot Organization]
D’ANGELO – Spanish Joint [Virgin]
– D on his cave and being a one-take dude
D’ANGELO & THE VANGUARD – Prayer [RCA]
– D on religion vs God –
D’ANGELO & THE VANGUARD – Another Life [RCA]
– D on music as a calling –
D’ANGELO – Untitled (piano version live at North Sea Jazz Festival, 2012)
J DILLA – So Far To Go (featuring Common & D’Angelo) [BBE]
D’ANGELO & THE VANGUARD – Welcome to the Show (live on Liberation Tour 2012 in Washington) (background)
BLACK MEN UNITED – U Will Know [Mercury]
***
Source material / Course Material
Interview with Nelson George on the funk
Interview with Tavis Smiley in 2015
George Whipple interview in 2000
Devil’s Pie documentary directed by Carine Bijlsma
Questlove’s Okayplayer notes on the making of Voodoo (early 2000s)
Author Touré has a great story about baby D’s prodigious talent”D’Angelo’s older brother Luther told me that when he was 10 and Michael (D’Angelo) was 3, Luther came home to find Michael at the piano in their house playing a real song…”
Saul Williams, who wrote the liner notes for Voodoo, spotlights the late musician’s love of language”D had a sense that poets were haunted the same way he was, by spirits and voices. These were not frightening visitations, rather it was a way of communing multidimensionally.”
Tour manager Alan ‘Pops’ Leeds on D’s artistic integrity and always staying true to his roots”Against the grain of bland modern R&B, D’Angelo preserved the Gospel essence of early soul music, mixing it with every other genre of Black music without ever leaving the church. I don’t care what the lyrics said, I don’t care what the song was about, I ALWAYS heard the church in there. He couldn’t help it.”
Lauryn Hill, with whom D sang ‘Nothing Even Matters’, explains how he broke new ground as a Black male“Thank you for charting the course and for making space during a time when no similar space really existed. You imaged [sic] a unity of strength and sensitivity in Black manhood to a generation that only saw itself as having to be one or the other.”
Inspiration George Clinton quickly gets to the essence of D’s brilliance”He didn’t just make music — he channeled the ancestors, he bent time, and he put that soul on wax like nobody else.”
Hanif Abdurraqib on D’s appreciation of lineage and why art as salvation is not owed to anyone until it’s complete.”I fear for how far people have strayed from deep, thoughtful, curious and joyful engagement with art and become people who simply consume a product and then move to the next product, and I fear for this because at that rate of consumption, the person isn’t even an extension of the person who made it anymore, the person is the product.”
ayan artan on the cost of nonchalance and what it takes to produce work worth loving “i had elders who sung love songs for girls like me, and writers who made me the centre even before i had the confidence to insist on it myself. who of this generation can i point to that would make my baby cousin feel the same way i did listening to really love?”
Harmony Holiday contemplates his hobbling, harrowing journey through the recording industry and his destiny “And you and Prince both demanded unreasonable perfection from the body, suffered for that resonance, and were refused a future perfect in the end, taken from this purgatorial grift of a planet just when you might have been released from the tyranny of labels and contracts and left in the true messiah role to trouble their blunt saturnine standards. That’s the sparrow’s incontrovertible flight pattern, the virility of evil plans, the liberated minstrel turned minister gone rogue into quicksand.”
What special memories does D’Angelo hold for you? How will you remember him? I’d love to know. Please share below.
