D’Angelo

Today In Hip Hop History: D’Angelo Dropped His Debut LP ‘Brown Sugar’ 29 Years Ago

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On this date in 1995, Richmond, Virginia native and neo-soul trailblazer Michael Eugene Archer a.k.a. D’Angelo released his debut album Brown Sugar on EMI Records.

This landmark project boasts production from the likes of A Tribe Called Quest’s DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Kedar Massenburg, Bob Power, and Tony Toni Tone’s Raphael Saadiq, however, the majority of the production including songwriting, arrangements, and instruments were put together by D’Angelo himself.

The album was regarded as a classic upon its release, receiving platinum certification less than a year later in February 1996.

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Some of the album’s most memorable singles include the Smokey Robinson-influenced “Cruisin’,” the infamous caught in the act story of “Sh*t, D*mn, Motherf*cker”, the sweet serenade of “Lady” and of course, the timeless title track.

Super salute to D’Angelo, Kedar Massenburg and the rest of the team involved in this classic project.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: D’Angelo Dropped His Debut LP ‘Brown Sugar’ 29 Years Ago first appeared on The Source.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: D’Angelo Dropped His Debut LP ‘Brown Sugar’ 29 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

WATCH: Sir Tributes D’Angelo in Video for New Single “No Evil”

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Sir Tributes D'Angelo in Video for New Single "No Evil"

Grammy-nominated artist SiR is back, marking his first solo release since 2022 with the captivating track “No Evil.” The song, produced by Taylor Hill, showcases a dark and inspired vocal performance, conveying a sense of depth and emotion. SiR describes it as a piece “for the misunderstood.”

Accompanying the track is a visually stunning music video paying homage to D’Angelo’s iconic “Untitled (How Does It Feel).” The video complements the soulful sound of “No Evil” and reveals SiR’s remarkable fitness transformation, adding another layer to the artist’s multifaceted talent.

“No Evil” is more than a musical comeback; it’s a testament to SiR’s evolution as an artist, unveiling a level of vulnerability and personal depth that fans may not have witnessed. The track reaffirms SiR’s commitment to pushing artistic boundaries while staying true to his roots.

The post WATCH: Sir Tributes D’Angelo in Video for New Single “No Evil” first appeared on The Source.

The post WATCH: Sir Tributes D’Angelo in Video for New Single “No Evil” appeared first on The Source.

Today In Hip Hop History: D’Angelo Dropped His Sophomore Album ‘Voodoo’ 24 Years Ago

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On this date in 2000, neo-soul pioneer D’Angelo dropped his second full-length studio album, Voodoo, to follow up on the epic 1995 Brown Sugar LP.

Recording sessions for the album took place from 1998 to 1999 at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, featuring an extensive line-up of musicians associated with the Soulquarians musical collective. Produced primarily by D’Angelo, Voodoo also features production from the legendary DJ Premier and neo-soul mainstay Raphael Saadiq. The album features lyrical themes regarding relationships, sexuality, growth, and fatherhood.

With the armor of heavy promotion and an anticipated release, the album was released to commercial and critical success. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 320,000 copies in its first week, and spent 33 weeks on the chart. It was promoted with five singles, including the hit single “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” whose music video garnered D’Angelo mainstream attention and controversy. Upon its release, Voodoo received general acclaim from music critics and earned D’Angelo several accolades. It was named one of the year’s best albums by numerous publications.

Salute to D’Angelo and everyone who took part in creating this timeless masterpiece!

The post Today In Hip Hop History: D’Angelo Dropped His Sophomore Album ‘Voodoo’ 24 Years Ago first appeared on The Source.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: D’Angelo Dropped His Sophomore Album ‘Voodoo’ 24 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Jeymes Samuel Says JAY-Z and D’Angelo Collab is Work of ‘God’

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Jeymes Samuel

Jeymes Samuel has dropped what may be one of the heaviest tracks of 2024 in the collaborative D’Angelo and JAY-Z single “I Want You Forever.”

Speaking with Variety, Samuel revealed how the nearly 10-minute collaboration came together, which he says was “Godly”:

If your belief is God, then it was God; if your belief is the universe, then it was the universe. Because I’ve been wanting to work with D’Angelo my whole life. But you can’t just … no one knows where this guy is. It’s like you can want to work with Jay-Z your whole life, but whether you’re gonna work with him is a whole other thing.

So, the way it happened was me and D’Angelo just linking up on organic level, talking about all the things that interest us; all the things we want to do and the things we want to do together. Me being a fan of his and him being a fan of mine.

Samuel added, “D’Angelo’s last album was called “Black Messiah,” so he was already in full frequency of what the scene was, the song was, the message was, the ethos of the entire film.

“He lives in the frequency, so it’s just a perfect, perfect marriage.”

You can read the full feature here and hear the song below.

The post Jeymes Samuel Says JAY-Z and D’Angelo Collab is Work of ‘God’ first appeared on The Source.

The post Jeymes Samuel Says JAY-Z and D’Angelo Collab is Work of ‘God’ appeared first on The Source.

Jay-Z And D’Angelo Take A Funk-tastic Voyage On Jeymes Samuel’s ‘I Want You Forever’ From ‘The Book Of Clarence’

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It looks like Jay-Z’s new thing is packing a year’s worth of rhymes into his sporadic appearances via really long songs. In 2022, he dominated the eight-minute DJ Khaled track “God Did,” taking over half its runtime for an epic verse that got a spirited breakdown on MSNBC.

Today, he appears on a nine-minute track from the Book Of Clarence soundtrack, contributing a vibey, almost spoken word-ish verse to a spacey, funk-soul voyage also featuring the elusive neo-soul icon D’Angelo. It’s very groovy, black-lights-and-incense style P-Funk, complete with epic guitar solos and overlapping harmonies; Jay’s verse, while it might not be what people would expect from him, fits right in and has all the hallmarks of Aquemini-era Outkast.

The soundtrack, which is out today via Universal, also features appearances from dancehall staples Buju Banton and Shabba Ranks, who appear with Lil Wayne on “Hallelujah Heaven,” Kodak Black and Doja Cat on “Jeezu” with Adekunle Gold, Jorja Smith, Alice Smith (no relation), and Kid Cudi.

The film itself is also out in the theaters. It follows a poor citizen of Jerusalem, Clarence, who is inspired by a contemporary Jesus Christ to start his own religion in the hopes of rising out of poverty. He inadvertently starts a revolution.

‘The Book Of Clarence’ Soundtrack Tracklist Features Jay-Z, Doja Cat, Lil Wayne, And Kid Cudi

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This Friday (January 12), the soundtrack for the upcoming movie, The Book Of Clarence, is set to drop. As the tracklist has been revealed, it features some seriously major artists, according to Genius.

Doja Cat is set to collaborate with Kodak Black and Adekunle Gold on “Jeezu.” D’Angelo and Jay-Z are performing “I Want You Forever,” which is reportedly nine minutes long, according to Vibe. Kid Cudi and Jorja Smith also make an appearance on the record with their respective songs. And so many more talented musicians are involved on top of that.

Lil Wayne’s appearance on “Hallelujah Heaven” was released as the first glimpse of the album back in November, which you can check out above.

“There was never a question as to whether I would compose the score and write and perform on the soundtrack, as well as write and direct the movie,” the film’s director, Jeymes Samuel, shared with Billboard. “It was all one amazing journey where one depended on the other. But I also worked with the most awesome artists on our track ‘Hallelujah Heaven.’ Collaborating with Lil Wayne, Buju Banton and Shabba Ranks was so dope; I loved getting them all on the same track.”

The film will also be available to watch in theaters starting this weekend.

Continue scrolling to view the complete tracklist for The Book Of Clarence.

The Book Of Clarence soundtrack tracklist

1. “All About You” Feat. Jorge Ben Jor
2. “Hallelujah Heaven” Feat. Lil Wayne, Buju Banton & Shabba Ranks
3. “Jeezu” Feat. Kodak Black, Doja Cat & Adekunle Gold
4. “Champagne” Feat. Jorja Smith
5. “Sacred Love” Feat. Yemi Alade
6. “I Want You Forever” Feat. D’Angelo & Jay-Z
7. “Godqueen” Feat. Kid Cudi
8. “Dear Heaven” Feat. Jeymes Samuel
9. “Magdalene” Feat. Alice Smith
10. “Varinia” Feat. Terry Callier
11. “Nazerne” Feat. Jeymes Samuel

Today In Hip Hop History: D’Angelo Dropped His Sophomore Album ‘Voodoo’ 23 Years Ago

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On this date in 2000, neo-soul pioneer D’Angelo dropped his second full-length studio album, Voodoo, to follow up on the epic 1995 Brown Sugar LP.

Recording sessions for the album took place from 1998 to 1999 at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, featuring an extensive line-up of musicians associated with the Soulquarians musical collective. Produced primarily by D’Angelo, Voodoo also features production from the legendary DJ Premier and neo-soul mainstay Raphael Saadiq. The album features lyrical themes regarding relationships, sexuality, growth, and fatherhood.

With the armor of heavy promotion and an anticipated release, the album was released to commercial and critical success. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 320,000 copies in its first week, and spent 33 weeks on the chart. It was promoted with five singles, including the hit single “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” whose music video garnered D’Angelo mainstream attention and controversy. Upon its release, Voodoo received general acclaim from music critics and earned D’Angelo several accolades. It was named one of the year’s best albums by numerous publications.

Salute to D’Angelo and everyone who took part in creating this timeless masterpiece!

The post Today In Hip Hop History: D’Angelo Dropped His Sophomore Album ‘Voodoo’ 23 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

D’Angelo’s ‘Verzuz’ Was Supposed To Be Against Maxwell And Take Place On Valentine’s Day

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It’s been more than a month since the last Verzuz battle, one that took place between Keyshia Cole and Ashanti. While the platform made its return on Saturday night, the rules were a little bit different this time around. Rather than a matchup between two artists, legendary R&B singer D’Angelo took the stage for what became more of a livestream concert. It wasn’t an entirely solo affair, however, as the singer promised the appearance of some “friends” which turned out to be HER, Method Man, and Redman. While the show was definitely an enjoyable one, it wasn’t the plan from the start.

Once D’Angelo’s Verzuz concluded, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland hopped on Instagram Live to recap the event and it was here that Swizz revealed the battle was supposed to be D’Angelo against Maxwell and take place on Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, the plans fell through.

“That didn’t work out…the fact that D’Angelo was still ready to go…and motivated, we had to celebrate him…no matter who was on stage with him,” Swizz said. “We had to celebrate that king because, as you can see, those songs that he played tonight, man, that’s real music and this is celebrational stage…and we couldn’t play around with him. We had to let him get his garden because he showed up and showed out.”

You can watch Swizz’s comments above.

Watch D’Angelo’s ‘Verzuz’ Battle Against A Slate Of Friends, Live At The Apollo

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Since the advent of the pandemic and subsequent quarantine measures pretty much shut down live music and touring as we know it, Verzuz battles have taken off in a big way. Streamed live on Instagram, and now Apple Music, the face-off framework usually pairs two legends from the same era and style, who take turns playing songs from their discographies to determine a winner. Of course, like in most subjective battles like this, the real winner is the friends we make along the way… AKA the chance to celebrate the artists who have impacted our lives and made history. It’s much less about anything competitive as it is celebrating the artists and songs, as past setups with Gucci Mane and Jeezy, or Ashanti and Keyshia Cole (which went off when Cole finally showed up) or the Bay Area championship between Too Short and E-40 clearly illustrated.

Tonight things take a slightly different turn, though, probably because R&B icon D’Angelo doesn’t really have any nearby peers in terms of talent and status. Instead, D’Angelo is appearing live for a Verzuz at the equally legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem to face off against a crew of as yet unannounced friends. Tune in via the Verzuz Instagram, or Apple Music if you have it, to see who shows up. The DJ is spinning his warm up tunes, but D’Angelo is just taking the stage around 7 PM PST, so you still have time to settle in.