'D'Angelo' (born 'Michael D'Angelo Eugene Archer' on
February 11,
1974 in
Richmond, Virginia) is a
Grammy Award winning
American soul singer,
pianist,
guitarist,
songwriter, and
record producer. A virtuoso musician, D'Angelo is known for his production and songwriting talents as much as for his vocal abilities, and often draws comparisons to his influences,
Marvin Gaye, and
Prince. He has himself influenced the sound of modern
R&B, particularly neo-soul. D'Angelo has a son named Michael by former girlfriend R&B singer
Angie Stone. Rock critic Robert Christgau has described him as "R&B Jesus"
[1].
Biography
The son of a
Virginian
Pentecostal preacher, D'Angelo began performing as a young child. By his late teens he had signed a songwriting deal with
EMI, and penned the hit song "
U Will Know", performed by
Black Men United for the ''
Jason's Lyric'' motion picture
soundtrack. Shortly after, he began recording his debut album, ''
Brown Sugar'', which was released in June of 1995. Though sales were sluggish at first, the album was eventually a hit, in large part to "Lady," a Top Ten hit on the
Billboard Hot 100 charts, and helped kickstart the burgeoning
neo soul singers of the 1990s (along with
Maxwell,
Erykah Badu and others). The album was a critical success as well, and appeared on many critics' "best of" lists for the year.
In the five year gap between ''Brown Sugar'' and the follow-up, D'Angelo appeared on several soundtracks, including ''
Belly'' ("Devil's Pie"), frequently singing
covers like "Girl You Need a Change of Mind" (
Eddie Kendricks, ''
Get on the Bus''), "She's Always in My Hair" (
Prince, ''
Scream 2'') and "Heaven Must Be Like This" (
The Ohio Players, ''
Down in the Delta''), as well as appearing on
Lauryn Hill's landmark ''
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' on the duet "Nothing Even Matters".
The much-delayed follow-up to ''Brown Sugar'', ''
Voodoo'', was finally released in 2000. It debuted at #1 and went on to win 2 Grammy Awards, one for
Best R&B Album, and the other for
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. The lead single was "
Left & Right" (featuring
Method Man and
Redman), but it was the album's second single, "
Untitled (How Does It Feel)" (a tribute to the legendary artist
Prince), that became a huge
R&B hit buoyed by an innovative yet infamous video featuring a presumably
nude D'Angelo (from his face to his hips). The video was nominated for 4 MTV Video Music Awards and currently ranks #44 in
VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Videos. He also performed "Be Here" (with
Raphael Saadiq) from Saadiq's album ''Instant Vintage''.
D'Angelo has a son, Michael Jr., with fellow neo-soul singer
Angie Stone, and a daughter, Imani, born in October 1999.
In 2002,
''Q'' magazine named him in their list of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die".
In January of 2005, D'Angelo was arrested and charged with possession of
marijuana, possession of a
controlled substance, and
driving while intoxicated. He pleaded guilty to the
DUI and marijuana charge and, on
April 13, was given a fine and suspended sentence and his driver's license was revoked. On
September 12, he received a three-year suspended sentence on the
cocaine possession charge.
On
September 19,
2005, just a week after being sentenced for cocaine possession, D'Angelo was critically injured in
Powhatan County, Virginia when the SUV he was riding in hit a fence, ejecting him from the vehicle. He was not wearing a seatbelt.
A follow-up to the ''Voodoo'' album has yet to be released; however, in recent months, D'Angelo is said to be hard at work on a third album, tentatively titled ''
James River''.
[1] After a long period of inactivity, D'Angelo has made guest appearances on several albums, including releases by
J Dilla,
Common [2], Red Hot & Riot and
The RH Factor.
In
August of
2006, D'Angelo is confirmed to have exited a rehabilitation stint on the island of
Antigua and has begun collaborations with
Common and
Q-Tip. He also entered discussions with
Jermaine Dupri on how to market what appears to be a forthcoming LP, though the official news of a release has not been made public yet.
[3] Although music for his own album has yet to materialize, D'Angelo was featured on the song "Imagine", by
Snoop Dogg and
Dr. Dre, from his album ''
Tha Blue Carpet Treatment'', released on November 21, 2006.
On April 17, 2007 a new song called "Really Love" was leaked on Triple J Radio in Australia by
?uestlove[2] D'Angelo also had a guest appearance on
Common's most recent album, ''
Finding Forever'' on the track, "So Far to Go".
On
August 10,
2007 D'Angelo was sent to court on charges, relating to a car accident that occurred
on
September 19,
2005. These charges included reckless driving and driving with a suspended license. The singer plead guilty to these charges and was ordered to pay a $1,250 fine, in addition to forfeiting his license for 15 months. He also received a nine-month suspended jail sentence. After the proceedings, the artist confirmed that new music is "in the works" although the album remains untitled.
[3]
Music samples
Discography
Albums
Singles
Other musical recordings
This list excludes recordings which only include samples of D'Angelo recordings.
★ "U Will Know" collaboration as B.M.U (Black Men United) on ''
Jason's Lyric (soundtrack)'' album (1994)
★ "Pray" on Vertical Hold's 'Head First' album (1994)
★ "Crew" keyboards on
A Tribe Called Quest's ''
Beats, Rhymes and Life'' album (1996)
★ "Overjoyed" on Boys Choir of Harlem's 'Up In Harlem' album (1996)
★ "Cold World (Remix)" single collaboration with
GZA (1996)
★ "Your Precious Love" collaboration with
Erykah Badu on ''High School High'' soundtrack album (1996)
★ "Girl You Need A Change Of Mind" on ''Get On The Bus'' soundtrack album (1996)
★ "The Hypnotic" collaboration on
The Roots' ''
Illadelph Halflife'' album (1996)
★ "I Found My Smile Again" on the ''
Space Jam (soundtrack)'' album (1997)
★ "Ain't Nobody Home" collaboration on
B.B.King's ''
Deuces Wild'' album (1997)
★ "The 'Notic" collaboration with
The Roots (featuring
Erykah Badu) on ''Men In Black'' soundtrack album (1997)
★ "Heaven Must Be Like This" on ''Down In The Delta'' soundtrack album (1998)
★ "Nothing Even Matters" collaboration on
Lauryn Hill's ''
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' album (1998)
★ "Break Ups 2 Make Ups" collaboration on
Method Man's '' album (1998)
★ "She's Always In My Hair" on ''Scream 2'' soundtrack album (1998)
★ "The Spark" keyboards on
The Roots' ''
Things Fall Apart'' album (1999)
★ "Everyday" collaboration and production on
Angie Stone's ''Black Diamond'' album (1999)
★ "Time Travelin'", "Time Travelin' (Reprise)", "Geto Heaven Part Two" and "Cold-Blooded" collaborations on
Common's ''
Like Water for Chocolate'' album (2000)
★ "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" on D'Angelo's ''Untitled (How Does It Feel?)'' single (2000)
★ "Tell Me" collaboration on
Slum Village's ''
Fantastic, Vol. 2'' album (2000)
★ "Caravan" collaboration with
The Roots on the various artists' ''
Red Hot + Indigo''
Duke Ellington tribute / charity fund-raising album (2000)
★ "Talk S
★
★
★ 2 Ya" collaboration on ''Baby Boy'' soundtrack album (2001)
★ "Be Here" collaboration on
Raphael Saadiq's ''Instant Vintage'' album (2002)
★ "Water No Got Enemy" collaboration with various artists on '' tribute / charity fund-raising album (2002)
★ "I'll Stay" collaboration on
Roy Hargrove's ''The RH Factor: Hard Groove'' album (2003)
★ "Be Here" live collaboration on
Raphael Saadiq's ''All Hits at the House of Blues'' album (2005)
★ "Sing A Simple Song" virtual collaboration with
Sly and The Family Stone, featuring
Isaac Hayes and
Chuck D on ''Different Strokes By Different Folks'' tribute album (2006)
★ "Bullsh
★ t" collaboration on
Roy Hargrove's ''The RH Factor: Distractions'' album (2006)
★ "So Far to Go" collaboration on
J Dilla's ''
The Shining'' album (2006)
★ "
Imagine" collaboration on
Snoop Dogg's ''
Blue Carpet Treatment'' album (2006) featuring
Dr.Dre
★ "So Far To Go" collaboration on
Common's ''Finding Forever'' album (2007).
References
1. http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/music/scdangel-00.php
2. http://www.hhnlive.com/media/more/audio/935
3. http://www.styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=14946
External links
★ http://www.okayplayer.com/dangelo
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