Review: Start 2015 right with D’Angelo’s “Black Messiah”
Michael Eugene Arthur, more popularly known as D’Angelo, has been hinting at a new album for 14 years. His 2000 release “Voodoo” is hailed by many as the greatest R&B; album of its time for its old-school purist instrumentation and raw soul. “Voodoo” is one of the few 2000s-era albums on Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums of all time. D’angelo was dubbed by music critic Robert Christgau as the “R&B; Jesus.”
When artists leave behind a reputation like this, most critics consider them legends and just assume their careers are over. So, after every publication wrapped up their 2014 “album-of-the-year” lists, D’Angelo and The Vanguard (his new backup band) randomly released “Black Messiah.” What a beautiful punk.
Now, D’Angelo isn’t the first critically-acclaimed R&B; artist to surprise us at the end of the year. Beyonce did the same thing in 2013 with “Beyonce.” Not a bad listen, for the record: fairly ambitious, cool production tricks. However, Beyonce has expressed that the track “Rocket” was inspired by the first time she heard D’Angelo’s “Untitled (How Does It Feel).” I consider the influence a precursor to the release of “Black Messiah.” As if the fact that D’Angelo’s drummer, Questlove from The Roots, said he was 97 percent finished working on a D’Angelo album back in 2011 wasn’t enough to put us on the edge of our seats.
To my surprise, D’Angelo doesn’t sound like a has-been at all on “Black Messiah.” In some ways, he hasn’t changed a bit. The song structures and production style are still smooth, rhythmically raw and sexy — his timeless recipe. However, he experiments with some crunchy and psychedelic instrumentation throughout the album. This makes “Black Messiah” a truly great work in itself as opposed to just “Voodoo: The Predictable Sequel.” He definitely sounds older, but he’s far from boring.
Questlove, who is now known as the drummer for Jimmy Fallon’s late night talk show, lays down some sick beats with D’Angelo on “Black Messiah.” These guys slow jam the news together. The news on “Black Messiah” is religion and romance. Then again, if you’re D’Angelo, romance is a religion in and of itself. “Really Love” is his most down-to-Earth love song yet. “Ain’t That Easy” and “The Door” are calls to keep a relationship alive. If you know D’Angelo, you might question this new desire for love over lust. D’Angelo still has some less-than-virtuous intentions on the both musically and lyrically playful “Sugah Daddy,” which was co-written by ’90s rap hero Q-Tip.
“The Prayer” is a musically experimental break featuring a spoken-word prayer. “1,000 Deaths” is an incredibly abrasive funk jam that samples a preacher crying out “I’m talkin’ about Jesus!” preceding D’Angelo’s lyrics about death and war. The next track is the brief, hand-clap-filled “The Charade,” a comforting mix of jazzed-up ’80s lite rock with some oddball guitar textures thrown in.
The production here is perfect, as usual. The songs are memorable. I am digging this album. When it comes to December’s releases, this beats the heck out of Nicki Minaj’s “The Pinkprint.” Don’t even worry about Nicki. The “R&B; Jesus” has returned to reclaim his kingdom.
9/10
— Scott E Hall is a stage management major who loves writing and listens to too much music for his own good. Email him at scottehall3@gmail.com.