D'Angelo
D'Angelo | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Michael Eugene Archer |
Also known as |
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Born | Richmond, Virginia, U.S. | February 11, 1974
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Instruments |
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Works | D'Angelo discography |
Years active | 1991–present |
Labels | |
Formerly of |
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Children | 3 |
Michael Eugene Archer
De'Angelo would then collaborate with artists such as Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and then-girlfriend Angie Stone. His next album, Voodoo (2000), debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and continued to receive critical acclaim. The album's lead single "Untitled (How Does It Feel)", earned him the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance; likewise, Voodoo won Best R&B Album. Following this period, D'Angelo became increasingly uncomfortable with his growing status as a sex symbol. This was followed by numerous personal struggles, including alcoholism, which resulted in limited musical output for several years.
After over a decade spent mostly out of the public eye, he then released his third studio album, Black Messiah, in 2014. The album was met with critical acclaim and peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200. The same year, D'Angelo was hailed as the next Marvin Gaye by GQ.[4] D'Angelo also contributed to the soundtrack for the 2018 video game Red Dead Redemption 2, performing the song "Unshaken".
Early life
D'Angelo was born Michael Eugene Archer in
Career
1991–1995: Brown Sugar
At the age of 17, D'Angelo met
In 1994, his first significant success came in the form of the hit single "U Will Know".
1996–2000: Reduced activity and Voodoo
Following the success of his debut album Brown Sugar in 1995, D'Angelo became less active in the music scene and released limited solo work.[37] After touring for two years to promote the album Brown Sugar, D'Angelo suffered from writer's block.[38] Of the setback, D'Angelo later stated "The thing about writer's block is that you want to write so fucking bad, [but] the songs don't come out that way. They come from life. So you've got to live to write."[38] During this period, he generally released cover versions and remakes, such as a cover of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell duet song "Your Precious Love" with Erykah Badu for the soundtrack to High School High (1996).[37] D'Angelo also covered Prince's "She's Always in My Hair" for the Scream 2 soundtrack (1997), as well as the Ohio Players' "Heaven Must Be Like This" for the Down in the Delta soundtrack (1998). He also appeared on a duet, "Nothing Even Matters", with Lauryn Hill for her debut solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998).
The much-delayed follow-up to Brown Sugar,
Its first two singles, "
2001–2013: Personal struggles and delayed album
Towards the end of his worldwide tour in support of the album that same year, D'Angelo's personal issues had worsened, affecting performances.[58] He became more conscious of and uncomfortable with his status as a sex symbol, and after the tour D'Angelo returned to his home in Richmond, Virginia, disappearing from the public eye.[59] Several of D'Angelo's peers and affiliates have noted the commercial impact of the "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" music video and The Voodoo Tour as contributing factors to D'Angelo's period of absence from the music scene.[59][60] His former music manager, Dominique Trenier, explained his disappointment in the music video's impact in a 2008 interview for Spin magazine. Trenier was quoted as saying that "to this day, in the general populace's memory, he's the naked dude".[59]
According to tour manager Alan Leeds, the experience "took away his confidence, because he's not convinced why any given fan is supporting him."[59] Following the suicide of his close friend, MTV-affiliate Fred Jordan, in April 2001, he started to develop a drinking problem.[59] As his alcoholism escalated, plans for a live album and a Soultronics studio effort, both originally set for after the tour, were scrapped, and impatient Virgin executives cut off funding for the expected 2004 solo album.[59]
By 2005, D'Angelo's girlfriend had left him, his attorney had become displeased with him, and most of his family was not in touch with him.[59] He also parted ways with manager Dominique Trenier and tour manager Alan Leeds.[59] After a car accident and an arrest on DUI and marijuana possession charges, D'Angelo left Virgin Records in 2005 and checked into the Crossroads Centre rehabilitation clinic in Antigua.[59] In 2005, his recording contract was acquired by J Records,[61] following rumors of D'Angelo signing to Bad Boy Records.[37] Despite no solo output, D'Angelo collaborated with some R&B and hip hop artists during this period between albums,[59] appearing on albums such as J Dilla's The Shining (2006), Snoop Dogg's Tha Blue Carpet Treatment (2006), Common's Finding Forever (2007), and Q-Tip's The Renaissance (2008).[62]
D'Angelo's subsequent solo work was extensively delayed.
No more was revealed on the new album until 2007, when Questlove leaked an unfinished track on Triple J Radio in Australia. Entitled "Really Love", the track was an acoustic flavored jam with a laid back swing feel. The leak apparently soured relations between the two.[66] D'Angelo released a CD/DVD compilation album entitled The Best So Far…, first released on June 24, 2008 on Virgin Records. The compilation features songs from his two previous studio albums, Brown Sugar and Voodoo, as well as rarities and a second disc, a DVD of previously unreleased videos. Around the same time, the compilation was released digitally without the Erykah Badu and Raphael Saadiq featured songs, under the title Ultimate D'Angelo.[67]
In late November 2011, D'Angelo announced a series of 2012
2014–2020: Black Messiah and "Unshaken"
D'Angelo released his third studio album,
The album was met with universal acclaim from critics and it currently has a 95/100
In June 2015, D'Angelo confirmed to Rolling Stone that he was working on more material for a new album, calling it "a companion piece" to Black Messiah.[85] D'Angelo performed Prince's "Sometimes it Snows in April" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in April 2016 accompanied by Maya Rudolph and Gretchen Lieberum as a tribute to the musician, appearing 'overcome with emotion' at the passing of a major influence.[86] D'Angelo contributed to the soundtrack for the 2018 video game Red Dead Redemption 2. He sang on the song "Unshaken" which was produced by Daniel Lanois. He had previously served as a playtester for the game itself due to his love for the series. The game's music team eventually invited him to perform on a song, which was finished in a week.[87] "Unshaken" was later released as a digital single on January 4, 2019.[88]
2021–present: Verzuz
On February 14, 2021, D'Angelo appeared on Instagram Live to announce that he would be performing at the Apollo Theater on February 27, 2021, in cooperation with the American webcast Verzuz. The event was billed as D'Angelo VS Friends and featured no opponents; instead, D'Angelo performed a solo set with shared performances with his peers and collaborators, Keyon Harrold, Method Man & Redman, and H.E.R.[89][non-primary source needed].
On June 10, 2021, D'Angelo performed at the 2021
In 2024, he featured alongside Jay-Z on the song "I Want You Forever" from the soundtrack to the film The Book of Clarence.
Artistry and influences
In a 1995 interview, he discussed the influence that musician Prince had on his approach to recording his debut album, stating "I was one of those guys who read the album credits and I realized that Prince was a true artist. He wrote, produced, and performed, and that's the way I wanted to do it."[18] According to D'Angelo, the hip hop influence present on the album "came from the Native Tongues movement – Tribe Called Quest, Gangstarr and Main Source."[90] In a February 1999 interview with music journalist Touré, D'Angelo discussed his original inspirations to produce music, stating "The sound and feel of my music are going to be affected by what motivates me to do it".[91] On his visit to South Carolina, D'Angelo stated that he "went through this tunnel, through gospel, blues, and a lot of old soul, old James Brown, early, early Sly and the Family Stone, and a lot of Jimi Hendrix", and "I learned a lot about music, myself, and where I want to go musically".[91] In the same interview, he cited the deaths of rappers Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. as having a great effect on him during the period.[91] During the production of his second studio album D'Angelo recorded numerous hours of unreleased, original material, as well as covers of his influencers' material.[10] Collectively referred to by D'Angelo as "yoda",[92] these influencers included soul artist Al Green, funk artist George Clinton, and Afrobeat artist Fela Kuti.[10]
In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked D'Angelo at number 75 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[93]
Personal life
In the 1990s, D'Angelo dated soul singer Angie Stone. She was his muse for his Brown Sugar album and he helped her produce her debut album Black Diamond, released in 1999. Angie Stone and D'Angelo have a son together, born in 1997. D'Angelo also has two other children: a daughter, born in 1999; and a son, born in 2010.
Discography
- Studio albums
- Brown Sugar (1995)
- Voodoo (2000)
- Black Messiah (with The Vanguard) (2014)
Tours
- Brown Sugar Tour (1996)
- The Voodoo World Tour (2000)
- Occupy Music Tour (2012)
- The Liberation Tour (2012)
- The Second Coming Tour (2015)
Awards and nominations
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | Himself | Favorite Male Artist - R&B | Nominated | [94] |
Grammy Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Brown Sugar | Best R&B Album | Nominated |
"Brown Sugar" | Best R&B Song | Nominated | |
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | Nominated | ||
1997 | "Lady" | Nominated | |
1999 | "Nothing Even Matters" (with Lauryn Hill) | Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal | Nominated |
2001 | Voodoo | Best R&B Album | Won |
"Untitled (How Does It Feel)" | Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | Won | |
Best R&B Song | Nominated | ||
2003 | "Be Here" (with Raphael Saadiq) | Nominated | |
Best Urban/Alternative Performance | Nominated | ||
2004 | "I'll Stay" (with Roy Hargrove) | Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals | Nominated |
2016 | Black Messiah | Best R&B Album | Won |
"Really Love" | Record of the Year | Nominated | |
Best R&B Song | Won |
MTV Europe Music Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | "Lady" | MTV Amour | Nominated | [95] |
Pollstar Concert Industry Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Himself | Best New Rap/Dance Artist Tour | Nominated | [96] |
Rober Awards Music Prize
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Voodoo | Best Reissue | Nominated | [97] |
Himself | Best Live Artist | Nominated | ||
2015 | Nominated | [98] | ||
Best Group or Duo | Nominated | |||
Comeback of the Year | Nominated | |||
Best R&B | Won | |||
Black Messiah | Album of the Year | Nominated |
See also
References
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