Album Review: "Voodoo" D’Angelo

I know. It just sounds like bedroom music. But this album is a virtual reality. For 79 minutes, the biggest dorks can simulate the life of a Black, Soul-prodigy and one of the most misunderstood artists of our time. 

Like so many iconic artists, D’Angelo became famous for a song that was unlike the rest of his body of work. And the misleading thing was his very body, which he trained 3 hours a day in preparation. The video of his first hit, “Untitled (How does it feel)”, features a panoramic view of his naked form. Tight-faced. slick-skinned. sleepy eyes with that sultry gaze. In 2000, as the video spent months on countdown shows, D’Angelo–against his own will–began to be portrayed as a sex-symbol. His carefully crafted sets were interrupted by rowdy female fans barking for his clothes. The introverted artist couldn’t handle it. He canceled shows, denied all interviews and with 2 Grammys under his belt, D’Angelo went on an album-drought for 12 years and counting. 12 years of mug-shots and rumored appearances. The Black Eyed Peas released 5 albums during this time. Clinton was President since we’ve last heard from our hero.

Appropriately, Voodoo seems to conjure Soul spirits for inspiration. D’Angelo recorded in Marvin Gaye’s studio, mixed on Hendrix’s board, and played Stevie Wonder’s rhodes. Like his video, his music feels naked. Stripped of distortion effects and production sounds, almost every song is recorded live on its first take.  In “Feel Like Making Love”, the lazy bass flirts with the rhythm, throbbing like a heartbeat. On “Africa”, his keyboard notes drip like trebled rain surrounding the track. “One Mo Gin” shows his masterful vocal layering through dissonant intervals and feathery vibrato. D'Angelo is almost always harmonizing but he does it without you noticing through his hypnotic melodies. 

In the media, critics labeled him NeoSoul. D'angelo dubs himself as funk.  And while his sound is usually described as ‘smooth’ and ‘chill’, what separates him from easy-listening R&B is the slow, aggressive power of his songs(stemming from his Gospel roots). It's the difference between shy and reserved. Between having nothing to say and simply waiting for the right time to say it. Voodoo's release, 5 years after his debut album, was triggered by the birth of his first son. The whole album seems to be muttered under his breath as if he doesn’t care all that much if you hear him.  In fact, he might not even notice you’re there. Imagining him in the studio before his producers, I always got the sense that D’Angelo was singing to himself. It is a level of smooth that has completely become a lost art. If you’ve read this far, do yourself a favor and listen to these songs and imagine being that comfortable in your own skin. Maybe that’s why he was naked and left it untitled in the first place.

(PS: Let's pray that D'Angelo finds Jesus and returns as the greatest praise leader of all time...)