25 Years Of D’Angelo’s Voodoo
Photo: Thierry Le Goues
As soon as you push play, or carry the digital diamond over to gracefully dance in the tonal trenches of the grooves, you’re immediately transported up to the spiritual staircase that leads to a liberating library filled to the ceiling with every record ever imaginable, as a whispering whirland of iconic intimacy, and breathtaking beats engulf your senses with the heavenly harmonies of Richmond, Virginia-based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer, and trailblazer of the neo-soul movement in the mid-90s, Michael Eugene Archer, or commonly known around the world as D’Angelo. A brilliant artist whose iconic input and captivating chemistry would make even Marvin Gaye or Sam Cooke roll over in their graves with a radical response to the atmospheric attitude, and liberating landscape of perhaps one of the most perfectly polished and sonically seductive albums of its time, 2000’s “Voodoo". A lyrical legend and a poetic prodigy among his peers right out of the gate, D’Angelo’s career is a melodic mystery, while simultaneously coexisting with the parallel tragedies of success, symbolism, and being a subject in the public eye at your most vulnerable. After the sudden success of his 1995 debut “Brown Sugar,” the response and overall lifestyle brought on by its wake was nothing more than a natural response to something not so natural in the ridiculous reaction to becoming famous. While pivoting to seclusion and privacy to reflect on the aftermath of the album’s intense response, which is the common goal among recording artists, right? D’Angelo’s unique story leading up to “Voodoo” stands the test of time by demonstrating the sometimes violent velocity of sudden success, and how it can derail anyone who isn’t ready for its rocket-like response, which is guaranteed once you're out of sight and out of orbit.
“My inspiration was just to go farther. To get to that next level. To push it even further. To work against the floss and the grain and to get even deeper into the sound that I’m hearing ... and the thing is, I’m just looking at Voodoo as just the beginning. I’m still developing and growing and still listening to that sound I hear inside my head... So this is the first step.”
Photo: Thierry Le Goues
Immediately withdrawing from the public eye after two gruelling years on the road touring, the artist began to experience the ultimate killer, and poetic phenomenon, if you are so lucky to have it thrust upon you at any point in your career, the infamous writer’s block. This refers to the many artists or “people who just make stuff” that have never experienced such a humbling and personal pain, which comes from the core challenges of communicating with the melodic mist from the great beyond. "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,” says D’Angelo about the creative curse, and how managing its dagger-like dynamics with the intellect has always been a threat to the productive process. After being absent for nearly half a decade from the malevolent machine of the music industry, D’Angelo flipped the spiritual script and released into the pre-9/11 world an absolutely stunning body of work that to this day, effortlessly echoes an energy and meditative magic that acts as a blueprint for so many people around the world. While breaking away from the idolizing sex symbol status, the artist became a father during the album’s early stages and began to breathe into existence the fundamental elements of innocence, love, and passion for life. With writing for the album taking place almost immediately after the release of “Brown Sugar” in 1996, D’Angelo called on an incredible entourage of folks to join him on his sophomore album, such as Questlove, D’Angelo’s "co-pilot" during the recording sessions, the late Roy Hargrove, Charlie Hunter, James Poyser, and several others, to help bring one of the most vibrant voices of the neo-soul movement to life in all its holy glory during a year-long recording spree between 1998 and 1999 at Electric Lady in New York, before being released just a month into the “The Aughts.” With tracks like “Chicken Grease,” “Devil’s Pie,” “Africa,” and “The Line” collectively combining the elements of jazz, R&B, blues, soul, and funk, “Voodoo" has single-handedly become the most celebrated album in the artist's career without a doubt, but with a price to pay that some say is the true exercise of being an artist.
Photo: Thierry Le Goues
