by Daniel Harris
What a crazy weekend! The Internet was buzzing all weekend with grumblings of new music from D'Angelo. From surprise announcements of a very limited download of a single from his new album to a private, invite only listening party to rumors of a full album release on a Monday!
Well ladies and gentlemen, it is here. After 14 years, after much anticipation and with only a weekend's worth of warning, D'Angelo once again seeks to rewrite and renew what we thought we knew about funk, soul, blues and music in general. Black Messiah, D'Angelo's third studio album, is a stark contrast to the precedent set by Voodoo 14 years ago.
Where Voodoo presented a clear cut manual for what soul is supposed to sound like, Black Messiah tosses that manual in the trash and changes all of the rules. Black Messiah is the future. It is a glimpse at what music should be, what music could be, what it will be.
Black Messiah has an extremely rough and raw mixing style that would usually be considered very taboo. Instruments often outshine each other. Vocals are often lost to heavy guitars and drums. However, reworking and rediscovering what is possible in music isn't just an experience for singers and musicians. It should incorporate every aspect of the creative process (post production included) to test the limits and question how far can one actually go?
This album borrows heavily from James Brown's tradition foundation of what funk is, Parliament-Funkadelic's mind bending alterations to that foundation (not to mention enlisting the help of Kendra Foster for much of the album's lyrics) and a ton of appreciation for Prince's flare for the dramatic both lyrically and musically. Make no mistake about it, D'Angelo most definitely leaves his mark on this album. Songs like "Sugah Daddy," "Really Love" and "Another Life" are full of his signatures: real and true to life lyrics, next level arrangements and dope vibes.
"Classic" is thrown around a lot when fans are very excited about a particular release. Rightfully so, D'Angelo fans (music fans, in general, for that matter) have been waiting 14 years to hear new music from this Soulquarian. Black Messiah is a culmination of years of "Prayer" requests. New music from D'Angelo BEFORE the end of the world? Check. New music from ANY artist that brings us all back to REAL music? Check. Another "classic" album from a truly amazing artist? Only time will tell. (Editor's note: we are leaning heavily towards checking this one off the list.) For right now, if you are a true #HeadphoneJunkie, you should add this album to your collection and listen to it in heavy doses!
Black Messiah is available now for download on iTunes and Amazon.
0 comments:
Post a Comment