D'Angelo

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D'Angelo
Promotional photo of D'Angelo, 1999. This file is a candidate for speedy deletion. It may be deleted after seven days from the date of nomination.
Background information
Birth name	Michael Eugene Archer
Born	February 11, 1974 (1974-02-11) (age 35)
Origin	Richmond, Virginia, United States
Genre(s)	R&B, neo soul, soul, hip hop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, keyboardist, producer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, piano/keyboard, Hammond Organ, drums, bass, Rhodes piano, guitar
Years active	1994 – present
Label(s)	EMI, Virgin, J
Associated acts	Soulquarians, Questlove, Raphael Saadiq, Angie Stone, The RH Factor

Michael Eugene Archer^[1][2][3] (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo, is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.

D'Angelo is known for his production and songwriting talents as much as for his vocal abilities, and often draws comparisons to his influencers, Marvin Gaye, and Prince. He has himself influenced the sound of modern R&B, particularly neo soul.

His first two studio albums, Brown Sugar and Voodoo, have garnered much commercial and critical acclaim, and have been cited as "two of the most excellent and singular R&B albums of the past 15 years" ^[4]. Rock critic Robert Christgau has dubbed him as "R&B Jesus".^[5].

[edit] Personal life

Archer was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of a Pentecostal preacher, and began performing as a young child. D'Angelo has a son, Michael Jr. (born in 1998), with fellow soul singer Angie Stone. His daughter Imani was born in October 1999.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2005, D'Angelo was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance, and driving while intoxicated. He pleaded guilty to the DUI and marijuana charge and, on April 13, was given a fine and suspended sentence and his driver's license was revoked. On September 12, he received a three-year suspended sentence on the cocaine possession charge. On September 19, 2005, just a week after being sentenced for cocaine possession, D'Angelo was critically injured in Powhatan County, Virginia when the SUV he was riding in hit a fence, ejecting him from the vehicle. He was not wearing a seatbelt. In August 2006, D'Angelo is confirmed to have exited a rehabilitation stint on the island of Antigua.^[6] On August 10, 2007, D'Angelo was sent to court on charges relating to a car accident that occurred on September 19, 2005. These charges included reckless driving and driving with a suspended license. He pleaded guilty to these charges and was ordered to pay a $1,250 fine, in addition to forfeiting his license for 15 months. He also received a nine-month suspended jail sentence.

[edit] Musical career

By his late teens he was offered a publishing deal by Jocelyn Cooper of Midnight Songs and penned the hit song "U Will Know" on the Jason's Lyric soundtrack. It was performed by Black Men United for the Jason's Lyric motion picture soundtrack.

Shortly after, he was signed by Gary Harris and he began recording his debut album for EMI records. Brown Sugar was released in June 1995. Though sales were sluggish at first, the album was eventually a hit, due in large part to "Lady," a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, peaking at #10. This helped kickstart the burgeoning neo soul singers of the 1990s: Maxwell (musician), Erykah Badu and others. The album was a critical success as well, and appeared on many critics' "best of" lists for the year.

In the five year gap between Brown Sugar and the follow-up, D'Angelo appeared on several soundtracks, including Belly ("Devil's Pie"), frequently singing covers like "Girl You Need a Change of Mind" (Eddie Kendricks, Get on the Bus), "She's Always in My Hair" (Prince, Scream 2) and "Heaven Must Be Like This" (The Ohio Players, Down in the Delta), as well as appearing on Lauryn Hill's landmark The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on the duet "Nothing Even Matters".

[edit] Voodoo

The much-delayed follow-up to Brown Sugar, Voodoo, was finally released in 2000. It debuted at #1 and went on to win 2 Grammy Awards, one for Best R&B Album, and the other for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. The lead single was 1999's "Left & Right" (featuring Method Man and Redman), but it was the album's second single, "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" (a tribute to the legendary artist Prince), that became a huge R&B hit buoyed by an innovative yet infamous video featuring a presumably nude D'Angelo (from his face to his hips). The video was nominated for 4 MTV Video Music Awards and currently ranks #44 in VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Videos. He also performed "Be Here" (with Raphael Saadiq) from Saadiq's album Instant Vintage. After Voodoo's release, D'Angelo embarked on what would become one of the most fabled series of live soul shows in history, "The Voodoo Tour". Consisting of a live group entitled the "Soultronics", (assumedly assembled by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of The Roots) which engulfed arena-size stages with various dancers and instrument players, it was one of the most attended shows of the year. The tour was taken all around the world, one of the most notable performances being the Free Jazz Festival in Brazil. The live show was a thinly-disguised homage to Prince's late 80's shows, in its grandeur and conceptual stage set up/setlist. Slum Village (then in its original line-up of Jay Dee, Baatin & T3) opened for D'Angelo on several dates, and soul-tinged R&B singer Anthony Hamilton sang backup within the band.

In 2002, Q magazine named him in their list of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die", and in 2003 Voodoo was ranked at number 488 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

[edit] Recently

A follow-up to the Voodoo album has yet to be released; however, in recent months, D'Angelo is said to be hard at work on a third album, tentatively titled James River.^[7] After a long period of inactivity, D'Angelo has made guest appearances on several albums, including releases by J Dilla, Common ^[8], Red Hot & Riot and The RH Factor.

In August 2006 he begun collaborations with Common and Q-Tip. He also entered discussions with Jermaine Dupri on how to market what appears to be a forthcoming LP, though the official news of a release has not been made public yet.^[9] Although music for his own album has yet to materialize, D'Angelo was featured on the song "Imagine", by Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, from his album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, released on November 21, 2006.

On April 17, 2007 a new song called "Really Love" was leaked on Triple J Radio in Australia by Questlove^[10] D'Angelo also had a guest appearance on Common's 2007 album, Finding Forever on the track, "So Far to Go", a song that first appeared on J Dilla's 2006 release, The Shining.

After his 10 August 2007 court proceeding, he confirmed that new music is "in the works" although the album remains untitled ^[11]

On June 24, 2008, Virgin EMI released an enhanced greatest hits CD/DVD which will include top hits, rare tracks & seven previously unreleased music videos from D'Angelo. According to the press release, the new collection is titled "The Best So Far..." "because D'Angelo is far from finished, currently writing and recording his highly anticipated next musical chapter." There will also be a digital album, video downloads, and ringtones available on the day of its release.^[12] In November 2008, D'Angelo's collaboration with Q-Tip was officially confirmed with the release of the Q-Tip album The Renaissance which features D'Angelo on the track Believe. His third studio album, set to be titled James River, has been said to be released in 2009.D'Angelo has revealed, not only that his 2009 album will be called James River, but the legendary Prince, will be working heavily on the disc. Apparently the collaboration list, reads like a who's who in the R&B, neo soul movement. Below, his manager, said of the upcoming album:

"James River,” D’Angelo’s first studio effort in nearly 9 years, is also sporting a collaboration with Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo Green. Green joins Raphael Saadiq, Mark Ronson, and Roy Hargrove, who have already contributed to D’Angelo’s forthcoming album. In addition to “James River,” D’Angelo is plotting a return to the stage with a summer tour." ^[13]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

• ¹ — peaked at the Airplay chart.
• ² — peaked at the Bubbling Under chart
• ³ — iTunes single only

[edit] Other

This list excludes recordings which only include samples of D'Angelo recordings.

• "U Will Know" collaboration as B.M.U (Black Men United) on Jason's Lyric (soundtrack) album (1994)
• "Pray" on Vertical Hold's 'Head First' album (1994)
• "Crew" keyboards on A Tribe Called Quest's Beats, Rhymes and Life album (1996)
• "Overjoyed" on Boys Choir of Harlem's 'Up In Harlem' album (1996)
• "Cold World (Remix)" single collaboration with GZA (1996)
• "Your Precious Love" collaboration with Erykah Badu on High School High soundtrack album (1996)
• "Girl You Need A Change Of Mind" on Get On The Bus soundtrack album (1996)
• "The Hypnotic" collaboration on The Roots' Illadelph Halflife album (1996)
• "I Found My Smile Again" on the Space Jam (soundtrack) album (1997)
• "Ain't Nobody Home" collaboration on B.B.King's Deuces Wild album (1997)
• "The 'Notic" collaboration with The Roots (featuring Erykah Badu) on Men In Black soundtrack album (1997)
• "Heaven Must Be Like This" on Down In The Delta soundtrack album (1998)
• "Nothing Even Matters" collaboration on Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album (1998)
• "Break Ups 2 Make Ups" collaboration on Method Man's Tical 2000: Judgement Day album (1998)
• "She's Always In My Hair" on Scream 2 soundtrack album (1998)
• "The Spark" keyboards on The Roots' Things Fall Apart album (1999)
• "Everyday" collaboration and production on Angie Stone's Black Diamond album (1999)
• "Time Travelin'", "Time Travelin' (Reprise)", "Geto Heaven Part Two" and "Cold-Blooded" collaborations on Common's Like Water for Chocolate album (2000)
• "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" on D'Angelo's Untitled (How Does It Feel?) single (2000)
• "Tell Me" collaboration on Slum Village's Fantastic, Vol. 2 album (2000)
• "Caravan" collaboration with The Roots on the various artists' Red Hot + Indigo Duke Ellington tribute / charity fund-raising album (2000)
• "Talk S*** 2 Ya" collaboration on Baby Boy soundtrack album (2001)
• "Be Here" collaboration on Raphael Saadiq's Instant Vintage album (2002)
• "Water No Got Enemy" collaboration with various artists on Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti tribute / charity fund-raising album (2002)
• "I'll Stay" collaboration on Roy Hargrove's The RH Factor: Hard Groove album (2003)
• "Be Here" live collaboration on Raphael Saadiq's All Hits at the House of Blues album (2005)
• "Sing A Simple Song" virtual collaboration with Sly and The Family Stone, featuring Isaac Hayes and Chuck D on Different Strokes By Different Folks tribute album (2006)
• "Bullsh*t" collaboration on Roy Hargrove's The RH Factor: Distractions album (2006)
• "So Far to Go" collaboration on J Dilla's The Shining album (2006)
• "Imagine" collaboration on Snoop Dogg's Blue Carpet Treatment album (2006) featuring Dr.Dre
• "Feel Like Makin' Love" cover featured on the L Word Soundtrack (2006)
• "So Far To Go" collaboration on Common's Finding Forever album (2007).
• "Believe" collaboration on Q-Tip's The Renaissance album (2008)
• "Natural" rhodes keyboards on Don-E's Natural album (2008)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• Official Myspace
• Official Facebook
• Official Youtube Channel
• Official iLike Page
• D'Angelo on Last.fm
• D'Angelo on IMEEM