D'Angelo - Black Messiah (2014)

wasn't it supposedly called 'James River' until recently?

iirc he floated the title James River like 5 years ago and hasn't said that was the title since then, but since it was one of the only shreds of detail anybody had about the album the title kinda stuck in the public mind

this reminds me that i should probably expect a new Burial EP this month too.

https://twitter.com/RBMA/status/543560613801500672

this reminds me that i should probably expect a new Burial EP this month too.

― festival culture (Jordan), Friday, December 12, 2014

god let's hope. a surprise d'angelo album's good too, obviously.

it's just not the holiday season anymore, unless there's an awesome surprise album release.

He should have named the album Surprise. Black Surprise? Surprise Messiah?

So this is gonna be his New Amerykah Pt. 1? I NEED THAT IN MY LIFE.

Omfg I never thought the day would come

your move, Dr. Dre

I'm still waiting for that second Avalanches album.

I'm still waiting for that second Avalanches album.
--MarkoP

we all are, man, we all are.

ok maybe only some of us are

still a little bummed it's not kanye tho, not gonna lie

― just a couple of assholes having breakfast (slothroprhymes), Friday, 12 December 2014 21:27 (52 minutes ago) Permalink

new d'angelo is so much more exciting of a prospect than new kanye cmon now
--deej loaf (D-40)

it is, honestly, just a case of one of the outbursts of irrational kanye stan-dom to which I occasionally succumb

if this record sounds at all like the track linked upthread that'll be prettttyyyyy, pretttaaayyyy incredible

"black messiah", someone stole jay electronica's new album title.

handling copyright extensions probably a big part of managing either of these guys

holy fuck

Anyone know what time of day those Red Bull 20 Before 15 tracks go live? They seem to be limited to 1k downloads and I want this D'Angelo song.

up now on rbma

http://20before15.redbull.com/#d-angelo-and-the-vanguard

this song is so legit

it's great.

the piano and the knickety-knack drums and alien space horns are so good

odd for a guy who has said he cant bear the pressure to name an album THAT

but then he probably needs to do something dramatic to get peoples attention

or hes just been watching kanye and thought someone should compete with that

and from seeing what hes been wearing lately, prob better if the album cover doesnt have dangelo on the front.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/dangelo-new-album-black-messiah-20141212

D'Angelo Will Unveil New Album 'Black Messiah' at NYC Listening Party

The R&B singer will play the album in its entirety at an event hosted by Nelson George

By Jason Newman | December 12, 2014

After 14 years, numerous false starts and nearly two years of D'Angelo's next album being "99 percent done," the singer will unveil the follow-up to 2000's Voodoo this Sunday.

The R&B singer will play the completed album, Black Messiah, in its entirety at a listening session in New York hosted by writer Nelson George and organized by Red Bull Music Academy and Afropunk.

As Consequence of Sound notes, D'Angelo's manager Kevin Liles shared a mysterious teaser trailer to promote the album.
George and the singer sat down in May at New York's Brooklyn Museum for a public discussion. When the topic of "neo-soul" came up, D'Angelo hinted that he was embarking on a new musical direction with his own music. "I respect for what it is, but anytime you put a name on something, you just put it in a box," said D'Angelo. "You want to be in a position where you can grow as an artist. You never want to be told, 'Hey, well, you're a neo-soul artist.' Right now, I'm not. We're going someplace else."

D'Angelo also referenced his return to the spotlight, which began with a triumphant covers set at Bonnaroo 2012. Since then, whispers of a new album have appeared periodically.

Shortly after Bonnaroo, Questlove told Rolling Stone that D'Angelo had recorded nearly 30 tracks at Electric Lady, the same New York studio where the singer cut Voodoo. "He is about to take a radical 180 turn with this record," Questlove said at the time. "It's going to throw people off the same way that Prince's Dirty Mindthrew his R&B fanbase off. In the past few years, he's discovered Bowie and Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Pet Sounds, Captain Beefheart and Zappa." At the time, Questlove said that the musician was experimenting with guitar arrangements and creating his own keyboard sounds.

In January 2013, Questlove told Billboard that D'Angelo's album was "99 percent done." "I would not be far off by saying this is probably my generation's version of Sly There's a Riot Goin' On," the drummer said. "It's potent. It's funky. It's an extremely hard pill to swallow.

"It's going to take you about 10 years to digest this record," he added. "Totally brilliant. Just the way this society works with music...being able to judge if something is a classic after the first listen, you can do that after 30 seconds on this. And the fact that we started this record in 2004, and it still sounds like it came out five years from now, it is a testament to the timelessness of it."

In a June interview, Liles said that the Bonnaroo show inspired D'Angelo to want to finish the album. "He very bluntly put it, 'Kev, the studio and the stage: that's my lifeblood. Now that I've touched it again, now that I see it again, I wanna be sure that the baby I'm about to have – the album – that I take it to the point where it's all it can be.'"

In January 2013, Questlove told Billboard that D'Angelo's album was "99 percent done." "I would not be far off by saying this is probably my generation's version of Sly There's a Riot Goin' On," the drummer said. "It's potent. It's funky. It's an extremely hard pill to swallow.

reminded of sly stone and prince when i first heard that new song.

that song has been doing the rounds for a few years now... its a bit sly, a bit prince... and a bit lenny kravitz, not necessarily in a bad way.

a bit lenny kravitz

don't kill my buzz.

lenny is the missing piece of the puzzle in dangelos roots!

1. "Ain't That Easy" D'Angelo D'Angelo 4:49
2. "1,000 Deaths" D'Angelo D'Angelo 5:49
3. "The Charade" D'Angelo D'Angelo 3:20
4. "Sugah Daddy" D'Angelo D'Angelo 5:02
5. "Really Love" D'Angelo D'Angelo 5:44
6. "Back To The Future Part 1" D'Angelo D'Angelo 5:22
7. "Till It's Done (Tutu)" D'Angelo D'Angelo 3:51
8. "Prayer" D'Angelo D'Angelo 4:33
9. "Betray My Heartless" D'Angelo D'Angelo 5:55
10. "The Door" D'Angelo 3:08
11. "Back To The Future Part 2" D'Angelo D'Angelo 2:24
12. "Another Life" D'Angelo D'Angelo 5:58

apparently from the liner notes -
"“Black Messiah is a hell of a name for an album. It can easily be misunderstood. Many will think it’s about religion. Some will jump to the conclusion that I’m calling myself a Black Messiah. For me, the title is about all of us. It’s about the world. It’s about an idea we can all aspire to. We should all aspire to be a Black Messiah."

seemed like an obvious Isaac Hayes allusion

those are short song lengths! (for him)

There was a tv ad during Saturday Night Live for the album...

ah i recognise this new one from his tour ages ago, veh nice to hear it finished etc

this is so good

http://pitchfork.com/news/57828-dangelo-returns-with-new-track-sugah-daddy/

Liked it better on second listen than first.

Yeah, seemed a bit slight at first but it blossoms pretty quickly. Love the mixing.

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x18/gr8080/dancingalienld7.gif

Those boogie-woogie piano turnarounds are great.

That said, per Questlove above, this song at least is not 180 degree change, let alone redolent of Bowie and Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Pet Sounds, Captain Beefheart and Zappa. I wonder if the album as a whole is more all over the place, as opposed to the sustained vibe of "Voodoo."

this sounds great. I'm hopeful.

and yes, it's been around for a long bit but not so clean a mix or as a statement of "here's a cut off the album" so i'm thankful.

I've never suspected this album would be a mess. I wouldn't say I'm hopeful, but more like relieved that we finally get to hear it. I trust D'Angelo and Quest more to pull together a great record after a really long gestation period than, say, Axl Rose.

i'm not thankful out of fear the album would be a mess, i'm thankful they're RELEASING the goddam thing finally. I'm expecting a great album with a few permanent life changing tracks. Sugah Daddy sounds more like Left, Right which is wonderful but not earthshaking. Looking forward to contact with the stellar.

this track is tremendous

it's not a direct lineage thing but now that i can get repeat play, i'm hearing traces of Cannonball Adderley's Hummin here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8clwX4bhMU

questlove says a lotta things and is not to be trusted

love both of the leaked tracks. really hyped for this!

this is good

the album preview video is pretty dead prez-ish, what with the speech about a 'cracker jesus' etc.