In the Time of D'Angelo

"This was the era when album releases were kinetic, when you had to physically show up at the record store, put the money down, and tear the plastic off the case. And it didn't get more dynamic than D'Angelo, the singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer born Michael Eugene Archer, who died earlier this week at 51. Reluctantly, D'Angelo had become a star."

"He had already helped pioneer the neo-soul genre as a blend of classic R&B and hip-hop. The anticipation for his next work only heightened when "Untitled"-with its sultry and audacious video, featuring only a warm light on a naked D'Angelo-made him a sex symbol. But he wasn't just that: Co-produced with Raphael Saadiq, "Untitled" was an extraordinary song, a seven-minute implosion of desire and transcendence, on which the divine and the erotic co-mingled until they were indistinguishable."

D'Angelo forged neo-soul by blending classic R&B and hip-hop, producing three studio albums that transformed modern music gravity. Brown Sugar sounded like a nod to the past and a declaration of the future, introducing radical approaches to radio R&B. Voodoo presented a murky, humid soundscape anchored by "Untitled (How Does It Feel)," a seven-minute conflation of divine and erotic longing. He played multiple instruments, produced, and co-produced key tracks with collaborators like Raphael Saadiq. His sensual image and innovative production elevated him to reluctant stardom, and his records remain influential across R&B, soul, and contemporary music.

Read at Pitchfork