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. D'Angelo is one of the most influential artists during the rise of the neo-soul movement.
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].
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D'ANGELO TICKETS
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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.
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DUI and marijuana charge and, on April 13, was given a fine and suspended sentence and his driver's license was revoked.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.
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,
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".
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.
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."
UPDATE: According to Lindsay Guion, D’Angelo’s manager, no album will be released this summer. No collaborators have been confirmed. The artist is living in Richmond. He’s recording there and in New York City, and he will deliver the tracks to his record company by September. Guion says they have just signed a contract for a U.S. tour that will begin around the holidays. So, the bottom line seems to be that nobody’s going to hear anything from D’Angelo at least well into the fall.
[13]
Discography
Albums
Release Date
| Album
| Last RIAA certification
| U.S Sales
| Chart positions
| Singles
|
The Billboard 200
| Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
|
July 3, 1995
| Brown Sugar
| 2x Platinum
| 2.0 Million
| 22
| 4
| "Brown Sugar", "Cruisin'", "Lady", "Me and Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine
|
June 30, 1998
| Live at the Jazz Cafe (Japan Release Only)
| -
| -
| -
| -
| "Heaven Must Be Like This"
|
January 25, 2000
| Voodoo
| Platinum
| 1.5 Million
| 1
| 1
| "Untitled (How Does It Feel?)", "Send It On", "Feel Like Makin' Love"
|
August 20, 2007
| YODA: The Monarch of Neo-Soul
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
June 24, 2008
| The Best So Far...
| -
| -
| -
| 70
| "I Found My Smile Again (Radio Edit)"
|
Winter 2009
| James River
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
|
Singles
Year
| Title
| Chart positions
| Album
|
US Hot 100 [14]
| US R&B/Hip-Hop
|
1994
| "U Will Know" (as a part of Black Men United)
| 28
| 5
| Jason's Lyric OST
|
1995
| "Brown Sugar"
| 27
| 5
| Brown Sugar
|
"Cruisin'"
| 53
| 10
|
1996
| "Lady"
| 10
| 2
|
"Me and Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine"
| 74
| 25
|
1998
| "She's Always In My Hair"
| —
| —
| Scream 2 OST
|
"Devil's Pie"
| —
| 691
| Belly Soundtrack/Voodoo(2000)
|
1999
| "Nothing Even Matters" (Lauryn Hill featuring D'Angelo)
| 1052
| 25
| The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
|
"Break Ups 2 Make Ups" (Method Man featuring D'Angelo)
| 98
| 29
| Tical 2000: Judgement Day
|
"Heaven Must Be Like This"
| —
| 74
| Down In The Delta OST
/ Live At The Jazz Cafe
|
"Left & Right" (featuring Method Man & Redman)
| 75
| 18
| Voodoo
|
2000
| "Untitled (How Does It Feel)"
| 25
| 2
|
"Send It On"
| —
| 33
|
"Feel Like Makin' Love"
| —
| 1092
|
2002
| "Be Here" (Raphael Saadiq featuring D'Angelo)
| —
| 61
| Instant Vintage
|
2007
| "Imagine" (Snoop Dogg featuring Dr. Dre & D'Angelo)
| —
| 1072
| Blue Carpet Treatment
|
"So Far To Go" (Common featuring D'Angelo)
| —
| —
| Finding Forever
|
2008
| "I Found My Smile Again"3 [15]
| —
| 1062
| The Best So Far...
|
- 1 — peaked at the Airplay chart.
- 2 — peaked at the Bubbling Under chart
- 3 — iTunes single only
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)
References
- http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/R&B_singer_D%E2%80%99Angelo_sentenced_on_cocaine_charge
- http://www.nndb.com/people/715/000086457/
- http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2005-09-26-dangelo_x.htm
- Allmusic.com - The Best So Far...
- Robert Christgau: Jesus Saves: D'Angelo
- Peisner, David. "D'Angelo: What the Hell Happened?", ''Spin'', 5 August 2008.
- Heavy waits: albums that are long overdue | Metromix Indianapolis
- A sneak peak at Common’s next album ''Finding Forever''
- D'Angelo talks to JD about marketing
- Really Love by D'Angelo on HHNLive
- D'Angelo speaks to Style Weekly
- Okayplayer - Online Magazine and Community Website
- http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/popvox/archive/2009/07/23/d-angelo-is-alive-and-not-so-well-and-livin
- http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=53508&model.vnuAlbumId=80
- New D'Angelo Single Hits iTunes