EP 9 | Brown Sugar by D’Angelo (1995)

Venus as a boy, Aquarius as a man, musical artist D’Angelo swoons listeners and lovers alike in his 1995 debut studio album “Brown Sugar.” A pianist, drummer, guitarist, bassist, organist, and vocalist, D’Angelo crafts the record around his smooth falsetto, lush instrumentation, and thoughtful lyrics. Love guides the track in its entirety and D’Angelo approaches the subject with nuances of admiration, survival, togetherness, and betrayal. Throughout its ten tracks, D’Angelo floats through time and genre as he is wafted away by the women of his affection. Blues, jazz, gospel, hip hop and RnB are all facets of the music and album that would later be referenced as one of the foundational works of the Neo-Soul genre. Alongside these, overarching goals of story-telling, going against the mainstream, and simply presenting Black music are what’s behind D’Angelo’s timeless work. 

Singles of the album are “Brown Sugar,” “Cruisin,” “Lady,” and “Me and Those Dreamin Eyes of Mine.” Personal favorites are “Smooth,” “Jonz in My Bonz,” “Brown Sugar,” and “Lady.” 

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Podcast episodes are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and IHeartRadio. All links are in the bio. 

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Articles mentioned include “D’Angelo’s ‘Brown Sugar’ Laid the Blueprint for the Neo-Soul Movement” - Okayplayer, Preezy Brown (2019/2020) https://www.okayplayer.com/originals/dangelo-brown-sugar-album-neo-soul-making.html 

And “The Origin Story of D’Angelo” - Okayplayer, Chris Williams (2020/2021) https://www.okayplayer.com/music/dangelo-brown-sugar-making-neo-soul.html. Book quote is from “All About Love” by bell hooks. The mash-up cover album I mention is “OK Lady” by Roman GianArthur.