Brown Sugar was released on July 3, 1995 and it became a refreshing reminder of how potent the mixture of Soul and R&B can be on a record.
Upon its release, Michael “
D'Angelo” Archer had created quite a stir with his song “U Will Know” performed by Black Men United, from the Jason's Lyric movie soundtrack from the previous year. The song featured 40 R&B artists and groups who were among the most promising and current talent from the genre.
At a time where female and male groups were dominating the charts, D'Angelo arrived on the scene with a quintessential, vintage sound that was reminiscent of popular Soul and R&B singers from the 1970s and early 1980s Prince. His debut album was trans-formative in regards to his production and recording methods. It helped to ignite the genre now known as Neo-Soul and create a new wave of Soul singers for the ladder half of the 1990s.
D'Angelo produced, arranged and wrote every song on the album, which made him abnormal among his contemporaries of the time period. He ultimately became one of the more iconic figures in the R&B and Soul scene of the mid to late 1990s and set in motion a rebirth of authentic Soul music.
Like most R&B singers, D'Angelo's musical foundation was built in the gospel tradition. At the tender age of 5, he was playing the piano inside of his father's church in Richmond, VA. From the ages of 5 to 15, he played the piano and organ in his father's church and from 15 until he was signed to his recording contract in 1993, he served as the musical director for his grandfather's church.
After winning the Apollo Amateur Night three times in a row in 1991, he dropped out of school to pursue a full-time career in music. For the next few years, he split time between New York City and Richmond, VA honing his craft as a songwriter and musician to begin producing his debut album. His record “U Will Know” eventually led him to sign a publishing deal with EMI Music in 1993 and here is where his story begins.
Between the years of 1990-1994, the majority of
Brown Sugar was recorded in Richmond, VA, Battery Studios and RPM Studios in New York, New York and Pookie Lab in Sacramento, California.
Soul Culture recently sat down with Luther Archer, the brother of D'Angelo and co-writer of two songs on D'Angelo's debut album, Brown Sugar to talk about the influences behind the album and what made it become a success.
R&B/Soul legend and Grammy-Award winning singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Raphael Saadiq recently released his fourth studio album Stone Rollin’ (March, 2011) and the follow up to 2008’s instant class is The Way I See It. Expanding the mid-'60s Motown “classic soul revival” sound into more eclectic territory by including elements of classic Rock & Roll, Blues, Funk and expansive '70s styled Orchestral music, the new LP's general aesthetic leans towards Saadiq’s live performances and influences being drawn from classic artists such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Howlin’ Wolf and Sly Stone amongst others.
There's good news and bad news. The good news is that Stone Rollin' is not a bad record but the bad news is it's not a very good record either, by Raphael Saadiq standards.
Last week Raphael Saadiq held an exclusive listening session entitled "Saadiq Sessions" at The Royalton Hotel in New York City. For the evening Saadiq turned the hotel into a juke joint. Intimate setting, low lighting, and music that touches your soul. He walked out with the biggest smile on his face, signature black frames, blue plaid pants, crew neck shirt and blazer and got right into the music without saying much, but letting the music speak for itself. With a bassist, percussionist, and Saadiq on guitar, he performed six songs from his upcoming 10 track LP Stone Rollin' due out March 22nd. 
“It Never Rains in Southern California” was a #1 hit record for Tony, Toni, Tone in 1990. Co-founder of the legendary R&B group, Raphael Saadiq sung the vocals so effortlessly, but years later he discovered the talent is reigning in Southern California. In 2007, he agreed to work with an eclectic trio of artists who collectively called themselves Tha Boogie. But Tha Boogie story begins years earlier.
Inspired by Devante Swing of Jodeci and the collection of talent he found and dubbed “Da Bassment,” NuSchool yearned to find some homegrown talent in his hometown. He was introduced to a young producer named Legin by Legin's sister. The two had already known each other previously but never realized that their tastes in music genres were similar.
When they began collaborating on records their creativity shined through in their production. They understood the meshing of their different styles produced sounds that were unlike anything in rotation on the mainstream airwaves. NuSchool’s cousin Khorus brought a different flavor to the group and her contributions added another dimension to their sound and stylistic approach.
Over the course of time, the artists they recruited to become a part of the "Tha Boogie Down Movement" kept coming and going. In late 2005, all of them mutually agreed to become a trio called Tha Boogie and begin working on crafting their sound and image. 
