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.
I probably shouldn't say this, but what I witnessed in Paris on a cold Sunday night was a legendary performance. I've seen a few legends in my time, most recently perhaps Prince at the O2, and Sunday night was up there with it. There, I said it.
Le Zenith was the setting for D'Angelo's French leg of his European tour, his 'comeback' tour, a whole 12 years after his last album Voodoo was released. I won't bore you with the well documented trials and tribulations in his hiatus, something he alluded to with a re-iteration of the end phrase of the opening line from "One Mo'Gin"- 'I know some things have changed since the last I've seen you/some good/some for the bad baby.' But I'm getting ahead of myself here…
It’s been exactly 10 years since Voodoo, D’Angelo’s sophomore album, hit the top of the US Billboard 200 on the day of its release (25 January 2000). In some ways, Voodoo is the reason Soul Culture exists.
It opened a conversation. Voodoo’s often ambiguous lyrics - when they can be heard at all - and jam session vibes (rather than disciplined melodies) rendered the album less accessible than D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar debut - but for me [and many others] the verbal incoherency is part of the puzzle, the in-the-moment vibes are incentive to work it out. [For those who like it on a platter, the lyrics are there in the album booklet. Quit moaning already.]
A decade on, the conversation continues - only last week I found myself arguing with a producer over the album’s timeless merits. For me, that’s what it is. Timeless. Far less tied to a particular era than his debut. More adventurous. More meaningful.