(though I know better… but I'd rather just put an end to that particular talking point and there's an interesting point to be made here too)

So… someone pointed out that I am a 40 year-old loser staying up till 1 am to scour Twitter for negative comments about D'Angelo so I can diss him on OKP and BOOM! I'm ethered LOLz

This is the kind of idiotic, middle school-level commentary that has come to characterize these discussions.

For one thing, if the person who made that comment was not an out-of-touch geezer himself, he'd understand the concept of Twitter timelines and trending topics, and know that one doesn't have to "scour" Twitter to see what folks are saying about D'Angelo. If a person is watching the BET Awards with one eye on Twitter for the yuks (which has become the widely-accepted way to watch the show) , then they'd see quite easily what people are saying.

But for the record (and not that it's really anybody's business), I happen to work as a media analyst with a tech company that calculates TV ratings, audience demographics, viewer sentiment and a bunch of other metrics based on impressions recorded from a host of social media.

So yes… I *was* up until 2am on Sunday watching the BET Awards, the Awards After-Party and the Sunday Best season 5 preview after it and sampling a wide range of reactions on Twitter and other networks… and racking up billable hours for it.

I just stated observed mathematical data. As far as social media chatter is concerned, the response to D's performance was lukewarm at best:

http://i47.tinypic.com/10s5edz.png

(I didn't create the above graphic, btw… lest someone should allege that I doctored the data to reflect my own "hateristic" perspective)

But my question is: Why the fuck is that even relevant? And why is it so personal with some of you? Why is it that when I say something about D'Angelo's music that maybe some people don't like, they decide that the reasonable response is not to address the criticism itself but to make it about ME and the presumed inadequacies and failures of MY life?

I really don't get how you can criticize an artist's music and the fans act like you done hocked a loogie on they mama AND grandmama?

And it's not even that I said D'Angelo sucks or the people who like him are dumb. In this post, I have said several times: "If people like it, they like it… No hate. But IN MY OPINION…"

In this very post, I have praised D'Angelo.

- I said he will probably sell a ton if he can get that album out in a timely manner
- I commended him for some things I think he does very well (melodic tunes and ballads)
- I said there have been some things he's done that are very original (the general aesthetic of Brown Sugar)
- I expressed admiration for some of his new material ("Another Life," "The Charade")

However, I also said that "Sugah Daddy" is not funky, and I find most of D's attempts to play Funk to be stiff, tepid and anemic. Also, I don't think he is a compelling frontman.

And that's enough provocation for the New D'Fenders to pull out the daggers and go for the jugular.

The point being made here: When I say that this shit starts to look like a religion with some people, they'll say I'm exaggerating people's response.



And I know one person in particular is about to reply to this, saying that I'm crying because I can't take the heat… No, I'm actually laughing at how serious this shit is for some people. You'd think the lives of their children depended upon D'Angelo's success/popularity

Carry on, though!