>In late 1999, the first single
>from D'angelo's long-awaited sophmore album,
>"Voodoo", was released to very
>little to no fanfare.
>"Left & Right", which featured
>a guest appearance by America's
>Most Blunted (a.k.a Redman &
>Method Man) was a simple
>funk number based around very
>minimal instrumentation. The accompanying video,
>which may have been aired
>about as many times as
>the last few Prince videos,
>was an odd, psychedelic, sweat
>drenched funk fest, featuring cameo
>appearances by George Clinton, Redman,
>Method Man, ?uestlove, and Cherokee.
> The video's production values
>weren't too far removed from
>those commonly seen in early
>80s pop videos. While
>I understand and can appreciate
>the idea, it's not a
>very smart way to begin
>promotion for an album that
>many people have patiently waited
>for. The video quickly
>faded from television and failed
>to make a dent in
>radio.
Folk just wasn't ready! I bought this video, and it is still one of the most requested vids to be played at partys-but then the age group (30 & up) has a lot to do with it too!

>A few quick months later, January
>2000 arrives. Y2K fever
>has passed and the number
>of days until the release
>of the album that many
>said would revolutionieze R&B music
>are dwindling. To make
>up for the near disaster
>that "Left & Right" turned
>out to be, the follow-up
>single was wisely chosen.
>"Untitled (How Does It Feel)"
>is a slow, 6/8, sexy
>song reminiscent of Prince during
>his hey day. The
>song and its simplicity are
>brilliant. Raphael Saadiq, co-producer
>of th etrack, laid down
>a guitar line that I'm
>sure made the soon-to-be-resurrected Prince
>Rogers Nelson roll over in
>his paisley coffin.
>The music combined with those
>panty-wetting lyrics assured this writer
>that the revolution (no pun
>intended) was well under way.
>
I keep tellin yall-Prince wish he DID have it like that! This vid was a good way for D to show off some newly acquired abs-but the lyrics in the song, & the way he sang it is what did it for me!

>And then the video arrived.
>
>I'll spare us all the details
>of the video for fear
>that many of my female
>readers will suffer flashbacks and
>become unable to finish reading.
>
Give us women credit for being able to look beyond the body in the video. I think a lot of you menfolk's egos have really suffered from that video.


>I was fortunate enough to witness
>the tour first hand when
>it stopped in Indianapolis in
>August. I was also
>unfortunate enough to witness the
>hordes of beautiful women (gat-damn!!!)
>screaming at D'angelo as if
>they were at a male
>strip joint. They totally
>ignored the on stage brilliance
>of D'angelo and the Soultronics
>and focused on the biceps,
>the abs, and the ass.
> I often found myself
>rolling my eyes at the
>way D'angelo toyed with the
>women in the crowd (who
>really weren't women at this
>point.. many of the more
>mature women were acting as
>if they were 10 years
>old at a New Edition
>concert back in 1984).
Okay-we know there were some there not really focusing on the man & his music-but I also witnessed both episodes, and each time I went it was like a musical rebirth. Yes the affect of this man & his music had me moving parts of my body that I didn't know I still had. D & the soultronics-pure artistry!
"Devil's
>Pie" would not have worked
>because the first minute or
>so of the song is
>done in complete darkness with
>very little movement on stage.

You must didn't see D & Soultronics do this at the MTV movie awards last year! Check your local listings 'cause MTV repeats it often-and you're in for a treat!!!

>Voodoo's lack of substance also hurt
>it. Whereas a lack
>of substance is the norm,
>most people don't spend 4-5
>years working on something that
>sounds like it could've been
>put together in the span
>of a few months.
>As a whole, it is
>quite underwhelming. There are
>several good ideas and concepts
>throughout the album (I wish
>the "Booty" segment of "Greatdayndamornin"
>had been developed a lot
>more). If the album
>had been released one year
>after "Brown Sugar", I would
>not be writing this paragraph.
> Just another case of
>"too little too late."

Looka here-the album won 2 grammys, he was awarded best live perfomance of the year by Rolling Stone, and (not that this sways me one way or the other) that says a helluva lot! Voodoo will be legendary. It is not your average R&B album-not by a long shot!


I don't want him 'cause of what he doin to you-and you dont need em-'cause he 'aint ready!-Ms. Badu

If I needed you to be cooool with my strength, could you do it?-Jill Scott