D'Angelo comeback: Is neo-soul music stuck in the past?

By Mychal Denzel Smith

8:51 AM on 01/04/2012

COMMENT NOW

Join Our Mailing List

Related News: Michelle Obama on the cover of More magazine; The top 10 nastiest break-ups in hip-hop; Erykah Badu talks home birthing, family plans

Share Bar

D'Angelo circa 1998 (AP Photo)

While the rumors keep floating that it's on its way, and Questlove continues to tweet that he's working on it and they're close to completion, the buzz continues to grow. Yesterday, a D'Angelo cover of the grunge band Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" popped up on the web and produced a fresh round of excitement for James River, the title of what is to be D'Angelo's third album. The track is eight years old, according to Questlove, a demo that will not be included on the (supposedly) upcoming album, but its discovery and the hype it caused show there is still demand for the vanguard of the neo-soul movement.

Neo-soul is a tag typically rejected by the artists to whom it's attached, as they reject labels that may limit them artistically or feel the prefix "neo" is unnecessary. But generally neo-soul is understood to be music heavily influenced by the classic soul artists of the past, including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Nina Simone, and others. At the time, it emerged, for some, as an alternative to the saccharine ballads coming from the Babyface camp and the hip-hop-leaning R&B thugs embodied by artists like R. Kelly and Jodeci.

D'Angelo set it off in 1995 with the release of his debut album Brown Sugar. Maxwell followed him the next year with Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite. Erykah Badu was next with her debut Baduizm in 1997, while The Fugees star Lauryn Hill exploded on the scene with her debut solo album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1998. In the span of a few years, neo-soul became a "thing."

Their success set the stage for the likes of Musiq Soulchild, Jill Scott, India.Arie, Macy Gray, Angie Stone, Anthony Hamilton, Alicia Keys, and more to be able to garner mainstream attention and in a few cases wildly profitable careers.

And as neo-soul grew in popularity, the progenitors seemed to fade. Maxwell left the scene after 2001's Now, not to be heard from again until the release of 2009's BLACKsummers'night, the first in a planned trilogy that currently stands alone.

Lauryn Hill has focused on raising her children, stepping away from the music scene for very long stretches, and reappearing only to fuel rumors of mental instability.

Click here to continue reading >

Follow theGrio on Facebook & Twitter!

More than a decade since his last full-length release, D'Angelo still has the ability to get people excited. For years, the music industry, the Internet, rabid fans, critics, and casual listeners alike have waited in anticipation, hoping and praying the singer would add to his stellar catalog with an album that satisfies their longing. Thus far, no dice. D'Angelo has teased and teased, but to date no album has materialized. While the rumors keep floating that it's on its way, and Questlove continues to tweet that he's working on it and they're close to completion, the buzz continues to grow. Yesterday, a D'Angelo cover of the grunge band Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" popped up on the web and produced a fresh round of excitement for James River, the title of what is to be D'Angelo's third album. The track is "eight years old":http://www.billboard.com/column/the-juice/d-angelo-covers-soundgarden-s-black-hole-1005777752.story#/column/the-juice/d-angelo-covers-soundgarden-s-black-hole-1005777752.story, according to Questlove, a demo that will not be included on the (supposedly) upcoming album, but its discovery and the hype it caused show there is still demand for the vanguard of the neo-soul movement. Neo-soul is a tag typically rejected by the artists to whom it's attached, as they reject labels that may limit them artistically or feel the prefix "neo" is unnecessary. But generally neo-soul is understood to be music heavily influenced by the classic soul artists of the past, including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Nina Simone, and others. At the time, it emerged, for some, as an alternative to the saccharine ballads coming from the Babyface camp and the hip-hop-leaning R&B thugs embodied by artists like R. Kelly and Jodeci. D'Angelo set it off in 1995 with the release of his debut album _Brown Sugar_. Maxwell followed him the next year with _Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite_. "Erykah Badu":http://www.thegrio.com/health/erykah-badu-talks-home-birthing-family-plans.php was next with her debut _Baduizm_ in 1997, while The Fugees star Lauryn Hill exploded on the scene with her debut solo album _The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill_ in 1998. In the span of a few years, neo-soul became a "thing." Their success set the stage for the likes of Musiq Soulchild, Jill Scott, India.Arie, Macy Gray, Angie Stone, Anthony Hamilton, Alicia Keys, and more to be able to garner mainstream attention and in a few cases wildly profitable careers. And as neo-soul grew in popularity, the progenitors seemed to fade. "Maxwell":http://www.thegrio.com/entertainment/maxwell-i-just-thank-people-for-not-forgetting-me.php left the scene after 2001's _Now_, not to be heard from again until the release of 2009's _BLACKsummers'night_, the first in a planned trilogy that currently stands alone. Lauryn Hill has "focused on raising her children":http://www.thegrio.com/entertainment/lauryn-hill-rohan-marley-not-father-of-6th-child.php, stepping away from the music scene for very long stretches, and reappearing only to fuel "rumors of mental instability":http://www.thegrio.com/entertainment/has-lauryn-hill-squandered-her-latest-comeback-attempt.php.