D’Angelo and The Vanguard – Black Messiah

I have not followed D’Angelo’s career since he made his big splash with Voodoo in 2000. That album was so powerful one would assume he was going to be a huge star. But he disappeared. I never really researched why. I figured he wasted his talent and fame – the black Axl Rose. There would be occasional rumors of comeback, but nothing ever came of it. And then without warning Black Messiah appears. My first thought was will this be Chinese Democracy or will it be good?

I am on my initial listen and it is good. Same soul jazz hip hop vibe as Voodoo. But not a reprise. A natural progression. Fourteen years without skipping a beat.

I am a huge Prince fan and clearly D’Angelo is a disciple of the purple one. He is inspired by Prince without being derivative. He is his own man.

Black Messiah is contemporary R&B. I am so bored with current artists reenacting vs. reinventing. D’Angelo reinvents.

These are heavy grooves. It is going to take me several days to digest this album. I have met it and now I want to really get to know it.