[Taken from Chocolate Films blog]
It’s taking me a while to fully digest D’angelo’s Black Messiah. It’s one of those albums where you do it a disservice if you render an opinion during the first couple of listens. Yes it was universally praised on its release but the album has seeped into my bones since then.
The biggest praise I can give Black Messiah is that it makes his classic second record, Voodoo, an album that was so far ahead of its time, finally sound dated. Simply put, Black Messiah is extraordinary.
This record feels like the end of a musical discovery. On Brown Sugar, D’s huge potential was there for all to listen to; on Voodoo, D’s sparse funk, laced with hip hop felt like the future. But I didn’t know something was missing until I heard Black Messiah. The guitar changes everything.
This record reminds me of the deep and rich history black music has with the instrument and with Rock ‘n’ Roll. Prince and Jimmy Hendrix should be a potent and permanent reminder but the way D’angelo weaves rock sensibilities and the guitar into his music feels magical, authentic and historical.
Almost every song on this record is hard to categorise because of the guitar – what is Ain’t That Easy? Is it funk? Is it rock n roll? Is it country?
What is 1000 Deaths? Is it metal? Funk?
The musical genre lines have always been blurred with D but the lines are but a mirage on this album and it’s exhilarating. So much so that to this day I find myself hearing something new with each listen.
But I want to end with the song Another Life, probably the album’s simplest track to define. It’s an R’n’B love jam. With this song, D’angelo reaches near Prince levels of perfection. From the lyrics, performance, the instrumentation and the arrangements, the song is the clearest example of why D’angelo is so important and why he must be valued.
Because we don’t value him enough. People still see that lad half naked singing ‘how does it feel’ and I don’t believe people understand what he is. He is a genius.
