What will D'Angelo's place be in R&B history if his 3rd LP is as good or BETTER than the first two?

[doublejs07]

This is a heavily anticipated album (if it ever drops).  Questlove has said it's VERY close to being completed.  Dude has been on a 12 year hiatus, and has seemingly gotten himself back on the right track. 

This is a guy who cares about the quality and artistic integrity of the product that he's putting out.  I have VERY high hopes for this album and expect...yea, EXPECT to be blown away. 

That being said, both Brown Sugar and Voodoo are amazing albums.  The latter being one of the best that I've EVER heard in R&B.  It may sound weird, but if there is anyone who can top a near perfect album, I think it's D'Angelo. 

If the album lives up to the hype, where does D'Angelo stand amongst the greats who have come before him?  Is it possible to mention him in the same breath as guys like Prince, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, etc?  What do you all think? 

I'm biased...I think he's the most talented dude to come through R&B in the past 20 years or so.  He doesn't have the discography of the guys I mentioned, but the quality of his music trumps the quantity, IMO.  Hopefully, he can keep himself clean and keep making great music for a long time to come. 

 

[k3stacks]

Top 5 DOA

 

[Kimchi Papi]

DoubleJs07 wrote:

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...I think he's the most talented dude to come through R&B in the past 20 years or so.    
I agree with everything you said but specifically the portion above. Vodoo is one of my all time favorite albums & I consider it an all time great album regardless of genre. It's right up there with Miles Davis King of Blue, Beatles The White Album, Public Enemy It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, etc.

I stated in the D'Angelo/Stockholm thread that too many people equate record sales with artistic ability. All the other cats (like R Kelly) that have come out of during the current era (dating back to the say the 90s) are pop/r&b stars, D'Angelo is an artist. They are two different things.

My only wish is that he put out more stuff but that's for selfish reasons. I would love to hear his unreleased stuff. I feel very fortunate to have seen D'Angelo live several times & look forward to seeing him again.

On another note, the only other person I'd put on D's level is Erykah Badu. These 2 helped redefine & continue actual soul music & making it relevant again. The only other thing I can say is that I'm glad these 2 are made the music they have & look forward to more music/tours from them...

 

[deleted]

I think that his place is already solidified.

It can only better his legacy if his 3rd album is as fantastic as the first two.

 

[doublejs07]

Originally Posted by psk2310

DoubleJs07 wrote:

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...I think he's the most talented dude to come through R&B in the past 20 years or so.    

I agree with everything you said but specifically the portion above. Vodoo is one of my all time favorite albums & I consider it an all time great album regardless of genre. It's right up there with Miles Davis King of Blue, Beatles The White Album, Public Enemy It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, etc.

I stated in the D'Angelo/Stockholm thread that too many people equate record sales with artistic ability. All the other cats (like R Kelly) that have come out of during the current era (dating back to the say the 90s) are pop/r&b stars, D'Angelo is an artist. They are two different things.

My only wish is that he put out more stuff but that's for selfish reasons. I would love to hear his unreleased stuff. I feel very fortunate to have seen D'Angelo live several times & look forward to seeing him again.

On another note, the only other person I'd put on D's level is Erykah Badu. These 2 helped redefine & continue actual soul music & making it relevant again. The only other thing I can say is that I'm glad these 2 are made the music they have & look forward to more music/tours from them...

This can't be emphasized enough. 

Also, I agree with you about what you said when you mentioned D putting out more music...but for selfish reasons.  After reading that GQ article about his hiatus, I now TOTALLY understand where he was coming from when he decided to step away from putting out an album in that 12 year time-period. 

What's amazing to me is that in that time off...he mastered the guitar.  It wasn't like he was just sitting on his *$!...dude taught himself another instrument and mastered it.  He's a musical genius. 

 

[awwsome]

D'Angelo is one of the greatest artists of our generation.
As my man up top said Voodoo is a Thriller,Off The Wall, What's Going On type album.
Also what he said about the "Artist" is something I always try to talk about on NT to no avail.
There's always certain artists who really put all of themselves into it and it shows
The Marvin Gayes, Coltranes, MJs, Prince's, Rick Rubins, Reznors.
It's also part of the reason he lost himself but I have no doubt that his next album will be amazing.
I'm not going to compare it to Brown Sugar or Voodoo though.

 

[ham city]

Originally Posted by psk2310

DoubleJs07 wrote:

---

...I think he's the most talented dude to come through R&B in the past 20 years or so.    

I agree with everything you said but specifically the portion above. Vodoo is one of my all time favorite albums & I consider it an all time great album regardless of genre. It's right up there with Miles Davis King of Blue, Beatles The White Album, Public Enemy It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, etc.

I stated in the D'Angelo/Stockholm thread that too many people equate record sales with artistic ability. All the other cats (like R Kelly) that have come out of during the current era (dating back to the say the 90s) are pop/r&b stars, D'Angelo is an artist. They are two different things.

My only wish is that he put out more stuff but that's for selfish reasons. I would love to hear his unreleased stuff. I feel very fortunate to have seen D'Angelo live several times & look forward to seeing him again.

On another note, the only other person I'd put on D's level is Erykah Badu. These 2 helped redefine & continue actual soul music & making it relevant again. The only other thing I can say is that I'm glad these 2 are made the music they have & look forward to more music/tours from them...




I can't believe how long ago '95-97 was but this also can't be overstated enough. Like they almost single handedly put our music on their back and kept carrying it forward.

 

[joe cool23]

Threads like this really make realize how much Okp changed the way I look at D'Angelo.

Is he talented, and am I a fan? Yes.

However D'Angelo will never rank in top 15. Two albums in an almost 20 year span is truly disappointing with someone of his caliber. This leads to me point how it's remarkable that we hold D'Angelo in high regard when if someone else pulled this "perfectionist" charade (Detox???) we would've stop caring years ago. This is because D'Angelo along with others have painted him as something much more than what D'Angelo can bear on his shoulders, which in turn has made him afraid of not living up to what he's created.�
He had dreams about Marvin Gaye? Big deal. I dream about my musical heroes all the time.

�He learned how to play guitar during his time off. Okay, he was saying he knew how to play the guitar in '98 along with the saxophone and some other stuff which I seriously doubt. Questlove made that Zappa/Eddie Hazell comparison a few months back, and then footage of D'Angelo actually playing left egg all over Quest's face.

D'Angelo's place in my eyes will be that of someone's pr tactic was too big for their stomach and robbed the fans and D'Angelo of what should've been a better career.

Honestly does this sound like the second coming of Zappa?

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Joe Cool, I understand the points your making but again you equate artistry with volume. Just because he has the 2 albums (3 if you count the Live At The Jazz Cafe release - an import back then) doesn't lessen his place among the greats.

There have been plenty of artists that have small output. Take in to consideration Shuggie Otis. I think he put out 2-3 albums back in the day with one being genius & way ahead of it's time (Inspiration Information).

I don't think he's creating or perpetuating any type of charade. I'm not even sure how you got that conclussion. I guess you might've "listened" to Vodoo & didn't quite hear it.

To even mention Detox in this conversation demonstrates a lack of understanding unless you're trying to illustrate someone taking his sweet old time.

You may have musical dreams all the time, but what have you accomplished? Aside from sounding cynical & snide? I don't understand a comment like & what it has to do with this conversation.

 

[memphisboi55]

Same place he has been..

 

[joe cool23]

I don't think he's creating or perpetuating any type of charade. I'm not even sure how you got that conclussion. I guess you might've "listened" to Vodoo & didn't quite hear it. 

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The charade point I was getting at is that I think he's lazy, as well as scared of what everyone's going to think of him. That's why there's only been two albums, and he's using the "I'm a perfectionist" mask to cover up for it.
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Maybe you have a point about Voodoo. Some days I love it, other days not so much (honestly, I can only decipher a portion of what he says because he's mumbling, but I love the music itself and the vocal harmonies). I'll just chalk that up to me still not being of age to understand.

To even mention Detox in this conversation demonstrates a lack of understanding unless you're trying to illustrate someone taking his sweet old time. 

I mentioned Detox/Dre because that's how I look at this third album. I got tired of waiting and keeping my hopes high for Detox, and I just stopped caring (and it seems that's how most on NT feel about Detox as well). That's how I feel about D'Angelo and this "album." If it ever drops cool. If not, well then it I wasn't  holding my breath over it ever releasing.

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You may have musical dreams all the time, but what have you accomplished? Aside from sounding cynical & snide? I don't understand a comment like & what it has to do with this conversation. 

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]He keeps mentioning these Marvin Gaye dreams as if they mean something.  As if Marvin was trying to speak to him. In my eyes, that looks as if D is trying to say it's his destiny to be the next Marvin, and if that's the case that's just another example of writing a check he knows he can't cash.[/font]

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you equate artistry with volume. Just because he has the 2 albums (3 if you count the Live At The Jazz Cafe release - an import back then) doesn't lessen his place among the greats.

I definitely have a tendency to place quantity over quality. Prince has practically released an album almost every year since 78. Stevie released 7 during his creative apex ('72-'81). Hell even Marvin who was notorious for taking too long still managed to release 5 between '71-'81 before cocaine began to get the best of him. But that was a different time in music though. 

 

[bigmike23]

 

 

[ruxxx]

Ya'll are getting BUSY in here!

When I saw my man psk mention Shuggie Otis I couldn't even remember what I was gonna say about D'Angelo.

You caught me off guard with that one.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Joe Cool -
D'Angelo obviously has demons hence his addiction problems. While I can't say rule out that he's in fear of the weight of being a great artist or not living up to your perceived hype, I personally have doubts this is in any consideration of neurosis for D'Angelo. I think if there's one thing that he's confident in, it's his musically ability.

I'm not sure how your coming to your conclussions with his Marvin Gaye dreams, but it's quite clear you don't consider D'Angelo a great & that's fine. Also, If you place quantity over quality, then you must not consider Otis Redding a great too. His career didn't being until 1960 (really 1962) & he died in 1967.

Ruxxx-
What caught you off guard about Shuggie Otis? Most cats don't even know who this dude is...

 

[ruxxx]

Originally Posted by psk2310


Ruxxx-
What caught you off guard about Shuggie Otis? Most cats don't even know who this dude is...

That's what it is. Most heads don't know who he is so to see him mentioned on NT had me like

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[160jordansdeep]

as long as he gets off the hard drugs and stop's picking up street hookers

hes going to be at the top of the living r n b legends that's where D'angelo place is at