Sam Johnson

MUSC-1010-408-Sp15
D'Angelo
Biography
Michael Eugene Archer is an American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter who goes by
the name D'Angelo. His professional career started in 1991, and has continued through the
present with his latest album release in December of 2014. His albums have received strong
critical acclaim, including 6 Grammy Award nominations and 2 wins. His first two albums are
considered classics in the genre.
D'Angelo was born on February 11, 1974, and was raised in a Pentecostal family with his
father serving as a preacher. His began playing music very early in life, starting piano at age 3.
He dropped out of high school to move to New York City, pursuing a music career. In 1991 he
signed a publishing deal with EMI Music, and signed a recording contract with them after a
three-hour impromptu piano recital for a record executive (Newsweek). His first album Brown
Sugar was released in June 1995.
Brown Sugar debuted at number six on the US Billboard Top R&B Albums chart in July of
1995, and peaked at number 4, spending a total of 54 weeks on the chart. It was certified
platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America after shipping over one million copies
on February 7, 1996. Critically Brown Sugar received great acclaim. Time's music reviewer
Christopher Farley talks about how Brown Sugar channels iconic artists from the 70s, adapting
their sound for a 90s audience:
What makes soul singer-producer-instrumentalist D'Angelo's new album, Brown
Sugar, so winning is that he doesn't so much take the listener back to the '70s as
update the musical spirit of that time for '90s listeners. His songs have the
seductive textures of the R.-and-B. hits of the '70s, evoking Marvin Gaye and the
Isley Brothers, but D'Angelo's style is spare and restrained. (Time)

Along with recalling style from a past era, D'Angelo was lauded for his musicianship,
voice, and instrumentation. Coker Cheo opined on D'Angelo's influence in his genre:
...he's shattering the conventional definition of "black music." It doesn't have to be
a lackluster genre in which format, not content, determines heavy rotation. Brown
Sugar is a reminder of where R&B has been and, if the genre is to resurrect its
creative relevance like a phoenix rising from the ashes, where it needs to go.
(Rolling Stone)
After the successful release of Brown Sugar, D'Angelo went on a four and a half year
hiatus from the solo releases. His next album Voodoo was released in the year 2000. Voodoo
debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, and sold 320,000 copies in its first week.
In 2001 Voodoo won a Grammy Award for best R&B Album.
Voodoo's third single, Untitled (How Does It Feel) was the album's most successful
single. Its music video boosted the song's appeal, and turned D'Angelo into a sex symbol.
Billboard wrote about Untitled (How Does It Feel) in a singles review:
D'Angelo, muscularly cut and glistening, is shot from the hips up, naked, with just
enough shown to prompt a slow burning desire in most any woman who sees it.
The video alone could make the song one of the biggest of the coming year.
(Billboard)
After the release and tour of Voodoo, D'Angelo took another extended sabbatical from
2000 through 2012. In 2012 he scheduled 11 concerts in Europe, and appeared at the
Bonnaroo Music Festival. He released his third studio album, Black Messiah, in December of
2014. Black Messiah received critical praise, and currently has a 95/100 on the review
aggregator Metacritic.
Untitled (How Does It Feel)
Untitled (How Does It Feel) has two versions, the album version and edited release. The
album version is 7:10 long, and the radio edit has a running length of 4:22. It was written by

D'Angelo and cowritten by Raphael Saadiq, originally as a tribute to the musician Prince. Rolling
Stone magazine named it the fourth best single of 2000, and the fifty-first best song of the
2000s. The song is in 6/8, with a BPM of about 112 eighth notes. The dotted quarter pulses at a
very slow but steady 37 BPM. The instrumentation is sparse, giving a lot of room for improv from
all musicians. The buildup and release of tension present as a result of the overlying form of most
songs is achieved in each individual section of Untitled.
0:00: Drum introduction
The song begins with drummer Questlove on a drum introduction.
0:10: Instrumental introduction
At 0:10 the other instruments, bass, guitar, and piano join to play a 8 bar introduction,
with the bass and piano comping on the theme that will be featured for the rest of the song, and
the guitar soloing.
0:35: Verse 1
Guitar drops to an occasional rhythmic feature and D'Angelo sings the melody. Quiet
dynamic. Each verse is 16 measures.
1:32 Chorus 1
8 Measures, introducing the How Does It Feel vocal theme. This gives a lot of space for a
secondary vocal improvisation on top of the chorus riff.
2:00 Verse 2
Same chord progression as first verse, with D'Angelo continuing with an improvisatory
style singing of different words. This goes for another 16 measures.
2:55 Chorus 2
This chorus is 16 measures, repeating How Does It Feel over and over.
3:47: Bridge
The bridge changes the harmonic structure, and showcases the guitar with a heavy riff to
give the song some weight and change. While the rest of the song is very spacey and allowing
for improv, the bridge begs for a little more structure. This goes for 8 measures.
4:10 Instrumental break.
This is a verse-like instrumental break, with D'Angelo's voice functioning as an instrument,
with the lyrics not mattering as much as the intent in his voice's high falsetto cry. This goes for
24 measures, repeating the basic verse progression 3 times.
5:35 Buildup
On the 4th repeat of the 8 bar verse progression, D'Angelo uses a long crescendo,

building with intensity and turning into a high pitched Prince style scream, which brings us to...
5:54 Chorus 3/Outro
...the third chorus/outro. The How Does It Feel vocal theme repeats with the choir in the
background, while D'Angelo bares his soul about how much he wants to be with the girl this
song is about. It cuts off after 23 measures, unresolved.
Another Life
Black Messiah, D'Angelo's newest record, closes with a track called Another Life.
Another Life is 5:59 long, and was produced by D'Angelo and Questlove, the drummer from the
band The Roots. Another Life has lyrics about unrequited love, with a chorus of Oh, in another
life, I bet you wouldn't know that Oh, in another life, I bet you were my girl. The verse lyrics
imply that D'Angelo is singing to someone who may already be his friend, but he isn't presently
in a romantic situation with. He opines about how he could get her to be his girl.
Another Life was premiered during D'Angelo's European tour of 2012, and released in
studio quality with the rest of Black Messiah on December 15, 2014.
0:00 Introduction
The intro sets the tempo and time signature that will be used for the rest of the song, 4/4
at about 73 BPM. It varies between a traditional 4/4 beat and emphasizing just the 1 and 3,
holding half notes, changing chords on each new note.
0:18 Verse 1
D'Angelo sings mostly in a high falsetto, his characteristic style. The verse has a 4 bar
instrumental chord progression that basically loops for the duration. The verse lasts 16 bars.
1:08 Pre Chorus 1
There is a short pre chorus, to give some space between the instrumentally similar verse
and chorus.
1:22 Chorus 1
A backing choir comes in and sings the chorus melody, with D'Angelo doubling their
melody.
1:52 Verse 2
The background choir continues, singing ohs, unlike the first verse.
2:42 Pre Chorus 2

Another 4 bars of pre chorus to give more separation between verse and chorus.
2:56 Chorus 2
In this chorus D'Angelo again doubles the background choir's line for the most part, but
occasionally he will start separating from them and doing vocal acrobatics on top.
3:50 Pre Chorus 3
Another 4 bars. The pre chorus is the most consistently repetitive part of this song.
4:20 Instrumental Bridge
There is a quick 2 bar instrumental bridge before going back to the chorus.
4:28 Chorus 3
The chorus now repeats to the end, paralleling Untitled (How Does It Feel). D'Angelo is
very fond of a repetitive two or so line lyric, sung in a choral style, giving him room to sing on top
of it. Unlike the first 2 choruses, D'Angelo does not double the background vocalists, and
instead sings his own line on top, more imitating an instrument than adding lyrical necessity.
5:13 Outro
Repeating the music of the intro, D'Angelo adds some vocal oohs, and ends with a fade
out of the instruments.

Works Cited
Coker, Cheo H. "D'Angelo Brown Sugar Album Review." Rolling Stone. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May
2015.
Farley, Christopher John. "MUSIC: OLD SMOOTHY." Time. Time Inc., 18 Sept. 1995. Web. 08
May 2015.
Samuels, Allison. "Pop Music: A One-Man Soul Revival." Newsweek. N.p., 24 Sept. 1995. Web.
08 May 2015.
"Black Messiah." Metacritic. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2015.