D’Angelo's Voodoo hit #1

Voodoo D’Angelo

Released: January 25, 2000 Charted: February 12, 2000 Peak: 12 US, 14 RB, 21 UK, 7 CN Sales (in millions): 1.7 US, 0.1 UK, 1.8 world (includes US and UK) Genre: R&B

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Playa Playa Devil’s Pie (10/31/98, 69a RB) Left & Right [with Method Man & Redman] (11/6/99, 70 US, 18 RB) The Line Send It On (4/29/00, 30a RB) Chicken Grease One Mo’gin The Root Spanish Joint Feel Like Makin’ Love Greatdayndaymornin’/ Booty Untitled (How Does It Feel) (1/8/00, 17a US, 1 RB) Africa Total Running Time: 78:54

Rating: 4.119 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings) Quotable: “The ultimate achievement of the neo-soul era” – Rolling Stone Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: D’Angelo emerged on the scene in 1995 with Brown Sugar, and album that “helped launch contemporary R&B.” AMG However, he became “disillusioned with the genre that had just anointed him a rising star. ‘I don’t consider myself an R&B artist,’ the then-26-year-old told Jet. ‘R&B is pop, that’s the new word for R&B.’ In his quest to create something new, he looked to both the masters of soul (Marvin, Curtis, Stevie) and contemporary innovators (Lauryn, Erykah). The end result was Voodoo, a moving, inventive masterpiece that stands as the ultimate achievement of the neo-soul era.” RS500 “His soulful voice is just as sweet as it was on Brown Sugar, though D’Angelo stretches out with a varied cast of collaborators.” AMG One of those is producer and drummer Questlove, who called the album a “vicarious fantasy.” RS500 The album also included “trumpeter Roy Hargrove and guitarist Charlie Hunter, fellow neo-soul stars Lauryn Hill and Raphael Saadiq, and hip-hop heads like DJ Premier, Method Man & Redman, and Q-Tip.” AMG “It must have been difficult to match his debut (and the frequent delays prove it was on his mind), but Voodoo is just as rewarding a soul album as D’Angelo’s first.” AMG “Voodoo places Pink Floyd-style cosmic jams (Playa Playa) next to Prince-inspired erotica (Untitled [How Does It Feel]).” RS500 At the time D’Angelo said, “I’m just looking at Voodoo as just the beginning…It took a while, but I’m on my way now.” RS500 He wouldn’t release another album for fourteen years.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for D’Angelo AMG All Music Guide review by John Bush RS500 Rolling Stone (9/22/2020). “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time” WK Wikipedia First posted 3/30/2008; last updated 4/20/2022.