D’ANGELO AND THE VANGUARD
Black Messiah
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Return of the Messiah.
AT FACE value, Black Messiah is a huge disappointment to the D’Angelo fan. It’s nothing like the acclaimed Voodoo and it almost feels like the 14-year wait was for naught.
But if you forget what you think you know about the neo-soul deity then you will realise that you have a masterpiece in your hands. It’s like the time Maxwell returned with BLACKsummerNights after a seven-year wait.
The first thing you have to do is browse through the album’s booklet and see what was on D’Angelo’s mind at the conception of this CD. He distances himself from the notion that he is a self-proclaimed Messiah (or saviour).
He clears the air further by stating that the project is not a religious one but rather it is mostly political. Then he defines Black Messiah as a feeling in all of us when we collectively fight injustices, quoting the Ferguson, US, and Egyptian uprisings.
Essentially, this is not a sexually charged neo-soul project, but a thought-provoking piece of art. Think of any Picasso artwork.
To the untrained eye, it is basically bad child-like doodles, but to the art enthusiast there is more to it. It is more sophisticated than most contemporary pieces.
Like the audible canvases painted by his peers like Keite Young, N’dambi and Ledisi, D’Angelo’s work is not for the club or hip hop-plagued radio for that matter.
In songs like 1000 Deaths, where the track begins with a part of a Black Panther Party recording (Rick Ross-style) after the killing of then party president Fred Hampton, D’Angelo attempts to merge the anger then to what’s going on in America today.
On Voodoo, D’Angelo was popular for that chiselled torso he showed off. However, although he lost his Spartan body over the years, and recently regained it, on Back From the Future Part 1 he seems to despise being liked for his body, not his music.
The sound of the album is a bit of everything from funk to jazz with a live feel. This is no surprise since D’Angelo played the guitar and roped in The Roots’ Questlove on drums. You will get it if you are meant to, if not, then pick something simpler like One Direction. – Munya Vomo