D'Angelo
D'Angelo (born
February 11,
1974) is a
Richmond, Virginia-native
soul singer. He began performing as a young child, and recorded his debut album,
Brown Sugar, in
1995. The album was eventually a hit, though sales were sluggish at first, and helped kickstart the burgeoning nu-soul singers of the
1990s (along with Maxwell,
Erykah Badu and others). The album was a critical success as well, and appeared on many critics' "best of" lists for the year. In the five year gap between
Brown Sugar and the follow-up, D'Angelo appeared on several soundtracks, including
Belly ("Devil's Pie"), frequently singing
covers like "Girl You Need a Change of Mind" (Eddie Kendricks,
Get on the Bus), "She's Aways in My Mind" (
Prince,
Scream 2) and "Heaven Must Be Like This" (the Ohio Players,
Down in the Delta), as well as appearing on
Lauryn Hill's landmark
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. The much-delayed follow-up to
Brown Sugar,
Voodoo, was finally released in
2000 and debuted at #1. The lead single was "Untitled (How Does It Feel)", a huge R&B hit, buoyed by an innovative video feature a nude D'Angelo singing the song, with no accompaniment or ornamentation. He also performed "Be Here" (with Raphael Saadiq) from the Saadiq album
Instant Vintage. In 2003, D'Angelo got arrested.