With only three days lead time, D'Angelo's first album in 14 years finally dropped onto iTunes, Spotify, and Google on Monday at midnight. "Black Messiah" is D'Angelo's much-anticipated follow up to Voodoo.
D'Angelo's band, The Vanguard, once again collaborated on the album with the R&B Jesus. Many fans are still rubbing their eyes and ears to make sure they aren't dreaming and that they are actually listening to new music by D'Angelo for the first time in almost a decade and a half.
A listening party was held for "Black Messiah" on Sunday in New York. D'Angelo distributed pamphlets with his lyrics printed on them, and the album's first single, "Sugah Daddy," was officially released on Redbull's 20 before 15 to commemorate the skills of 20 artists in 20 days before we reach 2015.
According to D'Angelo, the title of the album has no connection to religion, or some self-proclamation of greatness.
"For me, the title is about all of us. It's about the world. It's about an idea we can all aspire to. We should all aspire to be a Black Messiah. It's about people rising up in Ferguson and in Egypt and in Occupy Wall Street and in every place where a community has had enough and decides to make change happen. It's not about praising one charismatic leader but celebrating thousands of them. Not every song on this album is politically charged (though many are), but calling this album 'Black Messiah' creates a landscape where these songs can live to the fullest. 'Black Messiah' is not one man. It's a feeling that, collectively, we are all that leader," he explained passionately.
Artists who have worked with D'Angelo have called him a perfectionist. In recent years, many have often said that his third album was already 97 percent complete, and yet another year rolled by and fans still didn't have a new D'Angelo album.
It seems the years of waiting and tweaking every single note, harmony, overdub, and mixing paid off. Music critics and fans have already been praising the "intricate details" that D'Angelo poured into every track and are hailing D'Angelo's third album as a masterpiece.
