D’Angelo – Voodoo – CD

Sexy D’Angelo kisses goodbye to the mainstream with his eagerly awaited follow-up to his raw, rootsy R&B debut, Brown Sugar. Voodoo’s mission is to electrify and revolutionise B-boy R&B through a synthesis of urban blues and funk–hand-clap snares, seething seven string jazzy guitar and beats so dirty that your mother wouldn’t have them in the house. He’s helped no end by an immensely stark production courtesy of Amir “?Questlove” Thompson from The Roots (Do You Want More ) and DJ Premier (Gang Starr) which lets the music breathe. However, his multi-tracked, gorgeous voice is the star attraction here, evoking vintage Prince, Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, with the lyrics being top-notch lessons in lust. The 13 cuts’ range from the juke-joint “Playa Playa” with it’s heave-ho horn arrangement courtesy of trumpeter, Roy Hargrove, Roberta Flack soul classic, “Feel like Makin’ Love” guest starring the Queen of hip-hop soul, Lauryn Hill to “Send it On” which owes major props to the Purple One. “Devil’s Pie” is a monster jazz-soul tune full of licks and tricks that should guarantee a little dance floor dementia and for confused novices, there’s hip-hop slammer, “Left and Right” featuring Method Man and Redman. Moody and cool, this is perfect for locking the world away on a long, hot night. This is definitely one for the ladies and those boys with good taste.

1 Playa Playa
2 Devil’s Pie
3 Left And Right (feat. Method Man And Redman)
4 The Line
5 Send It On
6 Chicken Grease
7 One Mo’gin
8 The Root
9 Spanish Joint
10 Feel Like Makin’ Love
11 Greatdayndamornin’/Booty (Medley)
12 Untitled (How Does It Feel)
13 Africa