Black Messiah (2014)

Black Messiah is the third studio album by the American musician D'Angelo, credited to D'Angelo and the Vanguard. Released on December 15, 2014, through RCA Records, more than fourteen years after his previous solo release Voodoo, it is D'Angelo's last album to be released during his lifetime. The album was produced and mostly written by D'Angelo, who collaborated with musicians including drummer Questlove, bassist Pino Palladino, guitarist Isaiah Sharkey, horn player Roy Hargrove, and singer and lyricist Kendra Foster. He pursued an entirely analog and murky funk sound for the record, lending comparisons to the 1971 Sly & the Family Stone album There's a Riot Goin' On.

Black Messiah was among 2014's most highly anticipated albums and was released to critical acclaim, later being ranked as one of the year's best albums. The album debuted at number 5 on the US Billboard charts and number 1 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, selling over 117,000 units in its first week. Black Messiah was promoted with the release of the single "Really Love" and a tour called The Second Coming. At the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, Black Messiah won Best R&B Album while "Really Love" won Best R&B Song and was nominated for Record of the Year.

Background

D'Angelo released his critically acclaimed album Voodoo on January 25, 2000. Towards the end of his worldwide tour in support of the album that same year, D'Angelo's personal issues towards performing had worsened. He became more conscious of and uncomfortable with his status as a sex symbol, and after the tour D'Angelo returned to his home in Richmond, Virginia, disappearing from the public eye. Following the suicide of his close friend, MTV-affiliate Fred Jordan, in April 2001, he started to develop an alcohol addiction. As his alcoholism escalated, plans for a live album and a Soulquarians studio effort, both originally set for after the tour, were scrapped, and impatient Virgin executives cut off funding for the expected 2004 solo album.

By 2005, D'Angelo's girlfriend had left him, his attorney had become displeased with him, and most of his family was out of touch with him. He also parted ways with manager Dominique Trenier and tour manager Alan Leeds. After a car accident and an arrest on DUI and marijuana possession charges, D'Angelo left Virgin Records in 2005 and checked into the Crossroads Centre rehabilitation clinic in Antigua. In 2005, his recording contract was acquired by J Records, following rumors of D'Angelo signing to Bad Boy Records. Despite no solo output, D'Angelo collaborated with some R&B and hip hop artists during his period between albums, appearing on other albums such as J Dilla's The Shining (2006), Snoop Dogg's Tha Blue Carpet Treatment (2006), Common's Finding Forever (2007), and Q-Tip's The Renaissance (2008).

Recording and production

D'Angelo's subsequent solo work was extensively delayed. Production for a full-length follow-up to Voodoo was stagnant, as he was working on and off mostly by himself during 2002. D'Angelo attempted to play every instrument for the project, striving for complete creative control similar to that of Prince. Russell Elevado described the resulting material as "Parliament/Funkadelic meets the Beatles meets Prince, and the whole time there's this Jimi Hendrix energy." However, those who previewed its songs found it to be unfinished. In the years that followed, D'Angelo's personal problems worsened, descending to drug and alcohol addiction. In January 2005 he was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and cocaine. Various mugshots began circulating around the time, showing the singer looking overweight and unhealthy, in stark contrast to the muscular D'Angelo seen in promotion for Voodoo. In September 2005, a week after being sentenced on the drug charges, he was involved in a car accident, and was rumoured to be critically injured. However, a week after the crash a statement was issued by D'Angelo's attorney saying he was "fine".

No more was revealed on the new album until 2007, when Questlove, D'Angelo's drummer and producer, leaked an unfinished track on Triple J Radio in Australia, entitled "Really Love". The leak allegedly soured relations between the two.

In 2009, D'Angelo's then-new manager Lindsay Guion, revealed plans for a new album, including collaborations with artists including Prince, Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, and John Mayer, and a summer tour, saying "He's able to smile again and he's ready to connect [with fans], he's coming back. And he looks great, by the way." As with the previous year, no tour or album materialized.