''Brown Sugar'' is the debut studio album by American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist
D'Angelo
Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...
, released on July 3, 1995, through
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
. The album was recorded during 1994 and 1995 in sessions at Battery Studios and RPM Studios in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and at the Pookie Lab in
Sacramento
Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
. Its production, instrumentation, arrangements, and songwriting were primarily handled by D'Angelo, who employed both vintage recording equipment and modern electronic devices. The songs feature earnest lyrics about love and romance, set against a fusion of
contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...
and traditional
soul music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...
with elements of
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
,
quiet storm
Quiet storm is a radio format and genre of R&B, performed in a smooth, romantic, jazz-influenced style. It was named after the title song on Smokey Robinson's 1975 album '' A Quiet Storm''.
The radio format was pioneered in 1976 by Melvin Li ...
, and
hip hop music
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...
.
''Brown Sugar'' debuted at number six on the US ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Top R&B Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...
chart, selling 300,000 copies in its first two months. With the help of its four singles, it spent 65 weeks on the
''Billboard'' 200 chart and received
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
certification within a year of its release. ''Brown Sugar'' was also met with widespread acclaim and earned D'Angelo several accolades, including four
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nominations. Regarded by music journalists as a pivotal release in
neo soul
Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from Soul music, soul ...
, the album brought commercial exposure to the burgeoning musical movement amid the prominence of producer-driven, digitally approached R&B.
Background
By 1991, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael D'Angelo Archer had formed his native-
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
musical group—Michael Archer and Precise—and achieved success on the Amateur Night competition at
Harlem, New York
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan ...
's
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...
. Soon after, he
dropped out
Dropping out refers to leaving high school, college, university or another group for practical reasons, necessities, inability, apathy, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves.
Canada
In Canada, most ind ...
of school and moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
as an attempt to develop his own music career.
[D'Angelo: Biography](_blank)
''NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
''. Retrieved on January 28, 2009. The group had previously enjoyed some notice in Richmond, evenly dividing their repertoire between
soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
covers and originals, while D'Angelo accumulated compositions of his own and developed his songwriting skills.
The group's turnout on Amateur Night resulted in three consecutive wins and a cash prize,
after which, upon returning home to Richmond, D'Angelo was inspired to produce his own album and began composing material.
[Touré]
Untitled Document: D'Angelo, May 2000
''Rolling Stone''. Archived fro
on April 2, 2011.
After a brief tenure as a member of the
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
group I.D.U. (Intelligent, Deadly but Unique),
[H.W. Wilson Co. (2001), pp. 36–39.] D'Angelo signed a publishing deal with
EMI Music
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), c ...
in 1991 after catching the attention of record executives through a
demo tape
A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...
, which was originally by the group.
[Huey, Steve. D'Angelo: Biography ]Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
. Retrieved on January 28, 2009.[D'Angelo: Artist Bio](_blank)
MuchMusic
Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...
. Retrieved on January 28, 2009. After impressing EMI execs with a three-hour impromptu piano recital,
[Samuels, Allison]
Pop Music: A One-Man Soul Revival
''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
''. Retrieved on April 15, 2014. D'Angelo was signed to a recording contract in 1993.
[Oblender (2001), pp. 35–36.] A&R-man Gary Harris was primarily responsible for his signing,
[Peisner, David (2008)]
Body & Soul
''Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles
* Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'', pp. 64–72. while manager
Kedar Massenburg
William Henry "Kedar" Massenburg (born 1963) is an American record producer and music executive who served as president of Motown Records from 1997 to 2004. Massenburg is best known for discovering and cultivating American singer Erykah Badu, as w ...
helped negotiate the contract as well.
[Gale Staff (1998), pp. 138–139.] Massenburg became D'Angelo's manager after hearing of him through "the buzz on the streets".
He had previously managed hip hop group
Stetsasonic
Stetsasonic is an American hip hop band. Formed in 1981 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Stetsasonic was one of the first hip hop acts to perform with a full band and use live instrumentation in their recordings, paving the way for future ...
and formed the
artist management
A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager, or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists within the entertainment industry. The responsibility of a talent manager is to oversee the day- ...
-firm Kedar Entertainment in 1991, which he diversified into production, music publishing and publicity.
In 1994, his first significant success came in the form of the hit single "U Will Know".
D'Angelo co-wrote and co-produced the song for the all-male
R&B supergroup
Black Men United
Black Men United (B.M.U.) was a collaboration of many African-American male R&B, neo soul and soul music artists. Their only song " U Will Know", written by a young D'Angelo, was released in 1994. It was featured in the film ''Jason's Lyric'', a ...
, which featured R&B singers such as
Brian McKnight
Brian Kainoa Makoa McKnight Sr. (born Brian Kelly McKnight; June 5, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, radio personality, and multi-instrumentalist. An Contemporary R&B, R&B performer, he is recognized for his strong ...
,
Usher,
R. Kelly,
Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...
,
Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to prominence as a vocalist and bassist for the R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, which he formed with h ...
and
Gerald Levert
Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an Americans, American singer-songwriter and Music Producer, producer. Levert performed with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon with the R&B vocal group, LeVert. Le ...
.
[D'Angelo Signed to RCA Music Group (J Records)](_blank)
PRWeb
Cision Ltd. is a public relations and earned media software company and services provider. The company is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Cision offers a portfolio of services including PRNewswire, PRW ...
. Retrieved on December 8, 2008. D'Angelo composed the music for "U Will Know", while his brother, Luther Archer, wrote the lyrics.
[Onnell (1997), pp. 103–105.] Originally featured on the soundtrack to the film ''
Jason's Lyric
''Jason's Lyric'' is a 1994 American romance film, romantic psychological drama, psychological Drama (film and television), drama film, written by Bobby Smith Jr., directed by Doug McHenry, who co-produced the film with George Jackson (producer), ...
'' (1994), the single peaked at number 5 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
and number 28 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
[ Jason's Lyric: Charts & Awards Allmusic. Retrieved on January 28, 2009.] The music video for "U Will Know" featured D'Angelo as the group's choir director; he reprised the role for the live performance of the song at the
Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards ceremony which honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the production company of '' Soul Train'', the program from which it takes its name, and ...
.
That same year, he wrote and produced the song "Overjoyed" for the
Boys Choir of Harlem
The Boys Choir of Harlem (also known as the Harlem Boys Choir) was a choir located in Harlem, New York City, United States. Its final performance was in 2007 and the group folded shortly thereafter due to several controversies, including a larg ...
,
which appeared on their studio album ''The Sound of Hope'' (1994).
[Amazon.com: The Sound of Hope](_blank)
Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved on February 1, 2009. The success of "U Will Know" helped build the buzz surrounding D'Angelo, which was followed by a number of highly promoted performance showcases, and added to the buzz among
music industry
The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...
insiders.
Recording and production
After his successful performance with his group Precise at the Apollo Theater in 1991, D'Angelo received a US
$ 500 check for his work at the venue and used most of it to purchase a
four-track recorder and a
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Mus ...
. At his mother's house in Richmond,
[Biography: D'Angelo](_blank)
''Rolling Stone''. Retrieved on January 29, 2009. he began writing and recording most of the material that would constitute ''Brown Sugar'' during 1991 and 1992.
Recording for the album took place during 1994 and 1995 at Battery Studios and RPM Studios in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, and at the Pookie Lab studio in
Sacramento, California
Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...
,
which served as the personal recording studio of R&B musician and record producer Raphael Saadiq.
[News Review: SN&R - Full gospeldelic](_blank)
Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Retrieved on February 3, 2009. Additional recording took place at Back Pocket Studios in New York City for the track "Cruisin'".
In contrast to the production style of contemporary R&B at the time, which featured predominant casting of well-known record producers for an artist's project, D'Angelo handled most of the album's production, as well as contributing all of the vocals.
Muze. Retrieved on February 3, 2009. While most of the production was handled by D'Angelo, other producers contributed as well, including Saadiq,
Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Ali Shaheed Muhammad (born August 11, 1970) is an American hip hop DJ, record producer, rapper and bass guitarist, best known as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. With Q-Tip (musician), Q-Tip and Phife Dawg (and sometimes Jarobi White), the grou ...
of
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,[Q-Tip< ...](_blank)
and studio engineer
Bob Power
Bob Power (born January 2, 1952) is an American two time Grammy Award–nominee and multi-platinum record producer, audio engineer, composer, arranger, performer, and music educator.
Early life
Power was born in Chicago, moved to Rye, New York, ...
.
D'Angelo's expertise and ability to play various instruments, including drums, saxophone, guitar, bass, and keyboards, aided him in the recording of ''Brown Sugar'',
as most of the album's instrumentation and production were credited to his name.
In a 1995 interview, he discussed the influence that musician
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
had on his approach to recording the album, stating "I was one of those guys who read the album credits and I realized that Prince was a true artist. He wrote, produced, and performed, and that's the way I wanted to do it."
For the album, D'Angelo and the production personnel utilized antiquated, vintage equipment, including
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
musical instruments and dated
effects box
An effects unit, effects processor, or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.
Common effects include distortion (music), distortion/overdrive, ...
es, as well as modern electronic devices such as
drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...
s and
computer
A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...
s.
Notable instruments used by D'Angelo were the
Fender Rhodes
The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...
electric piano and the
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...
.
[Norris, Chris.]
Review: ''Brown Sugar''
. ''New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
'': 81. July 17, 1995. The album was later
master
Master, master's or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
In education:
*Master (college), head of a college
*Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline
*Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...
ed by engineer Herb Powers Jr. at
The Hit Factory
The Hit Factory is a recording studio in New York City owned and operated by Troy Germano.
History
In 1969, songwriter Jerry Ragavoy opened a recording studio in New York City and named it ''The Hit Factory.'' On March 6, 1975, Edward Germano, ...
mastering studio in New York City.
Music
Born to a
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
-
minister father, D'Angelo was brought up to an early appreciation of
gospel music
Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...
, while his mother, a
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
enthusiast, introduced him to the musical complexities of trumpeter
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
and the funk and soul music of the 1970s.
In addition to old gospel records,
[Shapiro (2006), p. 103.] these factors inspired him during the making of ''Brown Sugar'', as D'Angelo drew upon his roots of traditional gospel and soul, and infused the sound of contemporary R&B and hip hop music to create a stylistically unique and soulful sound for the album.
The album has been noted by critics for its classic soul elements and influences,
as well as the sound of live instruments and organic grooves, which are reminiscent of the work of
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
and
Sly & the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1966 and active until 1983. Their work, which blended elements of funk, soul, psychedelic rock, gospel, and R&B, became a pivotal influence on subsequent Amer ...
.
[iTunes Store: Brown Sugar](_blank)
Apple Inc. Retrieved on February 8, 2009. Its production contrasts the producer-driven and digital approach of contemporary R&B at the time of its release.
[Wells, Chris]
''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.

The album's sound is prominently driven by keyboards, sensual vocals, and smooth melodies,
[Farley (2002), pp. 56–57.] while it evokes the work of such artists as
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
,
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...
,
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
,
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he ...
and
the Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...
.
[Barnes & Noble: Brown Sugar](_blank)
Barnesandnoble.com llc. Retrieved on February 8, 2009. The
quiet storm
Quiet storm is a radio format and genre of R&B, performed in a smooth, romantic, jazz-influenced style. It was named after the title song on Smokey Robinson's 1975 album '' A Quiet Storm''.
The radio format was pioneered in 1976 by Melvin Li ...
-love song "
Cruisin'", a cover of Robinson's 1979 hit of the same name, features a predominant string section.
[Shapiro (2006), p. 104.] Along with the album's modern aesthetic and vintage texture,
''Brown Sugar'' also encompasses the sounds of the blues, gospel and jazz in a contemporary fashion.
According to music journalist
Peter Shapiro, "Lady" uses "the jazzy hallmarks of bohemian soul to emphasize the singer's insecurity".
Most of the songs on the album have a stripped-down feel, without complex orchestrations, and have heavy drum beats and bass lines, which are accompanied by electric piano riffs and minimal guitar work.
Music writer
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
finds ''Brown Sugar'' to be "bass-driven rather than voice-led".
Vocals
D'Angelo's singing throughout ''Brown Sugar'' is a gospel-influenced,
falsetto
Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ...
croon
A crooner is a singer who performs with a smooth, intimate style that originated in the 1920s. The crooning style was made possible by better microphones that picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to acce ...
ing style,
which critics have compared the singing of Prince,
Al Green
Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...
,
Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...
, and
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...
.
[Jon Caramanica et al. Hoard (2004), p. 210.] Despite the album's retro influence, music writers have noted his delivery as having a hip hop approach and "
swagger
A swagger or swagga is a swaggering gait.
Swagger also may refer to:
* Swagger or swagman, a transient labourer in Australia and New Zealand
* Swagger (software), a specification for defining the interface of a REST web service
* Swagger Creek, ...
", as one critic described the album as a "blend of classic soul and urban attitude".
Another writer described the album's vibe as "sultry" and D'Angelo's vocal delivery as "sly".
[Vibe.com: VIBE 150 R&B](_blank)
Vibe Media Group, Inc. on February 8, 2009. Music journalist
Jon Caramanica
Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music.
Biography
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Caramanica received his bachelor's degree ...
later called D'Angelo a "classicist, in other words, cloaked in the guise of a hip-hop roughneck."
Shapiro viewed the vocal production as similar to that of Prince's ''
Sign o' the Times
''Sign o' the Times'' (often stylized as ''Sign "☮︎" the Times'') is the ninth studio album by the American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was first released on March 31, 1987, as a double album by Paisl ...
'' (1987).
The album's closing track "Higher" features D'Angelo's organ set to a choir of his overdubbed vocals,
while "Jonz in My Bonz", which compares love to an addiction, features D'Angelo's falsetto moans overdubbed in an array for effect.
According to D'Angelo, the hip hop influence present on the album "came from the
Native Tongues
The Native Tongues was a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats. Its principal mem ...
movement -
Tribe Called Quest,
Gang Starr
Gang Starr was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo, consisting of Houston-born record producer DJ Premier and Boston-based rapper Guru (rapper), Guru.
Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2003, and is considered a widely influential MC-and-pr ...
and
Main Source
Main Source was a Canadian-American East Coast hip hop group based in New York City/Toronto, composed of Toronto-born DJs and producers, K-Cut and Sir Scratch, as well as the New York City natives, DJ J.O.D and record producer Large Professor ...
."
The title track features the most hip hop influence on the album, as Ali Shaheed Muhammad's co-production for the song developed a seamless integration of hip hop beats into D'Angelo's old school-influenced material.
The vocal delivery on the track resembles the flow of most emcees at the time.
In a 1995 interview, D'Angelo cited hip hop artists
Rakim
William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim (), is an American rapper. He is one half of Golden age hip-hop, golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: ''Paid in Full ...
and
KRS-One
Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...
as one of his greatest influences, and explained his affinity with rapping, stating "All rap is street soul. They just have a different method."
Lyrics
With the exception of the title track, a thinly veiled ode to smoking marijuana, most of the album's material consists of traditional
romance
Romance may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
s and
love song
A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...
s, in the style of classic soul music.
The lyrical content of the album closer, "Higher", combines the spiritual love of God and the carnal love of a woman, and is similar to the lyricism of Prince,
[MusicCity.org: Brown Sugar](_blank)
Music City. Retrieved on January 29, 2009. who has been noted by music writers for exploring the "eternal dichotomy" of spirituality and sexuality.
Music writers have noted the lyrical "openness" of the album, along with qualities of honesty and "earnestness" in D'Angelo's songwriting,
[Eventful: D'Angelo - Bio](_blank)
Eventful, Inc. Retrieved on February 1, 2009. in comparison to most contemporary R&B at the time.
"Alright" deals with the consequences of a relationship and reassurance of its security.
[MVRemix Album Reviews: D'Angelo - Brown Sugar](_blank)
MVRemix Media. Retrieved on January 29, 2009. "Shit, Damn, Motherfucker" was cited by Shapiro as "the nastiest cheating song since that hoary old standard of 60s rock, '
Hey Joe
"Hey Joe" is a song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and been performed in many musical styles by hundreds of different artists. The lyrics are from the point of view of a man on the run and planning to escape to Mexico after sho ...
'",
It features a string of emphatic
interjection
An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling, situation or reaction. It is a diverse category, with many different types, such as exclamations ''(ouch!'', ''wow!''), curses (''da ...
s (the chorus line "
shit
''Shit'' is an English-language profanity. As a noun, it refers to fecal matter, and as a verb it means to defecate; in the plural ("the shits"), it means diarrhea. ''Shite'' is a common variant in British and Irish English. As a slang ...
,
damn
Damnation (from Latin '' damnatio'') is the concept of divine punishment after death for sins that were committed, or in some cases, good actions not done, on Earth.
In Ancient Egyptian religious tradition, it was believed that citizens would ...
,
motherfucker
''Motherfucker'' (; ), sometimes abbreviated as ''mofo'', ''mf'', or ''mf'er'', is an English-language vulgarism. It is a form of the profanity ''fuck''. In common usage, it is rarely used to refer to one person having intercourse with a wo ...
" describes his reaction)
and rhetorical questions by the narrator after walking in on his wife and his best friend in bed together.
Music critic
Christopher John Farley
Christopher John Farley (born July 28, 1966) is a Jamaican-born American journalist, columnist, and author.
Early life
Farley was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in New York. He is a graduate of Brockport High School and Harvard Universi ...
described the chorus as a "little like the
Fuhrman tapes, with a beat",
while
Mark Anthony Neal
Mark Anthony Neal is an American author and academic. He is the Professor of Black Popular Culture in the Department of African and African-American Studies at Duke University, where he won the 2010 Robert B. Cox Award for Teaching. Neal has writt ...
found the song to be "drenched with Marvin Gaye’s paranoia."
[PopMatters: D'Angelo - Voodoo](_blank)
PopMatters.com. Retrieved on February 1, 2009.
Marketing and sales
''Brown Sugar'' was released on July 3, 1995, by
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
. The album debuted at number six on the US ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Top R&B Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...
chart in the week of July 22, 1995. It ultimately peaked at number four in the week of February 24, 1996, and spent a total of 54 weeks on the chart.
[ Chart History: D'Angelo - R&B/Hip-Hop Albums ''Billboard''. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.] ''Brown Sugar'' also spent 65 weeks on the
''Billboard'' 200 and peaked at number 22 on the chart.
[ Chart History: D'Angelo - Billboard 200 ''Billboard''. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.] It sold 300,000 copies within its two months of release. The album had been selling 35,000 to 40,000 copies a week through to November 1995,
and by January 1996, it had sold 400,000 copies. With the help of its four singles, including the
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
-certified, half-million-selling
''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit "Lady" and
R&B top-ten singles "Brown Sugar" and "Cruisin'",
the album reached sales of 500,000 copies in the United States by October 1995.
[Ayers, Anne.]
D'Angelo Cruisin' Through His First Tour
''USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'': 14.D. November 1, 1995.[Gold & Platinum - Searchable Database: Brown Sugar](_blank)
. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.
In late 1995, D'Angelo toured in promotion of the album, and his concert at
The Jazz Café
The Jazz Cafe is a music venue in Camden Town, London. It opened in 1990 on the former premises of a branch of Barclays Bank and has had several owners throughout its history as a music venue.
The venue holds 450 people across both floors.
...
in London produced the 1996 live album ''
Live at the Jazz Cafe
''Live at the Jazz Cafe'' is a live album by American R&B and neo soul musician D'Angelo, released on June 30, 1998, on EMI Records. It was later released in Japan on December 7, 1999, with a bonus track. The live recordings are taken from D'An ...
''. On February 7, 1996, ''Brown Sugar'' was certified platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
, following shipments in excess of one million copies in the U.S.
The album was certified gold in Canada on May 9, 2000.
[Search Certification Database: Brown Sugar](_blank)
. Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to some of Canada's leadin ...
. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. Its total sales have been estimated by several sources within the range of 1.5 million to over two million copies.
''Brown Sugar'' was re-released as a two-disc deluxe edition on August 25, 2017, by
Virgin
Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
and
Universal Music Enterprises
Universal Music Enterprises (UME, stylized as UMe) is the catalogue division of Universal Music Group. It includes Hip-O Records, Universal Chronicles, and UM3 or UMC (which is the international division of the company). Under various divisions, ...
. The reissue featured remastering by
Russell Elevado
Russell Elevado (born 1966 in the Philippines) is a recording engineer and record producer based in New York City.
Description
Russell Elevado is a multi-Grammy award-winning record producer and recording engineer, born in the Philippines in 19 ...
, a 20-page booklet essayed by
Nelson George
Nelson George (born September 1, 1957) is an American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Biography
George attended St. John's Universit ...
, and 21 additional songs. The bonus material included instrumentals,
a cappella
Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
versions, and remixes by CJ Mackintosh,
Dallas Austin
Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, and film producer from Columbus, Georgia.
Biography
Early life
During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfir ...
,
King Tech
Rod Sepand (born June 30, 1968), better known professionally as King Tech, is an American DJ, B-boy, VJ and audio engineer. He is one half of the duo Sway & King Tech.
Career
DJ King Tech began his career in the hip hop scene as a B-Boy in th ...
,
Erick Sermon
Erick Sermon (born November 25, 1968) is an American rapper and producer. He is best known as one-third—alongside PMD & DJ Scratch—of 1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for his production work.
Early life
Erick Sermon was born on November ...
, and
Incognito
Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity".
Incognito may also refer to:
Film and television Film
* ''Incognito'', a 1915 film featuring Rae Berger
* ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Dan ...
; seven of the 21 additional songs had never been released before commercially, while the others were previously available only on vinyl.
Critical reception and legacy
''Brown Sugar'' was acclaimed by contemporary
music critic
'' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...
s.
Martin Johnson of the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' praised D'Angelo's fusing of "elements of Prince, early '70s Smokey Robinson and post-Woodstock Sly and the Family Stone".
''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' wrote that "D'Angelo's downbeat world blurs the borders..., kicking over the traces of the genre game".
''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine's
Christopher John Farley
Christopher John Farley (born July 28, 1966) is a Jamaican-born American journalist, columnist, and author.
Early life
Farley was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in New York. He is a graduate of Brockport High School and Harvard Universi ...
said that D'Angelo's austere sound on the album serves as a reminder of the 1970s' musical atmosphere, but updated for listeners in the 1990s.
[Farley, Christopher John]
Review: ''Brown Sugar''
''Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''. Retrieved on February 1, 2009. In his review for ''
Vibe
Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing.
Vibe may also refer to:
People
* DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ
* Lasse Vibe (b ...
'', James Hunter wrote that he is "determined to give pre-hip hop forms like blues, soul, gospel, and jazz a mid-'90s vibe", and "inhabits his songs from odd angles, without non-stop Vandross-style aural showmanship."
[Hunter, James.]
Review: ''Brown Sugar''
. ''Vibe
Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing.
Vibe may also refer to:
People
* DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ
* Lasse Vibe (b ...
'': 125. August 1995. ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine's
Cheo H. Coker praised ''Brown Sugar'' for its soulful sound and musical deviation from the
New Jack
Jerome Young (January 3, 1963 – May 14, 2021) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name New Jack. He was best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he became notorious for his willingn ...
-style of R&B at the time, stating:
Despite calling it "lyrically a bit simple",
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo Music was a brand under which Yahoo provided music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008.
Pro ...
's Jeff Watson commended D'Angelo for his musicianship and wrote that his "marvelous voice and smooth instrumentation complement his solid songwriting skills".
[Watson, Jeff]
Review: ''Brown Sugar''
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo Music was a brand under which Yahoo provided music services including Internet radio, a digital music store, music streaming service, media player software, and original programming. Yahoo Music was sold to Rhapsody in early 2008.
Pro ...
. Retrieved on July 9, 2009. Having been lukewarm toward the record in a contemporary review for ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'',
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
later wrote in ''
MSN Music
''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008.
History
...
'' that he "wasn't surprised to have warmed to it ... D'Angelo's concentration is formidable, his groove complex yet primal."
The song "Brown Sugar" was nominated for the 1996
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes:
*In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male
*From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B ...
and
Best R&B Song
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record five times, while Ba ...
. The album was also nominated for
Best R&B Album
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the Contemporary R&B, R&B mus ...
. "Lady" was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes:
*In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male
*From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B ...
.
It was also ranked number 21 on ''The Village Voice''s 1995
Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...
critics' poll
and number 12 in ''
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...
''s annual critics' poll.
Since its initial reception, the album's sound has been dubbed as "neo soul".
[Shapiro (2006), p. 105.] D'Angelo's commercial breakthrough with ''Brown Sugar'' has been credited by writers and music critics for providing commercial visibility to the emerging neo soul movement of the mid-1990s, as well as inspiration behind the coinage of the term ''neo soul''.
[Mitchell, Gail.]
Soul Resurrection: What's So New About Neo-Soul?
. ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'': 30, 36. June 1, 2002. The term was originally coined by Kedar Massenburg to market D'Angelo's music, as well as work by
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
,
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American musician. She is celebrated as one of the most influential musical artists of her generation. Hill is credited with breaking barriers for female rappers, contributing to the popular music, m ...
, and
Maxwell
Maxwell may refer to:
People
* Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist
* Justice Maxwell (disambiguation)
* Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of N ...
.
In a 1996 article for the ''Chicago Tribune'', critic Greg Kot cited ''Brown Sugar'' as "arguably where the current soul revival started".
''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
''s Steve Jones wrote that the album "paved the way for innovative albums by Maxwell,
Tony Rich
Antonio Jeffries (born November 19, 1971), better known as Tony Rich and The Tony Rich Project, is an American Grammy-award-winning Contemporary singer-songwriter best known for his hit single " Nobody Knows".
Early career
Rich was born in De ...
and
Eric Benet
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Nor ...
". Yahoo! Music's Jeff Watson wrote that the album "single-handedly revitalized the creatively-dormant R&B scene".
Robert Christgau has dubbed it a "modern wellspring" for neo soul.
''
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
* Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi
* '' ...
'' ranked it number 97 on its "100 Modern Classics" list, and ''Rolling Stone'' included ''Brown Sugar'' on its list of "Essential Recordings of the 90's".
In 2020, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the album at number 183 on their updated list of the
500 Greatest Albums of All Time
5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number.
Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs.
Mathematics
5 is a Fermat pri ...
.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.
[Track listing and credits as per liner notes for Brown Sugar album]
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Singles
Certifications
See also
* ''
Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
''Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite'' is the debut album by American R&B singer-songwriter Maxwell. It was recorded in 1994 and 1995 and released on April 2, 1996, by Columbia Records.
Maxwell largely wrote and produced the album himself, recording i ...
''
* ''
Road to Freedom''
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
1995 debut albums
D'Angelo albums
EMI Records albums
Albums produced by Raphael Saadiq