It’s been 14 years since D’Angelo’s Voodoo became an R&B classic and the singer went MIA. Yet earlier this month Dave Chappelle told GQ that he was “sure [D’Angelo’s] still making music. It’s just a matter of whether or not he wants to share that with us or not.” That comment turned out to be quite prescient, because the singer did a surprise release of a full album, Black Messiah, on Sunday night. It’s reportedly inspired by Ferguson, among other struggles.
D’Angelo writes in the album’s liner notes that he intends it to be a political album:
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.
The rousing video promo can be seen above. You can listen to Black Messiah in full through Spotify, embedded below:
(Photo: Black Messiah Promo)
