Eight
years. While some say that’s a long time, for music lovers, eight years
is an eternity. Especially if it involves your favorite artist. While Michael Archer has made legal news in a courtroom near you, his musical alias D’Angelo is approaching Dr. Dre Detox levels as fans hold out for a new album. Eight years since the last D’Angelo
project dropped and the music still lingers. His presence and influence are felt among those who embrace that movement he started. Something
called Neo Soul. Still,
even the Neo disciples have to wonder what is going on with the man
behind it all and whether or not he will be able to sit atop of the R&B throne.And while no one has christened himself or herself ruler, we only need to listen to the talent around us to know that the soul is still alive. Question is, who stole the soulster? All the missing persons talk seems a far cry from when D’Angelo stood out among R. Kelly, Raphael Saadiq and a who’s who of ‘80s and ‘90s R&B heavyweights as the writer and producer of the Black Men United single “U
Will Know.” The talent was there, but with the veterans on hand for the
song and accompanying video, we couldn’t fully embrace the potential of
D’Angelo, let alone the movement he was about to usher in. Sure enough, the prophecy was fulfilled
on July 3, 1995. Although Brown Sugar arrived with little fanfare, the
album spawned a slew of classic material. Whether it was the slick ode
to marijuana on the title cut, shades of Smokey Robinson found on the
remake of “Cruisin’,” or the feeling of knowing you’ve found your soulmate after listening to “Lady,” D’Angelo proved that he had something to offer listeners. And let’s not even get into the realness of later tracks like “S**t, Damn, M****rf****r”
or “Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine.” It’s not often you hear music
that can stand alone without the required remix, but these tracks did
just that as we started getting acquainted with D’Angelo and his Neo Soul relatives Maxwell and Erykah Badu. There was no doubt that we had found a new soundtrack to live life to. And with that came a craving for the next D’Angelo
album. But like any artist with a healthy legion of fans, Mr. Archer
played the waiting game. And he played it well as the rules were
slightly bent with soundbites to hold us over. Movie soundtracks proved to be the perfect vehicle as D’Angelo
gave us original material (“Devils Pie” from Belly) and covers of past
hits (Eddie Kendricks’ “Girl You Need a Change of Mind” from Get on the
Bus
, Prince’s “She Always in My Hair from Scream 2 and the Ohio Players’ “Heaven Must Be Like This” from Down in the Delta). And through all of this, we discover a classic duet with Lauryn Hill (“Nothing Really Matters”) off the rap diva’s own stellar solo debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.A single here and there is good, but could lightning strike twice for D’Angelo? The doubts were put to rest five years later as Voodoo debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 charts after its January 11, 2000 release. Add to that the two Grammys the vocalist got in 2001 for Best R&B Album of the Year and Best R&BVocal Male Performance, and it would be safe to say that the sophomore
jinx was nowhere to be found. But the nail in the jinx coffin came with
Voodoo’s third single “Untitled (How Does it Feel?).” Although the song, which D’Angelo co-wrote with Saadiq,
illustrated Prince’s influence on the singer, it was the track’s video
that became the topic of many conversations among women. Featuring
nothing more than a half-naked and muscular D’Angelo, the clip elevated D’Angelo
to sex symbol status while making it hard for the average joe to not
think about hitting the gym in an effort to keep his woman from
thinking about somebody other than him when spending quality time. Needless to say, D’Angelo attained platinum status two months after Voodoo‘s release. No doubt. Life for the soul stirrer was good. Damn good. Then
something strange happened on the way to the Voodoo follow-up. Michael
Archer returned, along with a string of legal problems. The
year 2005 proved to be time of lows as the singer was charged with
possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and
driving while intoxicated in January. A guilty plea on the DUI and
marijuana charge resulted in a fine, suspended sentence and a revoked
driver’s license in April. Five months later, Archer answered to the
cocaine possession charge by receiving a three-year suspended sentence. Mugshots surfaced of a D’Angelo with very noticeable weight gain, slightly resembling a singer we once knew. And
if things couldn’t get worse, the crooner’s luck went from bad to worse
as he suffered bruised ribs and contusions after being ejected from an
SUV he was riding in a week after he was sentenced. Close to a year
later, a light seemed to be at the end of the tunnel as reports began
surfacing about Archer completing a stint in rehab on the island of
Antigua. D’Angelo
sightings were even spoken of as rumblings of work being done on a
follow up to Voodoo came to light in addition to a string of appearance
on albums from J. Dilla, Red, Hot and Riot, the RH Factor, Snoop Dogg and Common, who brought D’Angelo out of hiding to appear on “So Far to Go,” a song off his latest album Finding Forever. Despite
things looking up, Archer reemerged on Aug. 10, 2007 to appear in court
on charges related to the September 2005 car accident. The singer
pleaded guilty to reckless driving and driving with a suspended license.
As a result, he was fined $1,000, with $500 suspended, and sentenced
the crooner to nine days in jail -all suspended- and revoked his
license for 90 days on the suspended license charge.To add to the
misery, Archer was fined $1,500, with $750 suspended, sentenced him to
six months in jail -also suspended- and suspended his license for twelve
months on the DUI charge. Also dropped was a reckless driving charge. Despite the negative encounters with the law, D’Angelo offered a glimmer of hope for fans as he confirmed that new music is “in the works.”Still,
with no solid title or release date for the album, the future looks
questionable for any new D’Angelo music to arrive in stores. Maybe one day the
soul will return. Until then we’ll keep searching and listening to the past song stylings of the man who should be here to take us and R&B higher.
