Send It On
Legacy and the Incalculable Influence of D'Angelo
A couple days after New Year’s Day of 2019, I checked into an emergency room in the middle of the night for chest pains and heart palpitations. I was working 30 hours a week for minimum wage, attending night classes in my graduate program, barely squeezing by on a limited income. I was questioning a lot of my post-grad choices and thinking of dropping out of graduate school as the degree seemed only to stymie my creativity. The walls of my small apartment felt suffocating in the night as I tossed and turned with arrhythmia — stress had worsened my condition to a point where I could no longer ignore it, which the doctors impressed upon me late that night.
It was around this time when D’Angelo released his first single in almost exactly five years, titled “Unshaken.” The song was to be featured on the soundtrack for the upcoming video game, Red Dead Redemption 2, of which D’Angelo was not only a massive fan, but an occasional playtester. The song is startlingly quiet with the artist singing in a much lower register than any of his other solo material, complimenting the muted guitar playing underneath and the echoes of egg shakers. It’s a ghastly tune in the best way, and it had me spooked worse than whatever was going on with my heart.
Still, I found myself enamored with this song, and it became the soundtrack to my recovery, playing before my feet hit the floor every morning. The track was deeply unnerving, yes, but also a defiant anthem in the face of incredible hardship, possibly alluding to D’Angelo’s struggles with his health, which we now know led to his early death. With hard data from my trip to the ER, it was clear I had to make a change in my life. “Unshaken” asks for permission to remain steadfast, but also questions a world where someone stands still as the times change — I kidded myself that D’Angelo was speaking to me about my next steps. I quit my job in favor of a better one. I recommitted myself to my creative work to make the best of my degree. I was sleeping better, and my heart was quiet for the first time in months. Maybe not unshaken, exactly, but shook in a new direction.
It feels cliché to say D’Angelo is a life-changing musician, but I wonder sometimes what might have happened that year without a song like “Unshaken.” His artistry had floored me five years previous when I heard Black Messiah for the first time as a college freshman, awaking me to a world where racial liberation sounded like the most complex, well-crafted, and movingly infectious music one could imagine. The album was of the moment, and led the way for an era of incredible albums: To Pimp A Butterfly, A Seat at the Table, Blonde, to name a few. It floored me again when I heard “Untitled (How Does it Feel)” for the first time, a song I consider as ranking high in the list of the top 10 best songs ever written. I was ravenous for more of D’Angelo’s work, and almost (almost!) found myself disappointed at how little had been released… only to discover every second of his discography was like the longest aged bourbons in their beautiful finishes.
Like many of the best artists, D’Angelo got his start behind-the-scenes, writing and composing for groups like Black Men United, where D’Angelo saw his first chart-topping writing credit in “U Will Know.” The following year, he released his debut solo album, Brown Sugar, which eventually hit number six on the Billboard charts. It is widely considered as the most influential neo-soul album of all time, the grandfather of the genre, in a way, and has been hanging on my wall since the Fall weather blew in. D’Angelo’s partner, Angie Stone, served as the inspiration for the album, and passed away six months prior to him. The two are immortalized performing live in the release of his show at the Jazz Cafe in London.
Writer’s block stopped D’Angelo from releasing any new solo music following his tour in support of Brown Sugar, but he released incredible covers of songs by Marvin Gaye, the Ohio Players, and more. He recorded songs for several soundtracks, including that monumental single “I Found My Smile Again,” that appeared on the Space Jam soundtrack. The hiatus eventually led to D’Angelo’s incredible Voodoo, released in 2000 and praised as his best work ever. The album forces the listener to actively engage with every word, as D’Angelo whispers his lines through most of the album and emphasizes the instrumentation beneath. D’Angelo saw immediate commercial and critical success, but also struggled with his image as a sex symbol because of the album. His personal issues with alcoholism and self-image led to another extended break from music following the Voodoo tour, although in the mid-2000s, he began to work on new music that occasionally found its way into his live shows.
After Black Messiah’s release in 2014, D’Angelo toured and then once again receded into his private life. He recorded an incredible track with Jay-Z for the wonderful film, Book of Clarence, and appeared on an installation of the COVID phenomenon, Verzuz, although as a standalone act (who could really hold a candle to D’Angelo’s discography, in the end?). Last year, he and Raphael Saadiq alluded to new material that would eventually coalesce into a fourth album, a plan that still seems to be taking shape even after D’s death.
In the past few months, it has felt as though we’ve been experiencing a resurgence of popularity in D’Angelo’s music, possibly because of the excitement around possible new music. Two of my favorite artists of the moment, Khamari and Elmiene, have cited his influence in their work. Khamari interpolates “Untitled (How Does it Feel)” in his gorgeous crooner, “Sycamore Tree,” indirectly introducing a whole new generation to D’Angelo’s work. His music touched fans, yes, but it also reached millions of musicians, a type of influence that is ineffable, maybe limitless. We’ll never know just how many people picked up a guitar, sang a melody, or hit the studio because of D’Angelo.
As for me, even without “Unshaken” my life would have been moved by D’Angelo — none of my favorite musicians exist without his legacy. He exemplified truth and persistence in the face of adversity, never quitting on his craft despite his personal struggles. D’Angelo left so much to celebrate, and while I have yet to make it through “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” without crying since the news broke, I’m thankful we have such beautiful and painful depictions of love in his absence.