Black Messiah album cover
Black Messiah

D'Angelo and the Vanguard

2014
RCA

This long-awaited record (coming 14 years after Voodoo) courses with pent-up percussive energy. Sexy snare drums on “Ain’t That Easy,” “The Charade” and “Prayer” nod to the LinnDrum of mid-’80s Prince records—funk is its own reward on this killer comeback album. D croons about war (“1000 Deaths”), social justice (“The Charade”), the ecosystem (“Till It’s Done [Tutu]”), spirituality (“Prayer”), and love (everywhere else) like nothing short of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. With Black Messiah, D’Angelo tosses commerciality to the wind and still wins on every level.

Miles Marshall Lewis

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