Publisher Description

Voodoo, D'Angelo's much-anticipated 2000 release, set the standard for the musical cycle ordained as "neo-soul," a label the singer and songwriter would reject more than a decade later. The album is a product of heightened emotions and fused sensibilities; an amalgam of soul, rock, jazz, gospel, hip-hop, and Afrobeats. D'Angelo put to music his own pleasures and insecurities as a man-child in the promised land. It was both a tribute to his musical heroes: Prince, Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye, J Dilla...and a deconstruction of rhythm and blues itself.Despite nearly universal acclaim, the sonic expansiveness of Voodoo proved too nebulous for airplay on many radio stations, seeping outside the accepted lines of commercial R&B music. Voodoo was Black, it was definitely magic, and it was nearly overshadowed by a four-minute music video featuring D'Angelo's sweat-glistened six-pack abs. "The Video" created an accentuated moment when the shaman lost control of the spell he cast.

Author Biography

Faith A. Pennick is a Chicago-born, Los Angeles-based filmmaker and writer. Pennick's fiction and nonfiction films have aired on U.S. television and screened at film festivals throughout the world. She has written for National Public Radio and the pop culture website The Learned Fangirl, among other outlets.

Table of Contents

Track ListingAcknowledgmentsNote on TextWhat Is Past Is Prologue1. The Spell Is Cast2. Home Cooking3. Finding the Groove4. The Means of Survival5. The Feminine Mystique6. Video (Almost) Killed the R&B Star7. Radio SilenceEpilogueNotesBibliography

Review

A part of the influential '33 1/3 Series' ... Filmmaker and writer Faith Pennick's new book is a pop culture passion project that digs deep into music, race, masculinity, and the enduring power of one particular music video. * LSA Magazine *

Promotional

A look at how D'Angelo's Voodoo became a touchstone album for R&B/Soul in the early 2000s and its integral role in initiating the "neosoul movement."

Review Quote

"A part of the influential '33 1/3 Series' ... Filmmaker and writer Faith Pennick's new book is a pop culture passion project that digs deep into music, race, masculinity, and the enduring power of one particular music video." - LSA Magazine

Promotional "Headline"

A look at how D'Angelo's Voodoo became a touchstone album for R&B/Soul in the early 2000s and its integral role in initiating the "neosoul movement."

Feature

Speaks to a long-present gap in the series for coverage of R&B/soul albums

Details