Brown Sugar (album)
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| Brown Sugar | ||
 |
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| Studio album by D'Angelo | ||
| Released | July 3, 1995 | |
| Recorded | N/A | |
| Genre | Neo soul | |
| Length | 53:21 | |
| Label | EMI | |
| Producer(s) | Various | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| D'Angelo chronology | ||
| N/A |
 Brown Sugar (1995 |
 Live at the Jazz Cafe (1998 |
Brown Sugar is the 1995 debut solo album by the neo soul artist D'Angelo, as well as a title track of the same name. Along with Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite by Maxwell, Brown Sugar helped kick-start the musical movement widely known as neo-soul. The hit singles "Brown Sugar" and "Lady" helped the album to sell well (double platinum) and widespread critical acclaim made D'Angelo one of the 90's brightest new soul musicians.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Prior to its release, the neo soul movement was yet to be defined as such and was largely handled by British artist Omar and a few others. With his Hip hop background and Marvin Gaye, Sly Stone, and Prince influences, D'Angelo ushered in the new sound, setting up a definitive blueprint for the subgenre.
Although, songs such as "Cruisin'" and "When We Get By" (the former a Smokey Robinson cover) were conventional in the classic sense, risque subject matter like those found on "Sh*t, Damn, Motherf*cker" and the moody, bass driven "Jonz in My Bonz" gave the album an edge thought to be lacking in mainstream R&B at the time.
The album was followed by remixes of the singles "Me and Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine" (by Erick Sermon and featuring Redman), and "Lady" (by DJ Premier and featuring AZ). In September 1995, D'Angelo performed a well-received live session at The Jazz Cafe in London, including songs from this debut album. Recordings from the event were subsequently made available on his release, Live at the Jazz Cafe (1998).
[edit] Album tracks
- "Brown Sugar" (D'Angelo, Ali Shaheed Muhammad) – 4:23
- "Alright" (D'Angelo) – 5:13
- "Jonz in My Bonz" (D'Angelo, A Stone) – 5:56
- "Me and Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine" (D'Angelo) – 4:46
- "Sh*t, Damn, Motherf*cker" (D'Angelo) – 5:14
- "Smooth" (D'Angelo, L Archer) – 4:19
- "Cruisin'" (W Robinson, M Taplin) – 6:24
- "When We Get By" (D'Angelo) – 5:44
- "Lady" (D'Angelo, R Saadiq) – 5:46
- "Higher" (D'Angelo, L Archer, R Archer) – 5:27
[edit] Album singles
- "Brown Sugar" (sample) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- A single from Brown Sugar
- Problems playing the files? See media help.
| Single cover | Single information |
|---|---|
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"Brown Sugar"
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"Cruisin'" |
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"Lady"
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"Me and Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine"
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[edit] Musicians
- D'Angelo - vocals and various instruments
- Bob Power, Raphael Saadiq, Mark Whitfield - guitar
- Larry Grenadier, Will Lee, Raphael Saadiq - bass
- Tim Christian - piano
- Gene Lake, Ralph Rolle - drums
- Ali Shaheed Muhammad - drum programming
- Laura Vivino - flute and picolo
- Gerald Tarack, Marilyn Wright, Regis Iandorio, Matthew Raimondi, Masako Yanagila, Natalie Kriegler, Alexander Simionescu, Winterton Garvey - violins
- Julien Barber, Olivia Koppell, Sue Pray, Eufrosina Railenu - violas
- Jesse Levy, Seymour Barab - cellos
[edit] Production and other recording credits
- D'Angelo - production, vocal and musical arrangements
- Dunn Pierson - orchestra conductor and arranger
- Eugene Bianco - orchestra contractor and copyist
- Ali Shaheed Muhammad - production
- Bob Power, Russell Elevado, G Spot, Darrin Harris - engineer and mixing
- Rob Farrell, Chaz Harper, G Spot, Suz Dweyer, Julio Peralta, Martin Czember - assistant and additional engineering
[edit] Notes
The Japanese release of this album included three bonus tracks following the original tracklisting:
11. "Brown Sugar" (Radio Version) (D'Angelo, Ali Shaheed Muhammad) – 4:03
12. "Brown Sugar" (TV Track) (D'Angelo, Ali Shaheed Muhammad) – 4:26
13. "Brown Sugar" (Instrumental) (D'Angelo, Ali Shaheed Muhammad) – 4:25
| Soulquarians |
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| ?uestlove | Bilal | Common | D'Angelo | Erykah Badu | James Poyser | Jay Dee | Mos Def | Q-Tip | Talib Kweli |
| Albums |
| Amplified | Be | Baduizm | Black on Both Sides | Black Star | Brown Sugar | Can I Borrow a Dollar? | Champion Sound | Donuts | Eardrum | Electric Circus | Fantastic, Vol. 1 | Fantastic, Vol. 2 | Finding Forever | Funky Cousins (Demo) | Game Theory | Heartache | James River | Jay Love Japan | Kamaal the Abstract | Like Water for Chocolate | Live | Live at the Jazz Cafe | Mama's Gun | One Day It'll All Make Sense | Open | Quality | Relive The Moment | Resurrection | Ruff Draft | The Beautiful Struggle | The New Danger | The Shining | The Shining Instrumentals | Train of Thought | Tru3 Magic | Voodoo | Welcome 2 Detroit | Worldwide Underground |
