D’Angelo’s Voodoo // 33 1/3

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 ofVoodooproved too nebulous for airplay on many radio stations, seeping outside the accepted lines of commercial R&B music.Voodoowas 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.

Faith Pennickis a Chicago-born, Los Angeles-based filmmaker and writer. Her most recent film isWeightless, a documentary short about plus-sized female scuba divers. Her other films include the documentarySilent Choicesand narrative short filmRunning on Eggshells. Pennick is also a contributing writer to pop culture websiteThe Learned Fangirl.

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic (March 5, 2020)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 136 pages
• ISBN-10: 1501336509
• ISBN-13: 9781501336508
• Item Weight: 4.7 ounces
• Dimensions: 4.7 x 0.41 x 6.59 inches