Michael “D’Angelo” Archer made the first album that I listened to from beginning to end and bought the album, Brown Sugar after one listen. With songs like, “Brown Sugar”, “Cruisin'”, and “Lady”, I didn’t fast forward, didn’t skip around, just played it all the way through because of how good the music made me feel.
His next album, Untitled, actually was the album that showed the world who D’Angelo was. With the song, “Untitled (How Does It Feel?)” came a video that featured the fit and well-chiseled singer in the nude singing passionately. It was an instant hit and made D’Angelo a household name.
Fast forward over 25 years from his first studio album debut and the people are talking again.
“He’s back” folks are saying. With the return of “D’angelo & Friends” on the hugely popular Verzuz Instagram Battle, people were once again nodding their heads again while listening to the smooth, groovy-mixed-with-funk neo-soul that makes you close your eyes and tap your feet when you listen to it.
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But where was he?
The truth is D’Angelo had a lot of things going on including depression, drug use and legal issues, all of which kept him out of the spotlight for awhile. After all, he was only 21-years-old when he hit the scene and propelled to stardom. Below, see how he viewed and navigated through some of these issues:
D’Angelo on battling his substance abuse during his hiatus:
“I didn’t really think I had a problem like that,” he says. “I felt like, you know, all I got to do is clean up and I’ll be fine. Just get in the studio and I’ll be f***ing fine.”
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But he wasn’t. He had legal problems, friends in the industry dying of drug abuse, etc. All of that weighed heavy on D’Angelo’s mind and he began to sink into depression, which weighed on his body too.
On gaining weight:
D’angelo ballooned up to 300 lbs, in part to spite those who admired him. The Roots drummer Questlove, D’Angelo’s former bandleader, explains to GQ that at some point, his friend just felt he had to escape stardom. The last day of the eight-month (Voodoo) tour, Questlove says D’Angelo told him: “‘Yo man, I cannot wait until this f**king tour is over. I’m going to go in the woods, drink some hooch, grow a beard, and get fat.’” Questlove thought he was joking. “I was like, ‘You’re a funny guy.’ And then it started to happen. That’s how much he wanted to distance himself.
When someone wants to distance themselves from the world, gains weight and has continued drug use, those are usually signs that something more is happening in their lives. Social withdrawal is one of the most important symptoms of depression. When people feel depressed, they tend to withdraw from normal activities and social interactions. Furthermore, if a person becomes suicidal, there’s a greater risk that a suicide attempt would go unnoticed and potentially unstopped.
But D’Angelo has moved past all of those things to come back out with another critically-acclaimed album, Black Messiah. The now 47-year-old has grown in both mind and body, and has a new outlook and the support of many friends and family to see him through.
“It feels great. I feel awesome. Now more than ever is the need to sing about social change and to write songs about it. And no one’s doing it. There’s only a chosen couple of people. I think it just takes one little snowflake to start a snowball to go down the hill. My contribution and say, Kendrick Lamar’s and some chosen others’ start the snowball. That’s all I can hope for. I don’t know if I’m comfortable being quote-unquote a leader. But I do realize and understand that my role as a musician, and in the medium that I am, that people are listening to me. Kids are listening to me. We have power to influence minds and influence lives.”
