Voodoo
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Album Summary
Recorded over the course of several years at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, D'Angelo's 'Voodoo' arrived on January 25, 2000, through Virgin Records, and baby, it was worth every single moment of the wait. The album was produced primarily by D'Angelo himself alongside the legendary Questlove and rapper-producer Pino Palladino holding down the low end, with a deep ensemble of musicians helping D'Angelo conjure something that felt less like a studio album and more like a séance. Where his debut 'Brown Sugar' had introduced the world to his gifts, 'Voodoo' was the full flowering — a record built on live instrumentation, raw feeling, and a spiritual surrender to the groove that recalled the golden age of soul while planting a flag firmly in the new millennium.
Reception
- Critics embraced 'Voodoo' with near-universal reverence upon its release, with many publications hailing it as one of the finest soul albums in decades.
- The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, a remarkable commercial achievement for a record so unapologetically rooted in organic, live-band soul.
- The lead single 'Untitled (How Does It Feel)' became a cultural flashpoint, driven in part by its visually striking music video, cementing D'Angelo's status as a defining voice of the neo soul movement.
Significance
- 'Voodoo' stands as a cornerstone of the neo soul movement, demonstrating that deeply soulful, live-instrument-driven Black music could find a massive audience in an era dominated by polished R&B production.
- The album's deliberately loose, improvisational feel — stretched rhythms, layered vocals, and a band locked into a collective spiritual pocket — drew direct lineage from classic soul and funk traditions, reintroducing those values to a generation of younger listeners.
- Tracks like 'Chicken Grease,' 'The Root,' and 'Africa' reflect D'Angelo's intent to create a fully realized artistic world rather than a collection of singles, influencing a wave of artists who followed in pursuit of that same soulful authenticity.
Samples
- "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" — one of the most recognized neo soul tracks of its era, widely interpolated and referenced in hip-hop and R&B across the 2000s and beyond.
- "Devil's Pie" — sampled and referenced by multiple hip-hop artists drawn to its dark, hypnotic groove.
- "Chicken Grease" — its raw funk energy made it a source for hip-hop producers, with the track finding a notable second life in sample-based music.
Tracklist
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A1 Playa Playa 81
7:07
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A2 Devil's Pie 92
5:21
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A3 Left & Right 91
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B1 The Line 80
5:17
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B2 Send It On 127
5:57
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B3 Chicken Grease 91
4:39
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B4 One Mo' Gin —
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C1 The Root 80
6:34
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C2 Spanish Joint 111
5:45
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C3 Feel Like Makin' Love 87
6:23
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D1 Greatdayndamornin' / Booty —
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D2 Untitled (How Does It Feel) 112
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D3 Africa 94
6:14
Artist Details
Michael Eugene Archer, known to the world as D'Angelo, emerged from Richmond, Virginia as one of the most gifted voices and musical minds of the 1990s soul renaissance, bringing a raw, sweat-soaked authenticity to a generation hungry for something real. Signed to Virgin, this Virginia-bred visionary helped ignite the neo soul movement with a deeply felt blend of classic soul tradition and contemporary R&B sensibility, wearing the influence of his predecessors like a second skin while carving out something entirely his own. He stands as one of the defining architects of a sound that reached back to the roots while planting seeds for everything soulful that came after him.
