D’Angelo’s genre-bending album “Voodoo” is one of our favourite albums of all time and we argue the last, beST concept album. Although not immediately obvious to some, the album is a tribute to several legendary black music albums that influenced him: Prince’s “Sign ‘O’ The Times”, Sly Stone’s “There’s A Riot Goin’ On”, and Stevie’s “Songs In The Key Of Life”.

D’Angelo took USED THIS INSPIRATION and CRAFTED a raw, psychedelic soul masterpiece. During the late aughts we dedicated a monthly night called “Where’s D’Angelo” fusing these influential sounds with music from his fellow Soulquarians and modern neo-soul releases, while the titled referred to our impatience waiting for another masterpiece.

Finally, almost 15 years later he returned with the long-awaited “Black Messiah” that seemed to come out of nowhere and yet perfectly timed as a welcome release during dire times:

“It’s about people rising up in Ferguson and in Egypt and in Occupy Wall Street and in every place where a community has had enough and decides to make change happen … Black Messiah is not one man. It’s a feeling that, collectively, we are all that leader.”