D’Angelo Bobby Fischer Of Soul

By Sugar Johnson (circa Aug 03″)

He was the youngest American chess player to hold the title of grandmaster. Bobby Fischer used his creativity to wow the minds of chess’ elite, forever changing the game. It was not only his studious approach to the game, but also his uncanny ability to see victory where others saw impossibility. But after being robbed of his title in 1975, because he shunned the hype accompanying his gift, a reclusive Fischer retreated to the serenity of his stow away home. Seventeen years later, his emergence not only proved his love for the game, but it also solidified his spot as chairman of the board.

In ways analogous to Fischer, soul practitioner D’Angelo experienced his own metamorphosis. While most of us were either crocheting couch covers or dribbling on plastic building blocks, he inked a deal with major recording company EMI at 18 years of age. Born Michael Archer, the Virginia native earned his contract advance by penning 1994’s hit single “U Will Know” which featured heavy hitters such as Gerald Levert, Jodeci and Tevin Campbell. At the same time, music began dancing between high school locker rooms (with artists like Brandy and Usher) and the Caribbean Sea (dancehall reggae’s Beenie Man and Bounty Killer). But it was the release of his debut “Brown Sugar” (1995) that took us back to those LPs we heard during Saturday morning house cleaning, reviving an all-inclusive, cross-generational style of music. Songs like “Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine” and “Higher” reminded us that honesty could still evoke a smile. It was music that even Mama didn’t mind hearing through the living room speakers. And the smooth baselines enchanted women to dorm rooms like the smell of fresh baked bread. But like Fischer, young D’Angelo declined a subscription to the savior faire most industry heads attach to their very persona.

By 1997, the question was not only about whether or not there would be a second album, but also where our humble love advocate had gone. Aside from having a rocky relationship with co-parent Angie Stone, D’Angelo was renegotiating contracts with a then troubled EMI. In addition, doors “Brown Sugar” had swung open were bombarded with acts capitalizing on the newfound profitability of soul music. A genre known for sassy threads, skillful musicianship and summoning deep-rooted emotion had become a pre-packaged hybrid of hype, semi-poignant sound bytes and half-naked extras. Even with the 1998 release of the internationally recorded “Live at the Jazz Cafe” and a track for Hype Williams’ 1999 movie debut “Belly” (“Devil’s Pie”), it was clear that D’Angelo wanted to remain far from the limelight.

Just when folks shelved the idea of a sophomore album and children birthed to his first were dressing for pre-school, D’Angelo released the avant-garde “Voodoo” (2000). Armed with a personal trainer and a heavily rotated video featuring a chiseled D’Angelo sans the love handles, he reclaimed his spot snatching the title of sex symbol along the way. Teaming up with hip hop devotee and Max Roach reincarnate Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and the all star team dubbed the SoulQuarians, Voodoo was not only a symbol of reemergence but doing art under one’s own terms. Rules were broken, lines redrawn and emphatic love reestablished as this LP seeped out of Cadillac and brownstone windows alike.

The stories of both Fischer and D’Angelo read like a major network soap opera – twins separated at birth living similar lives. And because a part of their evolution is hidden somewhere in the mystery of solitude, they’ve done nothing less than prove the theory that great minds ride the same wavelength. After receiving critical acclaim, a confident D’Angelo has once again returned to his place under the radar as fans await the soulful genius’ next project. Comeback history has repeated itself via Saadiq’s “Be Here”, which features the crooning mystic. So maybe we’re a couple years away from album number three. But will we have to twiddle our thumbs for the pre-established five-year hiatus? Or is developing a fan’s patience the best marketing strategy an artist can employ? Time reveals all.