D'Angelo是上世纪90年代中期至90年代末期新灵魂乐革新运动的主要歌手之一。这场革新运动的宗旨，是要把R＆B的经典特色重新回归到嘻哈音乐时代。D'Angelo常常以马文·盖伊(Marvin Gaye)、史蒂夫·旺达(Stevie Wonder)、王子等音乐人为楷模，他对流行音乐的影响不光表现在歌唱风格上，他自己也写歌，而且经常自己参与制作，帮助复兴R＆B的本来概念。 D'Angelo原名迈克尔·德安吉洛·阿彻，1974年2月11日出生于弗吉尼亚州的里士满，父亲是五旬节教会的牧师。还是个小孩子的时候，D'Angelo就开始自学弹奏钢琴；18岁那年，他参加了在纽约市哈莱姆区阿波罗剧院(Apollo Theater)举行的业余歌手大奖赛，经过为期三周的激烈角逐，最终夺得大赛冠军。后来，D'Angelo加入Hip-Hop乐队I.D.U.，没过多长时间，他退出该乐队，并于1991年签约百代唱片公司。1994 年，D'Angelo为影片《杰森恋曲》(Jason's Lyric)作词并制作了主题曲《你会知道》(U Will Know)，取得音乐事业上的第一次重大成功。1995年，D'Angelo乘胜追击，发行了首张个人专辑《Brown Sugar》。借助于该专辑的主打单曲《女士》(Lady)，《Brown Sugar》慢慢为R＆B乐迷所接受，成为当代都市hip-hop音乐中的一位灵魂人物。后来，他和艾莉卡·芭朵(Erykah Badu)、劳伦·希尔(Lauryn Hill)和Maxwell等艺人一道，加入倾向于怀旧的新灵魂乐革新运动中来。《Brown Sugar》后来受到了评论界无尽的赞誉，销售量超过200万张。在接下来的两年里，D'Angelo四处巡演，不遗余力地为这张专辑做宣传推广。接下来的一段时间，D'Angelo在乐坛上沉寂了一阵，没有什么新作问世。暂时放松的那段时间，他和百代唱片公司闹得非常不愉快，但最后还是百代公司作出了让步。但他并没有完全停下音乐追求的脚步，时不时配唱一些电影歌曲。他还和劳伦·希尔合作，共同演唱《实在没什么大不了的》(Nothing Really Matters)。这时候，歌迷们仍期待着德安吉洛能够再接再厉，推出第二张专辑。 2000年初，在不安与焦躁的等待中，D'Angelo的乐迷们终于盼来了他第二张专辑《Voodoo》的问世。一经发行，这张姗姗来迟的专辑就荣登排行榜冠军宝座，可见他的歌迷基础有多深厚。专辑的主打单曲《Untitled (How Does It Feel)》有些王子音乐的风格，在R＆B金曲排行榜上所向披靡，最终为D'Angelo赢得第43届格莱美奖最佳R＆B男歌手奖；《Voodoo》同时获得最佳R＆B专辑奖。虽然也有个别音乐评论人士不喜欢它过于松散、令人有些压抑的感觉，但《Voodoo》得到更多的评价仍然是正面的、积极的。
DAngelo was one of the founding fathers and leading lights of the neo-soul movement of the mid- to late 90s, which aimed to bring the organic flavor of classic R&B back to the hip-hop age. Modeling himself on the likes of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Curtis Mayfield, and Al Green, DAngelos influences didnt just come across in his vocal style — like most of those artists, he wrote his own material (and frequently produced it as well), helping to revive the concept of the R&B auteur. His debut album, Brown Sugar, gradually earned him an audience so devoted that the follow-up, Voodoo, debuted at number one despite a five-year wait in between.
Michael DAngelo Archer was born February 11, 1974, in Richmond, VA, the son of a Pentecostal minister. He began teaching himself piano as a very young child, and at age 18, he won the amateur talent competition at Harlems Apollo Theater three weeks in a row. He was briefly a member of a hip-hop group called I.D.U. and signed a publishing deal with EMI in 1991. His first major success came in 1994 as a writer/producer, helming the single U Will Know on the Jasons Lyric soundtrack; it featured a one-time, all-star R&B aggregate dubbed Black Men United. That helped lead to his debut solo album, 1995s Brown Sugar. Helped by the title track and Lady, Brown Sugar slowly caught on with R&B fans looking for an alternative to the hip-hop soul dominating the urban contemporary landscape; along with artists like Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Maxwell, DAngelo became part of a retro-leaning, neo-soul revivalist movement. Brown Sugar received enormously complimentary reviews and sold over two million copies, and DAngelo supported it with extensive touring over the next two years.
And then — not much of anything happened. DAngelo took some time off to rest and split acrimoniously with his management; meanwhile, EMI went under, leaving his 1998 stopgap release Live at the Jazz Cafe out of print. On occasion, DAngelo contributed a cover tune to a movie soundtrack, including Eddie Kendricks Girl You Need a Change of Mind (Get on the Bus), the Ohio Players Heaven Must Be Like This (Down in the Delta), and Princes Shes Always in My Hair (Scream 2). He also duetted with Lauryn Hill on Nothing Really Matters, a cut from her Grammy-winning blockbuster The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Still, fans awaiting a proper follow-up to Brown Sugar remained frustrated — at first by no news at all, and then by frequent delays in the recording process and the scheduled release date. Finally, the special-guest-laden Voodoo was released in early 2000 and debuted at number one, an indication of just how large — and devoted — DAngelos fan base was. The extremely Prince-like lead single, Untitled (How Does It Feel), was a smash on the R&B charts and won a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal; likewise, Voodoo won for Best R&B Album. Reviews of Voodoo were once again highly positive, although a few critics objected to the looser, more atmospheric, more jam-oriented feel of the record, preferring the tighter songcraft of Brown Sugar.
