D'Angelo Quotes D'Angelo I've always kind of tried to do something that was a little different than just simple 'I love you, baby'-type songs. Different I Love You Kind Little Love Simple Something You
I played a lot of keyboards, but I really wanted to produce the sound that was in my head that I was trying to emulate on the keys. I wanted to do it for real. And it makes me look at the keys in a different way. So it's like I'm looking at the guitar and bass more like meat and potatoes and keys like coloring over top of it, you know. D'Angelo
Aretha Franklin was as important to the civil-rights movement as Malcolm X and Medgar Evers. Artists can choose to take on the tremendous amount of responsibility we have, or choose to ignore it. D'Angelo
The music business is a crazy game, especially for somebody like me who is really a purist about the art. Trying to balance the pressures of commercialism, it's a tightrope. It's a fine line between sticking to your guns and insanity. D'Angelo
I think shortly after I got signed, it just started to dawn on me that I had something to say and that Yahweh put something in my heart to share with the world. D'Angelo
I'm kinda a first take dude. The first time, cut that mic on, and the spirit is there, and what comes on the mic – I mean, even if I'm mumbling, I like to keep a lot of that initial thing that comes out. Cause that's the spirit. D'Angelo
You have to know the forces that are against you and that are trying to break you down. We talk about the problems facing the black community: the decimation of the black family; the mass incarceration of the black man; we're talking about the brutality against black people from the police. The educational system. D'Angelo
‘Black Messiah’ is a hell of a name for an album. It can easily be misunderstood. Many will think it’s about religion. Some will jump to the conclusion that I’m calling myself a Black Messiah. For me, the title is about all of us. It’s about the world. It’s about an idea we can all aspire to. We should all aspire to be a Black Messiah. D'Angelo
I learned at an early age that what we were doing in the choir was just as important as the preacher. It was a ministry in itself. We could stir the pot, you know? D'Angelo
I love – you know, I'm a big fan of Prince and Curtis Mayfield and Smoky Robinson. It's something to be said about a man who can be very masculine but still display that sensitive side, and that falsetto does it perfectly. D'Angelo
When I was young, I had an 'aha' moment in church. There was a thing called testimony service, and somebody would sing a song, and everyone else would join in, finding a note where they fit. During one of those, a light went on in my head. In that moment, I heard everything – Parliament, the Staple Singers, Curtis Mayfield, Prince – in there. D'Angelo
‘Black Messiah’ is a hell of a name for an album. It can easily be misunderstood. Many will think it’s about religion. Some will jump to the conclusion that I’m calling myself a Black Messiah. For me, the title is about all of us. It’s about the world. It’s about an idea we can all aspire to. We should all aspire to be a Black Messiah. D'Angelo
One can truly enjoy his or her life only while experiencing it, and it is inevitably related to a certain level of risk. Vladimir Putin