D'Angelo's Voodoo Turns 20!
In early January 2000, I was writing for the music section of the University of Calgary newspaper, The Gauntlet. None of the other music writers seemed to care about hip hop and R&B/soul, so naturally I got to review and keep any album the record labels would send us.
The major labels would typically ship CDs 1-4 weeks in advance of the street date, so for every day of the first week of January I asked my editor Laura if D’angelo’s Voodoo — an album I had been waiting five long years for — had arrived.
Needless to say, she soon became annoyed of my inquiries and told me if I ever asked again she would destroy the album once it arrived. Clearly this was nothing more than a playful bluff, but I learned my lesson and never asked her again.
On January 18, 2000 — one week before Voodoo hit stores — I came into the Gauntlet office and was immediately greeted by Laura.
“Today is your lucky day,” she said in a sing-songy cadence, gifting me the album that would forever change the way I viewed R&B/soul, hip hop, funk — hell — music in general. For the next six weeks, I would listen to Voodoo — from start to finish — at least three times a day. Each listen would spawn a new question or revelation: How does he get his vocals to sound like that? Why does the drumbeat continually stagger behind? How is it that this album sounds both old and new, a convergence of the past and the future?
Twenty years later, Voodoo still sounds as fresh and revolutionary as the first time I heard it. In fact, it’s the only album I consistently listen to every couple of weeks. Voodoo has provided the soundtrack to numerous early morning commutes, writing and reading sessions, dog walks (RIP Serge), and, of course, makeouts and further physical extracurricular activities.
1. Intro 2. D'Angelo - Playa Playa 3. D'Angelo - Left & Right (Amerigo Gazaway rework) 4. Slum Village f D'Angelo - Tell Me 5. D'Angelo - Me and Those Dreamin Eyes Of Mine (remix) 6. The Roots f D'Angelo & Erykah Badu - The 'Notic 7. Mos Def & Talib Kweli - Brown Skin Lady 8. D'Angelo - Brown Sugar (Amerigo Gazaway rework) 9. D'Angelo - The Root 10. Erykah Badu - Bag Lady (remix) 11. J Dilla f D'Angelo & Common - So Far So Gone 12. Angie Stone - Bone 2 Pick With You 13. D'Angelo - Chicken Grease 14. Raphael Saadiq f D'Angelo - Be Here 15. Jill Scott f Mos Def - Love Rain (remix) 16. D'Angelo - Feel Like Makin Love 17. Les Nubians f Black Thought - Tabou (Roots remix) 18. Will.I.Am f Terry Dexter - Lay me Me Down 19. Slum Village - Fall n Love 20. Erykah Badu - Think Twice 21. Common f Mary J Blige - Come Close (remix) 22. D'Angelo - Jonz In My Bonz 23. D'Angelo - Devil's Pie 24. D'Angelo - Sugah Daddy 25. Prince - She's Always In My Hair 26. Q-Tip f D'Angelo - Believe 27. Jill Scott - Slowly Surely 28. D'Angelo - Africa 29. D'Angelo - Ain't That Easy 30. J Dilla - Dime Piece f Dwele (remix) 31. D'Angelo - Shit Damn Motherfucker 32. D'Angelo - greatdayinthemornin 33. Common f Erykah Badu - The Light (J Dilla remix) 34. D'Angelo - Find My Smile Again 35. Hi-Tek & Talib Kweli - The Blast 36. Erykah Badu - back in the Day 37. RH Factor f Q-Tip & Erykah Badu - Poetry 38. D'Angelo - Untitled (How Does It Feel)
D'Angelo's Voodoo 20th Anniversary Tribute
Featuring re.verse & DJ This Broken Mixtape
Thursday, January 30 @ Poetry Jazz Cafe (224 Augusta Ave)
We hope you can join us in celebrating this important music milestone. Hip hop/jazz instrumental band re.verse will be playing covers from Voodoo along with other neo-soul and hip hop classics. Meanwhile, DJ This Broken Mixtape will keep the vibe going before and after their two sets with neo-soul and conscious hip hop cuts, all night long. Come early to secure a seat -- you don't want to miss this one!