Leather and Glitter

There’s a link.

“Brown Sugar,” to me, is inch by inch, neck and neck with “Purple Rain.”

If we’re talking male fronted pop/r&b LPs, few albums can touch these two.

The only other possible contenders are Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You” (which may surpass both), Michael’s “Thriller” & “Dangerous” & “Off the Wall,” Prince’s own “Sign O The Times” and “Dirty Mind” and Abel Tesfaye’s “House of Balloons.” “Urban Hang Suite” trails in the not too distant background. As does George Michael’s opus “Faith.”

It was D’s second record that received a cultural *important* musical moment badge from critics, fans, and his neo-soul cohorts. Erykah gave us the same vibe with “Mama’s Gun.” (It’s better). Jill Scott’s classic self-titled debut sexified the all to basic Adult Contemporary R&B charts. The Roots had “Things Fall Apart.” and Common gave us “Like Water for Chocolate” all in the same era. Lauryn Hill had just finished putting away the Grammys.

These people were sexy.

But D’angelo is a God.

Loose and hypnotic, jammy and greasy, his second release “Voodoo” simultaneously straddled the construct of “male,” “masculine,” “real musician” and the new exalted prince of R&B. Sound familiar?

By 2000 Prince was no longer masc in presentation. The dichotomy of testosterone fueled,(supposedly) woman-loving lyrics and his white pearls to match his skin, platforms and bitchy air lay the groundwork for what it means to be ‘urban’ and ‘ambiguous’ while retaining the myth of heterosexuality in 2024.

Pre the popularity of ‘fluid,’ ambiguous was the term most often assigned Prince since his darker and butcher (for him) naked funk LPs. There was no, however, ambiguity about D’Angelo.

Part 3 to come.

PRINCE AND HOMOPHOBIA PART DEUX