Africa is my descent, and here I am far from home.
"I named the album Voodoo because I really was trying to give a notion to how powerful music is and how we as artists, when we cross over, need to respect the power of music. Voodoo is ancient African tradition. We use 'voodoo' in the drums or whatever, the cadences and call-out to our ancestors and that in itself will invoke spirits. And music has the power to do that, to evoke emotions, evoke spirit. That’s something I learned in the church when I was very young and that’s what I wanted to get across."
— D'Angelo, explaining the meaning behind the album's title in an interview with Jet magazine
Voodoo is the second studio album by singer-songwriter D'Angelo, released on Virgin Records in 2000.
After the success of his debut album Brown Sugar, D'Angelo spent four-and-a-half years away from the music scene, struggling with writer's block and generally only recording cover versions of soul songs for movie soundtracks. He would begin recording for his sophomore album in 1998, inspired by the birth of his son, a trip to the American South (South Carolina, specifically) and his frustration with black music, R&B in particular, becoming more pop- and club-oriented.
Voodoo is a concept album inspired by black music, in particular jazz, funk and blues. Taking influence from artists such as J Dilla, Sly and the Family Stone, Miles Davis and Fela Kuti, Voodoo would be defined by a loose, improvisational style defined by guitar-based funk, groove-oriented atmosphere and a mild hip-hop production style with a vintage '70s aesthetic.
It would become a noted release in the neo soul movement, with many considering it to be one of the greatest works of its genre and of the 2000s. It would also inspire future recordings by the experimental black music collective, the Soulquarians
(a group which had been present in the production of this record and of which D'Angelo was apart of), with member Questlove — also a key member of The Roots — citing its recording process as a influence on the Roots' third album Things Fall Apart.
In 2001, Voodoo would win a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. One of its singles, "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" (also itself popular for its infamous music video), won for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
Tracklist
- "Playa Playa" (7:07)
- "Devil's Pie" (5:21)
- "Left & Right" (4:46)
- "The Line" (5:15)
- "Send It On" (5:57)
- "Chicken Grease" (4:36)
- "One Mo'gin" (6:15)
- "The Root" (6:33)
- "Spanish Joint" (5:44)
- "Feel Like Makin' Love" (6:22)
- "Greatdayndamornin' / Booty" (7:35)
- "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" (7:10)
- "Africa" (6:13)
Feel Like Makin' Tropes
- Appeal to Familial Wisdom: "Africa" does this in a longways, functioning not only as a tribute for his son, but as a tribute to his ancestors and cultural roots.Africa is my descent
And here I am far from home
I dwell within a land that's meant
Meant for many men not my tone - Badass Boast: "Playa Playa", a Space Jam outtake, was this to D'Angelo's (unnamed) opponent, basically telling them they stood no chance against him and his crew when it came to playing basketball.
- "We come here to rip shit
To make y'all scream and shout
Later for all y'all haters
We gon' turn this motha' out
If you came to ball
If y'all came at all
We don't plan to stop
'Til you bouncin' off the wall
'Til you bouncin' off the wall\\"
- Break Up Song: "the Root" is an explicit example of (the emotional aftermath of) one, whereas portions of "Spanish Joint" can also hint towards a similar interpretation:Well, people believe this sayin' is true
Whatever will be, will forever do
Whatever the cost, I'll pay in full
I ain't got nothin' to do with you - Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario; What the narrator hopes for in "One Mo'gin":And I wondered all this time 'bout how you been
And I hoped by chance, I'd see you once again
I'd love to kiss your lips, baby, once again
I'd love to hold you tight, girl, one mo' gin - Concept Album: The record is essentially a homage to Afro-American music with its lyrical themes touching upon spirituality ("The Root"), sexuality ("Untitled (How Does It Feel)", "Feel Like Makin' Love", "Greatdayndamornin' / Booty", "Left & Right") and fatherhood ("Africa")
- Cover Version: Of "Feel Like Makin' Love", originally recorded by Roberta Flack.
- Curse: The Root" wherein a disgruntled ex-lover has apparently 'hexxed' the singer with a vodun curse.
- A more general interpretation is that 'the root' in question is a vodun-based metaphor for what the singer (treats like) a spell of infatuation that his ex-lover still has over him, and the song narrates the emotional dialogue he experiences - first in his inability to move past his emotional dejection over his failure to reignite the relationship he had with his old flame, then it gradually shifts towards an 'exorcism' of sorts as the closing bridge of the song echoes a repetitious chorus in a gently rousing crescendo, representing the singer's newfound resolve to break free and move past his ex-lover's influence. In short, it's simply about coming to terms with a painful break-up.
- Epic Rocking: Due to the album's jazz influence and the fact that majority of the record was initially recorded in a jam like fashion. Multiple track break six minutes ("Playa Playa", "One Mo'gin", "The Root", "Feel Like Makin' Love", "Greatdayndamornin' / Booty", "Untitled (How Does It Feel)", "Africa") with the longest tracks stacked back to back near the end of the record.
- Face on the Cover: The album cover shows a photograph D'Angelo shirtless with lyrics to the album written across from it, where the album title is in a gothic font.
- Funk: A predominant influence on the record, with track such as "Feel Like Makin' Love", "Greatdayndamornin' / Booty", "Chicken Grease" and "Devil's Pie" showing heavy influence from the genre.
- Jazz: One of the main influences on the record with multiple tracks taking a jazz-like improvisational quality contributing to their lengths.
- Genre Mashup: As is typical of most neo soul releases from this era, it would take influence from multiple black music genres, such as funk, jazz, soul, gospel, traditional R&B, the blues and hip hop.
- Hotter and Sexier: This record was this to Brown Sugar. It being exacerbated further by the cover art and the music video for its single "Untitled (How Does It Feel)".
- In the Style of: As critics have noted and D'Angelo's own admission, "Untitled (How Does It Feel) is meant to be a Prince tribute, with the track emulating his style and Questlove describing it as such."Finding the line between parody and honesty ... In an era of 'the cover song', redoing a Prince song was taboo. This is the second best thing."
- Intercourse with You: "Left & Right", "Greatdayndamornin' / Booty" and "Untitled (How Does Or Feel)".
- Location Song: "Africa"
- Meaningful Name: "The Root" is about a woman who curses D'Angelo with rootwork, another name for hoodoo, an Afro-American spirituality and folk magic that originated in the American South from African slaves.
- Doubly so, the album itself is named after Voodoo, an Afro-diasporic ecstatic religion similar to hoodoo, which is characterized in part by ancestral veneration, which fits the album's general theme of homage to Afro-American tradition.
- Melismatic Vocals: So much so that along with the way the record is mixed, D'Angelo vocals come off as barely intelligible
- Neo Soul: Considered one of the greatest albums of the genre and defining moment in D'Angelo's career.
- No Ending: "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" abruptly cuts off at the end just as it reaches its soulful climax.
- Ode to Intoxication: "Devil's Pie is a deconstruction of this trope with it bemoaning the materialism present in black music and its destructive nature, albeit in a coy fashion.Uh, wait a minute
Uh, let me tell you about a slice of the devil's pie
Uh, said everybody out there can get down with the slice of the devil's pie
Slice of the devils pie
Said a women in the street sell her fucking body for a slice of the devil's pie
Niggas killing each other in the streets for a slice of the devil's pie
All in line, all in line
For a slice of the devil's pie - One-Word Title: "Africa"
- Parental Love Song: "Africa" is a song D'Angelo wrote in dedication to his son.
- Record Producer: D'Angelo once again takes the role of producer as he did on his previous record, with returning collaborators such as Raphael Saadiq joining the fray with additional assistance from DJ Premier of Gang Starr and Questlove from The Roots.
- Seduction Lyric: "Left & Right":I will have you believe
There's no reason for you to leave
Stay right here in my arms
Where you're safe and secure
Here with me you can be sure
There's no threat, say you turn me on - Sampling: Peppered references throughout the record, with the most notable example being Questlove's drum interpretation of Prince's "I Wonder U" from his eighth studio album, Parade.
- Self-Backing Vocalist: Many of the tracks featured multi-track layering of D'Angelo's vocals.
- Shirtless Scene: The video for "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" is essentially one long take of this.
- Silly Love Songs: "Send It On" is a particularly direct one:You can't disguise your emotions
You know that I see in your eyes
You soul's in me, your soul's somethin that I feel inside - "Untitled" Title: An odd example with "Untitled (How Does It Feel)", in which the title is untitled with a subtitle.
- A Wild Rapper Appears!: Method Man and Redman show up and wipe the joint clean twice on "Left & Right".
