Transcription
So we were talking about freedom a moment ago. The flipside of freedom, one could argue, I think, is doubt. And that doubt needs to fear, and then you end up being frozen by your fears. Artistically, have you ever had self-doubt? And if so, what were you, what were you doubting yourself about?
Oh, yes. I think every artist goes through that, especially in the beginning when you're trying to find your own voice. And after, 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. And when you wish you had that conviction, then the fear don't mean nothing. It's just a thing. But when you, every time you, every time I've noticed that I persevered through that fear, and you come on the other side golden. So it's just something that you learn to trust.
I think part of what's wrong with the world is that there are so many copies and ain't no originals no more. That's a. And you have found a way to distinguish your own sound. You have, you've, you put your own song stylings on it. You turn the radio on, you hear at the Angelou track, even before I get that falsetto, you hear that groove, you know, once at the Angela track. So you've been able to find your own voice. But you started out copying somebody, like we all do. It's not to imitate somebody's first, tell you about the journey of discovering your own sound. That's the thing.
Is I've, I've heard this from actually my brother, who's my oldest brother, who's like my first idol, you know what I mean? He used to always say, imitation leads to creation. And like with Prince, you know, that was my first, like idol, you know. I've heard somewhere else too, where if you're artists, they say don't seek them, but seek what they thought. Mm-hmm. So Prince, in, in my adoration of his artistry, he's seeking what he saw. It led me, that led me to James Brown and other things that influenced him. That was obviously influences on Prince, like Sly Stone, George Clinton. So he kind of was like, you know, the key to open that door, you know?
You know, um, I suspect you've been asked more times than you care to remember, what took so long from the last project to this one. So I don't want to ask what, what took so long, because I believe that that art comes in its own time. So number one, that's wrong. And the flipside to asking what took so long is that something this brilliant only took this long. Mmm. There's no way to kind of look at this. So I don't want to go there. But, but I do want to ask though, how you navigate those years as an artist? What are you doing in that 13, 14 years, man, we're waiting on the next project artistically? How are you, how are you, are you touring? Are you writing? What's happening in that period that feeds your own artistic soul?
I'm always writing and learning. It's about growth. Yeah. So I'm growing as a musician, as a good time. But you did on this, absolutely. You know, but you know, of course, I'm still growing and still learning. I'm always, you, you always want to have, you never want to, you never want to be at a place where you feel like you've arrived. It's always an upward incline, you know, that's, that's where the true art is supposed to be torn and constantly growing and finding new territories. That's close. The type of artists I love. Prince, you never knew what to expect from them from one album to the next. Miles Davis was like that, you know, once you get used to one style, boom, he switched it. And, you know, switched on gears on you. So those, those artists are very exciting to me, very exciting to follow their, their path, you know, and their journey. Yeah.
The challenge to that is, and you know this, Brad, not because you're the artist, I'm not. The challenge to that is that artistically, you want to grow, but your fan base wants more of the same. And not just your fan base, but the record company really don't want you to grow. The record company, they want you to put out the same thing you did last time. It hit so hard. So you break out with Voodoo, and you break out with Brown Sugar, you break out with, you know, "Nico's Ain't Checking for That New Stuff." They want to hear, "What's our formula, right?" So how do you, how do you, uh, how do you, how do you not get boxed in by your fans and my record labels?
Cornelius? Yeah. You guys stay true to your heart and just not be afraid. It takes courage because when you're doing something different, it was funny because when I first dropped Voodoo, a lot of people didn't like it initially because it was different than Brown Sugar. And you just, you just have to walk with that conviction. Yeah. When sales aren't the same from one project to the next, artistically, you have followed what your heart, you know, is tugging on you to do. But how do you, how do you, how do you juxtapose those two things? Following your artistic, you know, muse, but sales might not be the same as they were on another project? What somebody, we want to get the record label, does that not bother you?
It doesn't. Yeah, it doesn't. I expected it. It all boils down to what you're in it for, yeah. What's your motivation? What's your, what's your true intent? Yeah. And, uh, what my intention is to, is to make art. Yeah. Yeah. And to, I don't know, I don't know, let the spirits, whatever's guide me, let, let that, that one be a conduit of that, you know.
And with regard to, uh, Black Messiah, what are you a conduit for? What are you, what are you, what are you trying to get us to hear?
Black Messiah is this, is I think the most, well, I know the most. It's some socio-political stuff done on a record. I think you just, in lieu of everything that's been going on in the side of the time is right, something needs to be said. And a soul few that's doing that right now. And this is the, that was funny to me because so much going on with Black Lives Matter movement is going on. Oh, young black men and women just getting killed for nothing. And I've always been a big reader and fan of history. And I love all the Black Panthers and all of that stuff. So you hanging out with Bobby Seale? Yes, sir. That's a nice piece of New York Times. Almost Barry, I love that piece. Part that you talk more about there we go again. That. So yeah, it's just, I'm not trying to be, you know, like a poster child or anything of the movement, but definitely a voice. Yeah. As a, as a black man, you know, as a concerned black man, as a father as well.
So how do you, how do you, how do you find the balance between giving your audience something artistically that they can appreciate, that they can celebrate, responding to that call to say something in a difficult moment like this, but not being, but not proselytizing, not being preachy? How do you find that balance in your writing, in your industry?
That's a good question. And there's something that I think about a lot because that's the one thing I don't want to do is come off preachy. So it's, it's, it's a fine line. But I think the biggest thing to do is to remember is that you're not on a, even though people might try to put you on that thing, that you're not on the pedestal. You're not in the pulpit, you know what I mean? That you, that you're one of the people. And so as a voice of the people, I never, I'm never talking to y'all, I'm talking about us. So you're including yourself in the whole thing that you're discussing. So I think that's a, you know, key.
Look here, that you mentioned some artists who've had a huge impact with the work that they have done, a social impact and societal impact. You think that music is still pregnant with the kind of power to make a difference in this world the way it did prior to?
Absolutely. Absolutely. That's the frustrating thing about it because music never loses that power. But the powers that be, press, will say the gatekeepers, the, the bean counters, the execs, that it's all about the bottom line. Well, they just want to make money and they want to stick to a certain formula that's making that one. I mean, we all know that. But yeah, music, music can override all of that, all of the commerce side of the music business, you know, and everything. Not just music, but everything as a whole has become so corporatized, you know, then the music is not, the music business has been no exception. And I think it's even, it's, it's even more so, you know, I think that's the, the frustrating thing about it. But it's really in the hands of the artists and the people, the door that's, that's listening to the music. So he don't do this often. Song. I'm gonna tie this me go down. Not let him go. So we can continue this conversation tomorrow night. D'Angelo's latest project, D'Angelo and the Vanguard, is called Black Messiah. It is a powerful, poignant, beautiful piece of work. Fits off, ignites into his corpus. And I am honored to have you on this program tonight. And if you tune in tomorrow night, you will see night two of our conversation with D'Angelo. Until then, thanks for watching. And as always, keep the faith.
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