It took a long time, but R&B singer D’Angelo has finally released his follow-up to 2000’s Voodoo. Titled Black Messiah, the album surfaced online overnight, following a listening party in New York on Sunday.
The party was hosted by drummer Questlove, who does appear on the album and co-produced it. Questlove was very proud of the final product, telling the audience it was a “passion project and it’s everything.”
“I don’t really want to give a hyperbolic or grandiose statement, but it’s everything. It’s beautiful, it’s ugly, it’s truth, it’s lies,” Questlove said, reports Rolling Stone. “It’s everything.”
Black Messiah is officially credited to D’Angelo and the Vanguard and also features Q-Tip, Pino Palladino, James Gadson and Kendra Foster.
The cover features arms raised in the air in protest, so it’s not surprising that the album has political themes. “It’s about people rising up in Ferguson and in Egypt and in Occupy Wall Street and in every place where a community has had enough and decides to make change happen,” D’Angelo wrote in a book handed out during the party.
D’Angelo began making public appearances in 2012, discussing his fights with substance abuse and recovering from a car crash. As CNN notes, he performed at the Bonnaroo music festival and BET Awards that year. However, it wasn’t until today that his new studio album was finally released. It is available on iTunes and can be streamed on Spotify.
Black Messiah is only D’Angelo’s third album overall, following Voodoo and 1995’s Brown Sugar.