I was pretty disappointed by most of the music that was released last year in 2014. There wasn't a standout rap album. No other genres really had an album that really stuck out to me.
Luckily, in December, Black Messiah by D'Angelo was released. In a major way, it's the opposite of In the Lonely Hour. Where in the Lonely Hour exudes vulnerability and immaturity, Black Messiah is a mature album dripping in... confidence. I've listened to songs from that album almost every day. Every week, I have another favorite song. My favorite song was "Prayer", at first. Another week, my favorite song was "Sugah Daddy". This weekend, my favorite song was "Really Love." Now, I've given up because the whole album was so good and any song in the album could be considered the best, with the possible exception of “1000 Deaths,” which lyrically does nothing for me.
One of the things that pops out immediately is that the musical choices that are made for the album almost always work. Black Messiah is an album that you want to listen to with your best speakers. The album features great drums, Spanish guitar, and other instruments. I'm pretty sure I also heard a gong at one point of the album. It's obvious that a lot of work went into making the album. His live performance of "Really Love" on Saturday Night Live sounded great, and I assume that his live performances of the songs from this album are just as good.
Disclaimer: This album is largely “baby making music”. Use caution (and protection) when listening to this album.
If it isn't already obvious, I absolutely loved listening to this album. For those who like arbitrary ratings, I give this album 5 September baby showers out of 5.
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