The original neo soul crooner D'Angelo has been off the scene for about a decade now since blessing us with his smooth soul sounds. Since he landed on the world music stage back in 1991, he has given us hits like "Brown Sugar" "Lady" and "How does it feel". But the singer went dark for some years, ballooning to an unrecognizable weight and was even rumored to be abusing drugs. But thank the music heavens, he is ready for a comeback and GQ got him to do his first photo shoot in a decade. He's been working on new music, and will even Join Jay Z on stage during the "Made in America" festival. Could a D'Angelo Roc Nation partnership be in the works? The singer tells GQ what woke him up to get back on the good foot and why he thought he was going to die.
What finally made him see, he says, was the passing of J Dilla, the revered hip-hop producer, on February 10, 2006. They'd just talked on the phone, D'Angelo says, when suddenly, J Dilla was gone at 32 after a long battle with lupus. It was like a blinding light had been switched on. Why did so many black artists die so young? He'd been haunted by this thought for years. Marvin. Jimi. Biggie. "I felt like I was going to be next. I ain't bullshitting. I was scared then," he says, recalling how shame engulfed him, preventing him from attending the funeral. "I was so fucked-up, I couldn't go."
