D’Angelo’s first album in 14 years, “Black Messiah”, may very well have been sent from above. The nickname “R&B Jesus”, given to him by critic Robert Christgau, is perhaps the most accurate description of them all. When D’Angelo dropped his last album, Voodoo, Internet Explorer was the search engine of choice, people knew what floppy discs were and teenagers still communicated using AOL Instant Messenger. Although the times have changed over 14 years, D’Angelo has not. He still is able to take the music wherever he wants with incredible harmony lines, profound lyrics and unclear enunciation reminiscent of James Brown. “Really Love” begins with a long string intro and continues into a head-bobbing whirlwind of acoustic guitars and gospel. It is the culmination of the 56 minutes of soul that is “Black Messiah”, and a shining star in a constellation of an album.

Happy Listening, Joel.