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〕 |single 4 = Me and Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine |single 4 date = 1996 }} }} ''Brown Sugar'' is the debut album of American recording artist D'Angelo, released on July 4, 1995, by EMI Music. Recording sessions for the album took place from 1994 to 1995 at Battery Studios and RPM Studios in New York City and at the Pookie Lab in Sacramento. Production, instrumentation, arrangements, and songwriting were primarily handled by D'Angelo, who employed both vintage recording equipment and modern electronic devices. ''Brown Sugar'' contains themes of love and romance, and features a fusion of contemporary R&B and traditional soul music, along with elements of funk, quiet storm, and hip hop music. ''Brown Sugar'' debuted at number six on the US ''Billboard'' Top R&B Albums chart, selling 300,000 copies in its first two months. With the help of its four singles, it spent 65 weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and attained platinum shipments within a year of its release. Upon its release, ''Brown Sugar'' received acclaim from music critics and earned D'Angelo several accolades, including four Grammy Award nominations. Regarded by music writers as a pivotal album in neo soul, the album provided commercial visibility to the musical movement, amid the prominence of producer-driven, digitally approached R&B. == Background == By 1991, eighteen-year-old singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael D'Angelo Archer had formed his native-Richmond, Virginia musical group—Michael Archer and Precise—and achieved success on the Amateur Night competition at Harlem, New York's Apollo Theater in 1991. Soon after, he dropped out of school and moved to New York City,〔 as an attempt to develop his own music career.〔(D'Angelo: Biography ). ''NME''. Retrieved on January 28, 2009.〕 The group had previously enjoyed some notice in Richmond, evenly dividing their repertoire between soul covers and originals, while D'Angelo accumulated compositions of his own and developed his songwriting skills.〔 The group's turnout on Amateur Night resulted in three consecutive wins and a cash prize,〔 after which, upon returning home to Richmond, D'Angelo was inspired to produce his own album and began composing material.〔Touré. (Untitled Document: D'Angelo, May 2000 ). ''Rolling Stone''. Archived from (the original ) on April 2, 2011.〕 After a brief tenure as a member of the hip hop group I.D.U. (Intelligent, Deadly but Unique),〔H.W. Wilson Co. (2001), pp. 36–39.〕 D'Angelo signed a publishing deal with EMI Music in 1991 after catching the attention of record executives through a demo tape, which was originally by the group.〔Huey, Steve. (D'Angelo: Biography ). Allmusic. Retrieved on January 28, 2009.〕〔(D'Angelo: Artist Bio ). MuchMusic. Retrieved on January 28, 2009.〕 After impressing EMI execs with a three-hour impromptu piano recital,〔Samuels, Allison. (Pop Music: A One-Man Soul Revival ). ''Newsweek''. Retrieved on April 15, 2014.〕 D'Angelo was signed to a recording contract in 1993.〔Oblender (2001), pp. 35–36.〕 A&R-man Gary Harris was primarily responsible for his signing,〔Peisner, David (2008). (Body & Soul ). ''Spin'', pp. 64–72.〕 while manager Kedar Massenburg helped negotiate the contract as well.〔Gale Staff (1998), pp. 138–139.〕 Massenburg became D'Angelo's manager after hearing of him through "the buzz on the streets".〔 He had previously managed hip hop group Stetsasonic and formed the artist management-firm Kedar Entertainment in 1991, which he diversified into production, music publishing and publicity.〔 In 1994, his first significant success came in the form of the hit single "U Will Know".〔 D'Angelo co-wrote and co-produced the song for the all-male R&B supergroup Black Men United, which featured R&B singers such as Brian McKnight, Usher, R. Kelly, Boyz II Men, Raphael Saadiq and Gerald Levert.〔(D'Angelo Signed to RCA Music Group (J Records) ). PRWeb. Retrieved on December 8, 2008.〕 D'Angelo composed the music for "U Will Know", while his brother, Luther Archer, wrote the lyrics.〔Onnell (1997), pp. 103–105.〕 Originally featured on the soundtrack to the film ''Jason's Lyric'' (1994), the single peaked at number 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and number 28 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.〔(Jason's Lyric: Charts & Awards ). Allmusic. Retrieved on January 28, 2009.〕 The music video for "U Will Know" featured D'Angelo as the group's choir director; he reprised the role for the live performance of the song at the Soul Train Music Awards.〔 That same year, he wrote and produced the song "Overjoyed" for the Boys Choir of Harlem,〔 which appeared on their studio album ''The Sound of Hope'' (1994).〔(Amazon.com: The Sound of Hope ). Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved on February 1, 2009.〕 The success of "U Will Know" helped build the buzz surrounding D'Angelo, which was followed by a number of highly promoted performance showcases, and added to the buzz among music industry insiders.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Brown Sugar (D'Angelo album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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