D\u2019Angelo<\/strong><\/a>\u2018s game-changing 1995 debut album Brown Sugar<\/em> is set to be reissued as part of UMe\u2019s Vinylphyle series. The LP, which helped pioneer the neo-soul movement, includes the smash hit title track, \u201cLady,\u201d and \u201cCruisin\u2019,\u201d which is a cover of the classic Smokey Robinson track.<\/p>\n The release features new liner notes written by Jason King, longtime music scholar, journalist, and current dean of USC\u2019s Thornton School of Music.\n<\/p>\n While each song on Brown Sugar<\/em> has its own analog mix reel, the album was digitally assembled for final CD and vinyl mastering for its 1995 release. For this new Vinylphyle reissue, UMe made new all-analog, machine-to-machine 1\/2\u201d 30 IPS production masters for each side from the individual mix reels. Those tapes were sent to Joe Nino-Hernes and were used to cut this LP.<\/p>\n D\u2019Angelo wrote and recorded much of Brown Sugar<\/em> by himself, handling a plethora of instruments on the LP. The album was released when he was only 21 years old. The late R&B superstar cited artists like Prince and Lenny Kravitz as inspirations for the record. \u201cPrince is extremely soulful, but he can get real rock-\u2018n\u2019-rollish. So can Lenny Kravitz,\u201d D\u2019Angelo said in a 1996 interview with Interview<\/em> magazine. \u201cI\u2019m making black music. That\u2019s the only outline for me, really. That\u2019s the only boundary to stay with. It\u2019s soul music. I\u2019m going all out in those terms.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Brown Sugar<\/em> received four Grammy nominations, including for Best R&B Album. It also preceded 2000\u2019s Voodoo<\/em>, which is widely considered one of the most accomplished albums of the 21st century. D\u2019Angelo took an extended hiatus before his triumphant return arrived 14 years later when he shared his third and final LP, Black Messiah<\/em>. The singer tragically died 11 years later, in October of 2025.\n<\/p>\n