After years of delays, one of R&B’s long lost kings, D’Angelo, is finally back in the studio at work on his long-awaited third album, according to current collaborator, The Roots drummer Questlove.
The announcement was made July 12 via Questlove’s Twitter page, where the drummer revealed that he, bassist Pino Palladino and producer-engineer Russell Elevado were in the studio with D’Angelo.
“Most people use midnight as a time to sleep. others are working on their 11 year followup. this of course being hour number one,” tweeted Questlove.
Later in the night, Questlove tweeted, “Man. I’m Changed. Almost 3am. Music can Heal You. #sqrntweets,” adding later on, “just made a classic at 4:28am. swear to god. #sqrntweet.”
According to Billboard, the album, which was provisionally titled James River, is up for a release toward the end of the year through J records, but depending on how the recording sessions go, it may be released in the first quarter of 2012.
D’Angelo’s long-awaited follow-up to his Grammy-winning 2000 album, Voodoo, has been delayed by a series of personal setbacks for the singer, including arrests for drug possession and solicitation and his recovery from a serious car accident.
Throughout the last decade, a number of musical heavyweights have reportedly contributed to D’Angelo’s forthcoming album, including Prince, John Mayer, Cee Lo Green, Roy Hargrove and Mark Ronson. Throughout that time, D’Angelo has contributed to music from the likes of Common, Snoop Dogg, Raphael Saadiq, Q-Tip and the late J-Dilla.
Hopefully, if all goes well, D’Angelo won’t make fans wait another 10 years for this album. –nicholas robinson
