Tag: 2010s

D’Angelo | Another Life

“D’Angelo established himself as an unwitting founder and leading light of the late-’90s neo-soul movement, which aimed to bring the organic flavor of classic R&B back to the hip-hop age,” (Qobuz). “Modeling himself on the likes of Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Sly Stone, and Prince, D’Angelo exhibited his inspirations not only with his vocal style — albeit with a stoned yet emotive twist all his own — but also wrote his own material, and frequently produced it, helping to revive the concept of the all-purpose R&B auteur. His first album, Brown Sugar (1995), gradually earned him an audience so devoted that the looser and rhythmically richer follow-up, Voodoo (2000), debuted at number one despite a gap of almost five years, and won that year’s Grammy for Best R&B Album. A wait of nearly three times that length preceded the release of the bristlier Black Messiah (2014), a Top Five hit that made D’Angelo a two-time Best R&B Album winner. The musician worked on material for a prospective fourth album before he died of pancreatic cancer (in October 2025).

Between proper LPs, D’Angelo took some time off and split acrimoniously with his management. Meanwhile, neo-soul, a marketing term coined by industry executive Kedar Massenburg, caught on as a legitimate subgenre with the success of like-minded artists such as Maxwell and Erykah Badu. D’Angelo surfaced on a handful of soundtracks, primarily via cover versions, contemporizing Eddie Kendricks’ ‘Girl You Need a Change of Mind’ (Get on the Bus), Prince’s ‘She’s Always in My Hair’ (Scream 2), Ohio Players’ ‘Heaven Must Be Like This’ (Down in the Delta), and Ashford & Simpson’s ‘Your Precious Love’ (a duet with Badu, for High School High) … He joined Lauryn Hill on ‘Nothing Even Matters,’ a cut off the Grammy-winning The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” … and worked extensively with QuestLove, drummer from The Roots. “Raphael Saadiq stated in an interview roughly a year earlier that D’Angelo had been writing songs for the follow-up to Black Messiah.”

Starting in Bb minor, “Another Life,” the closing track from 2014’s Black Messiah, shifts into multi-layered territory at 1:11, sidling up to D major at 1:38 via some slinky compound chords. At 1:52, there’s a rather rash return to Bb minor, but the groove is so profound that you’ll just keep nodding your head. More key changes follow throughout.

Robert Glasper Experiment | No One Like You

“For almost a decade, Robert Glasper has been the standard-bearer for jazz music’s fusion with hip-hop, soul, and rock, turning songs like Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and Radiohead’s ‘Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box’ into kinetic electro-funk mashups,” (Pitchfork). “With his Experiment band, Glasper (tends) to leapfrog different genres, making music that’s rooted in jazz and R&B and impossible to peg. ‘My people have given the world so many styles of music,’ Glasper declares at the top of ArtScience (2016), the Experiment’s new album. ‘So why should I just confine myself to one? We want to explore them all.’

ArtScience follows Black Radio 2, the band’s guest-heavy 2013 LP featuring rappers Common, Snoop Dogg and Lupe Fiasco, and singers Jill Scott and Norah Jones, among many others. On it and the band’s first Black Radio album, the Glasper Experiment mostly stayed in the background, giving room to their guests to shine atop the group’s instrumentals. The formula worked: Black Radio won the 2012 Grammy for Best R&B Album, and ‘Jesus Children’—a Stevie Wonder remake from Black Radio 2, featuring vocalist Lalah Hathaway and actor/poet Malcolm-Jamal Warner—won the 2014 Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance.

For ArtScience, the Experiment keeps things in-house, handling all the vocal work themselves … ArtScience doesn’t play like an R&B or jazz record; it pulls in ’80s funk and ’90s soul without landing any place in particular. For the first time, we get to hear the Experiment let go for a full project, not just on a few songs here and there … ArtScience is the Robert Glasper Experiment’s most realized effort, mainly because they’ve stopped relying on outside talent to get their point across. They’ve created their own vibe, one that needed their own voices to truly resonate.”

“No One Like You,” a track from ArtScience, begins in C minor. For its chorus, first heard from 0:36 – 0:53, the tonality shifts to Eb minor before returning to the original key. The two sections continue to alternate throughout the tune.

Sure Fire Soul Ensemble | Out on the Coast

“Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, from San Diego, is one of the most talented new bands on the West Coast. Mixing funk, soul, jazz, and Latin & African influences to create unique, exciting music… their ‘cinematic soul’ is like a cross between the music from Jim Jarmusch movies & Blacksploitation films of the 1970s,” (AllAboutJazz). “If you like Snarky Puppy, The Beastie Boys’ instrumentals, Quantic, The New Mastersounds, Karl Denson and Greyboy Allstars… then you’ll love Sure Fire Soul Ensemble.

The title track (of the band’s 2016 release), ‘Out on the Coast,’ is a cover version of a rare-groove classic by Larry Willis from 1973 — one of the very finest examples of electrifying jazz-funk from the ’70s. Sure Fire Soul Ensemble updates it to become a contemporary jazz funk jam you can’t resist. It’s a little meaner than the original—Peter “D” Williams attacks the drums & Tim Felten takes a brief, yet nasty organ solo on this one. The horn section plays the refrain spot-on and tremendous tone on the guitar all make this tune sound more modern and stimulating than the original.”

The track starts in C minor, but then the emphasis flips over to the parallel Eb major for the off-kilter chorus, first heard at 0:41-0:48. The contrast between the two sections is magnified further by a shift in groove from the verse’s gritty, syncopated funk to a sophisticated swing on the chorus.

Rhythm of the Universe | Anthem for the World

In 2010, “a group of Berklee College of Music students set out to show just how powerful music can be,” (Berklee.edu). “The orginal spark came from Emir Cerman and he was joined in his quest by a group of fellow Berklee musicians. The result is Rhythm of the Universe, a musical collaboration project that brings together the voices and sounds of musicians from more than 90 different countries. ROTU was created to promote unity through music and further promote the value of music education … more than 300 Berklee students, from all walks of life, (were) involved in this project, creating ROTU’s “Anthem for the World”—a song written for the world, by the world.

ROTU has performed at (Boston’s) Symphony Hall alongside the Video Game Orchestra and Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor Alan Silvestri. More recently, the group performed as part of the 9/11 memorial event Massachusetts Remembers, on Boston’s Esplanade. It’s also used its influence, through a YouTube video, to raise awareness of the devastation following the October 2011 earthquake in Van, Turkey; that video received more than 80,000 views and was also picked up by more than 15 major news and music channels in Turkey, Germany, and France, reaching more than 50 million people. ‘We’re serving as a vehicle to show unity through music,’ said ROTU cofounder Gabriel Peguero. ‘To show that through this unity, collaboration is possible and together we can do great things,’ … As ROTU embodies this unity, by representing so many countries it is also an example of Berklee’s international reach.”

Starting in E minor, the ambitious track journeys through shifting textures and nods to multiple genres. At 2:03, a surprising whole-step downward key change brings a suddenly quieter accompaniment. At 3:10, the original key returns, then rises another half step to F minor at 4:56 leading up to the track’s closing. The final third of the video is devoted to the credits (along with some wonderful behind-the-scenes footage), which are as extensive as you’d expect for such a large project!

Many thanks to Julia B. for submitting this track — her first (and hopefully not last!) contribution to MotD!

Once and For All (from “Newsies”)

“Inspired by the Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City, Newsies revolves around Jack Kelly, a newspaper delivery boy — aka “newsie” — who is living among a group of other young newsies, most of them homeless or orphaned,” (ArtsATL.org). “Jack dreams of being an artist and escaping to Santa Fe. Among his clan are disabled friend Crutchie, Davey, and Davey’s young brother Les, who have joined the group after their father becomes unable to work. When publisher Joseph Pulitzer decides to raise the cost of the newspapers to the boys by a dime, it causes the gang to protest and eventually strike. 

The book is by Harvey Feirstein, music by Alan Menken, and lyrics by Jack Feldman. Nominated for eight Tony Awards in 2012, it won two, for choreography and music, losing the big prize to Once … Overall, Newsies is brisk and compact with a tight score, complete with some showstoppers.” The musical opened on Broadway in 2012.  

After a gentle intro in G major, “Once and For All” jumps to its relative E minor for most of the track as it tumbles forward with a grim energy. Other minor keys are visited as the focus remains on the compelling lyrics, the straightforward repeated melody, and a relentless four-on-the-floor groove. The key of A minor happens to be in effect when the tonality explosively shifts to A major (3:08) and a less frenetic, more anthemic feel for a late bridge — just in time for the pivotal lyric “There’s change coming, once and for all.” But at 3:34, we’re back to the minor grind for the song’s closing moments.

Dan + Shay | Show You Off

“Just as the line between gospel and classic country was blurry in the Louvin Brothers’ heyday, it remains possible to pull off a certain Saturday night/Sunday morning thing in the modern country and Christian markets simultaneously,” (Stereogum). “There is no shortage of overlap within these worlds, demographically speaking. Sonically, too, both genres have gravitated toward arena rock grandiosity over the years, alienating traditionalists while still appealing to vaguely traditional notions of faith, family, the heartland, etc. Dan + Shay’s music feels targeted to this intersection. They give off big worship leader energy …

It’s working out well for them. The duo is one of country music’s biggest pop crossover success stories in recent memory. Not only did their 2018 self-titled album spin off three country #1 hits in ‘Tequila,’ the storybook-wedding ballad ‘Speechless,’ and ‘All to Myself’ … they also sent two of those songs to the top 10 at adult contemporary radio. They won awards at just about every ceremony within their reach: Grammys, Billboard Awards, Teen Choice Awards, CMAs, ACMs, you name it.”

The duo’s 2014 release “Show You Off,” performed here live with just the two singers and minus a lot of the contemporary Nashville shininess, shifts up a whole step (2:24) after a a brief bridge.

Lucky Daye | Real Games

Painted by Lucky Daye, a 2019 album release, is ” … a modern twist on traditional soul-funk or ‘Neo-soul.’ (TheModernLifeMag.com). “He grew up in a religious household where secular music was largely prohibited,” (AllMusic). “As a result, he developed his musical abilities by learning melodies through church hymns. After leaving his family’s church as a teenager, he immersed himself in R&B, soul, and funk music, drawing inspiration from artists such as Stevie Wonder, Prince and D’Angelo. Following New Orleans’ devastation by Hurricane Katrina, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia …

Daye was a 2005 American Idol contestant and “a successful songwriter and background vocalist, with credits as ‘D. Brown’ on tracks by some industry A-listers such as Trey Songz, Ne-Yo, Keith Sweat, Boyz II Men, Mary J. Blige, and many more notable artists.”

The hard-charging funk verses of “Real Games” are built in Bb minor. The choruses, first heard from 0:57 – 1:24, shift to several different Bb major-related modes as they immerse us in a noticeably lighter groove and texture. D’Mile, the track’s co-writer along with Daye, also served as producer for the tune. Daye uses one of his apparently favorite techniques — pitch-shifting his vocal down an octave, sometimes doubled with the original vocal — several times throughout the track.

The Summarily Dismissed | Limerent Buzz

“Ari Shagal’s … bold, brash, electrifying album, To Each! channels Laura Nyro, Donald Fagen, jazz in general, Broadway, and a lot more,” (Soundstage Experience). Songwriter Ari Shagal “proves to be a triple-threat performer, singer, and composer/arranger.

Though there are up- and down-tempo songs on this set, it’s full of swagger and confidence — the same feelings I get from a Steely Dan album. Shagal’s music is chic, cool, and invigorating, even when it’s the blues. It goes down easy while leaving a lasting impression.”

“Limerent Buzz,” a track from 2014’s To Each! by the Shagal-led band The Summarily Dismissed, starts in Bb major, but shifts to Db major for all but the tail end of its chorus, first heard between 0:50-1:14). At 1:21, we return to the original key for the next verse; the pattern continues from there.

Tim Minchin | Three Minute Song

“Tim Minchin is an Australian musician, comedian, composer, actor, writer and director,” (artist website). “He has toured extensively in the US, UK and Australia, performing solo, with bands, and with symphony orchestras. He’s released five DVDs, the most recent recorded with the Heritage Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall. He is the composer lyricist of two hit West End / Broadway musicals, Matilda and Groundhog Day, both of which won the Olivier Award for Best West End Musical and garnered nominations for Best Score and Best Musical in Broadway’s Tony Awards.

Minchin wrote, produced and starred in the Sky Atlantic / Foxtel TV series, Upright, in 2019. Other screen-acting credits include Atticus Fetch in Season 6 of Californication, a Logie Award-winning Smasher Sullivan in the ABC’s Secret River, and Friar Tuck in Lionsgate’s Robin Hood reboot. Stage highlights include Judas in the UK / Australian Arena tour of Jesus Christ Superstar in 2012, and Rosencrantz in the Sydney Theatre Company’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead the following year. He has published two books: the graphic novel, ‘Storm,’ and the illustrated childrens’ book, ‘When I Grow Up’. He is a member of the Order of Australia, a philanthropist and a mediocre juggler. ‘Simultaneously an excellent stand-up comedian, a purveyor of physical comedy, an accomplished musician and a lyricist of diabolical ingenuity. Witty, smart, and unabashedly offensive.‘ (The Age, Melbourne)”

Minchin’s “Three Minute Song” needs little description, as it tells its own story. This 2011 performance of the tune was composed specifically for the BBC program Ruth Jones’ Easter Treat. 2:28 brings a whole-step key change, shoe-horned in among a huge number of syllables per minute and plenty of fast piano riffs.

헤이즈 (Heize) | And July

“Heize is a talented rapper and singer-songwriter from South Korea,” (IMDB). “She’s become one of South Korea’s most successful female solo musicians because of her distinctive sound. She has worked with numerous other musicians; her songs have been well-received both domestically and abroad. Jang Da-hye (her off-stage name) … rose to fame after making her debut in 2014 with the EP Heize and showing up on the second season of the South Korean reality show.

Heize won the 2017 Korean Music Awards for Best Female R&B/Soul Artist. She also won Best OST at the 2017 Melon Music Awards for her song “Round and Round” from the Goblin soundtrack, which she co-wrote with Punch. Her music has also been featured on US television shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Empire. She received a 2018 BET Award nomination for Best International Act.”

Heize’s 2017 track “And July,” featuring a combination of rap and sung melody, is a mix of R+B, funk, and hiphop elements. The track is written in D minor overall, but shifts to Eb major for its noticeably smoother and more lyrical bridge (2:27 – 2:46), featuring lead vocals by collaborator Kwon Hyuk (stage name: Dean) before returning to the original key.

Many thanks to Sri, a longtime MotD reader and first time contributor, for this distinctive submission!