By Robert Taylor Jr.
Managing Editor
D'Angelo's latest video, "Untitled," has no special effects, props, background images, or dancers.
But the video became the No. 1 video faster than the speed of light.
How did that happen? It's just him, the 25-year-old Richmond, VA native, in front of a black background, standing.
Standing naked, that is.
"He toned up a little bit," said freshman Ronata Bryant, who remembered D'Angelo from his slightly larger days of a few years ago. D'Angelo's brown, muscular body is the main attraction in the video, with just one camera zooming in and out. But the camera didn't zoom out too far. "I didn't want to see all that," Bryant, a biology-premed major, said. "The video leaves what wasn't shown to the imagination."
The song talks about his hoping that the girl of his dreams chooses him to be her man. "And if you'll have me, I can provide everything that you desire, hmm...Don't you come closer to me baby, hey, then you already got me right where you want me baby....I just want to be your man," the song goes.
"Untitled" was released in January, and a couple weeks later, his sophomore album, Voodoo, was released on Virgin Records. Prior to "Untitled," the singles "Devil's Pie" and "Left and Right" featuring Redman and Method Man were released.
In its first week on the market, Voodoo was the the No. 1 album on the Billboard charts, and the "Untitled" video was No. 1 on Black Entertainment Television's "All Top 10."
"That boy looked good (in the video), said Jennifer Morgan, a freshman whose major is undecided. "He's cute, but he's not all that fine, like Ginuwine. But D'Angelo's got a real nice body."
D'Angelo's first album, Brown Sugar, was released in September 1995, with hits like the title cut, "Crusin',", Me and Those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine," and "Lady."
Later, he recorded a duet with Lauryn Hill on "Nothing Even Matters," from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, sang "Heaven Must Be Like This" from the Down in the Delta soundtrack, and teamed up with Method Man on "Break Ups 2 Make Ups" on the Tical 2000: Judgment Day soundtrack.
Other songs on Voodoo include "Africa," "Playa, Playa," "The Line," "Spanish Joint," "Feel Like Makin' Luv," "Chicken Grease," "Send it On," "One Mo'gin," "Greatdayndamornin'/Booty," and "The Root."
D'Angelo is currently scheduling a tour with prospective artists like Mos Def, Common, and Q-Tip. Though tour dates could change, D'Angelo is scheduled to perform at the Palace Theatre in Columbus on Apr. 25.
Would you like to meet D'Angelo? "I really don't care if I meet him or not, but I'd love to see his body up close and personal," Morgan said. As for Bryant: "Hell, yeah."