IT SEX MACHINE: D'Angelo
AGE: 26 WHY HIM? With a seductive croon reminiscent
of Marvin Gaye and Prince, slinky dance moves,
and a prodigious talent for producing tracks
that unite hip-hop,old school funk, and classic soul,
the singer, songwriter, and producer from Richmond, VA,
has made an R&B world filled with bland balladeers
and scrub-hating girl groups cool again. Not to mention
that the man is---as anyone who's seen VH1's Men Strike Backknows--
sex on a stick. WORK RITUAL: "Before the show, I listen
to a gospel CD. That and James Brown. Me and the band,
we get together and we pray. We start the prayer off with a song."
KNEW HE'D MADE IT WHEN: "I met Stevie Wonder and he started singing
one of my songs to me at the '96 Grammy's. He sang "Shit,
Damn, Motherfucker" to me, which was really wild. I had
to marinate in that for a minute." JEANS OR KHAKIS? "Jeans and boots
and wifebeaters. That's my everyday uniform." WHO'D PLAY HIM IN THE BIOPIC:
"He got to be a smooth cat...Denzel could play me, most definitely.
He's dope. Denzel's the man." NEXT: The second leg of his
Voodoo tour kicks off in late July.