Brittany Packnett Instagram – Remember when neo-soul hit? it was everything we knew and something entirely new. polar opposites that fit together perfectly. Incense & Hip Hop. Church & hoodoo. Ham hocks and a vegan spot. Gamble & Huff in a headwrap.
Refreshing and familiar all at the same time. Vintage and fresh, like granny’s plastic lined couch and the latest J drop. And it never would have been without D’Angelo. Per @kindredthewife, all the soul since has his DNA.
You had to be there, and I wish all yall could’ve been.
D’Angelo once said he never claimed to do neo-soul. “I said I do Black music.” And that’s the truth, Ruth. an industry needed a label but the people never did: we knew his genius in our bones and we felt every lyric, every line, every note in our deepest parts. He was for us. He was us.
It was so true to the spirit of his art that he didn’t want to be VERZUZ anybody: D’Angelo and Friends. Bringing us beauty and Blackness in bleak times. As a balm. As a warm blanket. As a reminder that everything we’ve created is sacred.
Three perfect albums. Deliberate. Slow. Intentional. Caring and careful. Gifts for all of us that remain in the pantheon of Black music. They all sound different, but they each distill soul in its purest sense.
You changed us forever, D’Angelo. Thank you for living this life so well. We’ll see you in another one.
Fly high 🕊️ | Posted on 15/Oct/2025 05:22:13
