Black Messiah (album)
Updated: 5/24/2026, 7:09:14 PM Wikipedia source
Black Messiah is the third studio album by the American musician D'Angelo, credited to D'Angelo and the Vanguard. Released on December 15, 2014, through RCA Records, more than fourteen years after his previous solo release Voodoo, it is D'Angelo's last album to be released during his lifetime. The album was produced and mostly written by D'Angelo, who collaborated with musicians including drummer Questlove, bassist Pino Palladino, guitarist Isaiah Sharkey, horn player Roy Hargrove, and singer and lyricist Kendra Foster. He pursued an entirely analog and murky funk sound for the record, lending comparisons to the 1971 Sly & the Family Stone album There's a Riot Goin' On. Black Messiah was among 2014's most highly anticipated albums and was released to critical acclaim, later being ranked as one of the year's best albums. The album debuted at number 5 on the US Billboard charts and number 1 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, selling over 117,000 units in its first week. Black Messiah was promoted with the release of the single "Really Love" and a tour called The Second Coming. At the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, Black Messiah won Best R&B Album while "Really Love" won Best R&B Song and was nominated for Record of the Year.
Infobox
Released
December 15, 2014
Studio
MSR, Sear Sound, Avatar, and Quad Recording in New York City Henson Recording and The Plant in Los Angeles Electric Lady Studios Hydra SF
Genre
Progressive soul psychedelic soul funk R&B neo soul jazz-funk
Length
55:54
Label
RCA
Producer
D'Angelo
Tables
Professional ratings · Critical reception
Source
Source
Aggregate scores
Source
Aggregate scores
Rating
AnyDecentMusic?
AnyDecentMusic?
Aggregate scores
AnyDecentMusic?
Aggregate scores
9 /10
Metacritic
Metacritic
Aggregate scores
Metacritic
Aggregate scores
95/100
Review scores
Review scores
Aggregate scores
Review scores
Source
Source
Aggregate scores
Source
Aggregate scores
Rating
AllMusic
AllMusic
Aggregate scores
AllMusic
Aggregate scores
Cuepoint (Expert Witness)
Cuepoint (Expert Witness)
Aggregate scores
Cuepoint (Expert Witness)
Aggregate scores
A−
The Independent
The Independent
Aggregate scores
The Independent
Aggregate scores
The Irish Times
The Irish Times
Aggregate scores
The Irish Times
Aggregate scores
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
Aggregate scores
Los Angeles Times
Aggregate scores
NME
NME
Aggregate scores
NME
Aggregate scores
9/10
Pitchfork
Pitchfork
Aggregate scores
Pitchfork
Aggregate scores
9 /10
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Aggregate scores
Rolling Stone
Aggregate scores
Spin
Spin
Aggregate scores
Spin
Aggregate scores
9/10
USA Today
USA Today
Aggregate scores
USA Today
Aggregate scores
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 9 /10 |
| Metacritic | 95/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Cuepoint (Expert Witness) | A− |
| The Independent | |
| The Irish Times | |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| NME | 9/10 |
| Pitchfork | 9 /10 |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | 9/10 |
| USA Today | |
· Charts › Weekly charts
Australian Albums (ARIA)
Australian Albums (ARIA)
Chart (2015)
Australian Albums (ARIA)
Peak
position
50
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
Chart (2015)
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)
Peak
position
71
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
Chart (2015)
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
Peak
position
33
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
Chart (2015)
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)
Peak
position
109
Canadian Albums (Billboard)
Canadian Albums (Billboard)
Chart (2015)
Canadian Albums (Billboard)
Peak
position
17
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
Chart (2015)
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)
Peak
position
36
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
Chart (2015)
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)
Peak
position
10
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
Chart (2015)
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
Peak
position
8
French Albums (SNEP)
French Albums (SNEP)
Chart (2015)
French Albums (SNEP)
Peak
position
149
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
Chart (2015)
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)
Peak
position
85
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
Chart (2015)
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)
Peak
position
30
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)
Chart (2015)
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)
Peak
position
10
Portuguese Albums (AFP)
Portuguese Albums (AFP)
Chart (2015)
Portuguese Albums (AFP)
Peak
position
17
Scottish Albums (OCC)
Scottish Albums (OCC)
Chart (2015)
Scottish Albums (OCC)
Peak
position
96
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
Chart (2015)
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)
Peak
position
35
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
Chart (2015)
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)
Peak
position
25
UK Albums (OCC)
UK Albums (OCC)
Chart (2015)
UK Albums (OCC)
Peak
position
47
UK R&B Albums (OCC)
UK R&B Albums (OCC)
Chart (2015)
UK R&B Albums (OCC)
Peak
position
4
US Billboard 200
US Billboard 200
Chart (2015)
US Billboard 200
Peak
position
5
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
Chart (2015)
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
Peak
position
1
US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard)
US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard)
Chart (2015)
US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard)
Peak
position
1
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 50 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) | 71 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) | 33 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) | 109 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) | 17 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) | 36 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) | 10 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) | 8 |
| French Albums (SNEP) | 149 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 85 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) | 30 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) | 10 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP) | 17 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) | 96 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) | 35 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | 25 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 47 |
| UK R&B Albums (OCC) | 4 |
| US Billboard 200 | 5 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) | 1 |
| US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard) | 1 |
· Charts › Weekly charts
Japanese Download Albums (Billboard Japan)
Japanese Download Albums (Billboard Japan)
Chart (2025)
Japanese Download Albums (Billboard Japan)
Peak
position
87
| Chart (2025) | Peak position |
| Japanese Download Albums (Billboard Japan) | 87 |
· Charts › Year-end charts
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
Chart (2015)
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)
Position
148
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)
Chart (2015)
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)
Position
87
US Billboard 200
US Billboard 200
Chart (2015)
US Billboard 200
Position
118
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
Chart (2015)
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
Position
12
| Chart (2015) | Position |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) | 148 |
| Dutch Albums (MegaCharts) | 87 |
| US Billboard 200 | 118 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) | 12 |
References
- Contactmusichttp://www.contactmusic.com/d-angelo/video/d-angelo-really-love-live-on-snl
- Consequence of Soundhttps://consequence.net/2014/12/dangelo-has-finished-black-messiah-his-first-new-album-in-14-years/
- Cuepointhttps://web.archive.org/web/20171210071924/https://medium.com/cuepoint/robert-christgau-expert-witness-156a033a8dc1
- "D'Angelo"https://www.grammy.com/artists/dangelo/1902
- Los Angeles Timeshttps://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2025-10-14/dangelo-dead-singer-neo-soul
- Track listing and credits as per liner notes for Voodoo album
- "D'Angelo: What the Hell Happened?"https://www.spin.com/2008/08/dangelo-what-hell-happened/
- Peisner, David. "Body & Soul Archived June 20, 2017, at the Wayback Machine". Spin: 64–72. August 2008.http://spin-cdnsrc.texterity.com/spin/200808/?pg=66
- Singersroomhttp://singersroom.com/content/2007-08-11/Angie-Stone-Talks-About-Past-Relationship-With-DAngelo/
- Columnist. D'Angelo Working On J Records Debut Archived 2012-02-18 at the Wayback Machine. HHNLive . Retrieved on 2008-1http://hhnlive.com/news/more/2518
- PR. D'Angelo Signed to RCA Music Group (J Records) Archived 2012-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. PRWeb. Retrieved on 2008-http://haoodnla.com/article/lxy09216611y9j01/96476
- "D'Angelo – Credits"https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dangelo-mn0000134600/credits
- Elevado, Russell. Questlove. D'Angelo's "James River" Archived 2011-10-08 at the Wayback Machine. Quality Time. Retrievehttp://www.qualitytimeonline.nl/2008/01/17/dangelos-james-river/
- I Love Old School Musichttps://web.archive.org/web/20220128234232/https://www.iloveoldschoolmusic.com/friends-revealed-tragedy-that-led-to-dangelos-addiction-fight-to-get-him-in-rehab/
- MTVhttps://web.archive.org/web/20070516080959/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1510403/20050927/d_angelo.jhtml
- Pitchforkhttps://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20078-black-messiah/
- Spinhttps://books.google.com/books?id=Ul7jcf4HvN4C&q=d%27angelo+j+records+virgin&pg=PA70
- Billboardhttps://web.archive.org/web/20140907221436/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/269586/dangelo-plots-prince-collab-spring-tour
- Soul Musichttps://web.archive.org/web/20111230005703/http://www.soulmusic.com/djrife.html
- "Russell Elevado"https://web.archive.org/web/20141218060526/http://russelevado.com/