If you’re a student of 90’s R&B, then your music collection just got an upgrade. Platinum-selling recording artist D’Angelo will release a newly remastered version of his 1995 neo-soul masterpiece ‘Brown Sugar,’ on August 25 via Virgin/UMe.
The remastered project, commanded by GRAMMY-winning engineer Russell Elevado, will be expanded into Deluxe Edition, boasting an additional 21 rare tracks, including remixes by CJ Mackintosh, Dallas Austin, King Tech, Erick Sermon, and Incognito, as well as instrumentals and a cappella versions. Of the 21 newly added tracks, 15 were previously released only on vinyl and seven will make their commercial release debuts on the new edition.
The double-disc package also includes a 20-page booklet featuring an essay by noted author and filmmaker Nelson George, rare photographs, and lyrics for the album’s 10 original tracks.
Released July 4, 1995, Brown Sugar heralded a new direction for soul music, bridging tradition and innovation. D’Angelo, then 21 years old, wrote, arranged, performed and produced most of the album himself, inspired by classic jazz, gospel, soul, and hip-hop and using a mix of vintage and new equipment to realize his creative vision.
“D was one of those artists that came not just fully formed, but truly genre-bending; genre-creating is really more like it,” Brown Sugar co-producer Bob Power states in the Deluxe Edition booklet.
D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar collaborators also included A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad for the title track and Raphael Saadiq for “Lady.” The first album to be dubbed “neo-soul,” Brown Sugar spent 65 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart and drew praise from music critics around the world. In his four-star album review for Rolling Stone, Cheo Hodari Coker wrote, “Brown Sugar is a reminder of where R&B has been and, if the genre is to resurrect its creative relevance like a phoenix rising from the ashes, where it needs to go.”
“Young D’Angelo was duly anointed the new musical messiah, charged with leading the culture into a new promised land,” writes Nelson George in his Deluxe Edition essay.
Preorder Brown Sugar (Deluxe Edition) here.
D’Angelo – Brown Sugar (Deluxe Edition) [2CD, digital] Tracklist:
CD 1 (Remastered album, plus bonus tracks)
01. Brown Sugar
02. Alright
03. Jonz In My Bonz
04. Me And Those Dreamin’ Eyes Of Mine
05. Sh*t, Damn, Motherf*cker
06. Smooth
07. Cruisin’
08. When We Get By
09. Lady
10. Higher
(Bonus Tracks)
11. Brown Sugar A Cappella (released on 12″ single)
12. Me And Those Dreamin’ Eyes Of Mine A Cappella (released on promotional 12″ single)
13. Brown Sugar Instrumental (released on 12″ single)
14. Lady Just Tha Beat Mix Instrumental w/Chorus (Mixed by DJ Premier; released on CD Maxi-Single)
15. Brown Sugar Alternate Version (released on 12″ single)
CD 2 (‘More Sugar’)
01. Brown Sugar King Tech Remix feat. Kool G. Rap (released on 12″ promotional single)
02. Me And Those Dreamin’ Eyes Of Mine Def Squad Remix feat. Redman (Remixed by Erick Sermon for Funk Lord Productions; released on 12″ single)
03. Cruisin’ Cut The Sax Remix (Remix by King Tech; Released on 12″ single)
04. Lady Just Tha Beat Mix/featuring AZ (Remixed by DJ Premier for Works of Mart Productions, Inc.; released on CD Maxi-Single)
05. Brown Sugar Soul Inside 808 Mix (Mix by DJ Dodge; released on U.K. 12″ single)
06. Me And Those Dreamin’ Eyes Of Mine Two Way Street Mix (Remixed by DJ Premier for Works of Mart Productions, Inc.; released on promotional 12″ single)
07. Cruisin’ Dallas Austin Remix (released on 12″ single)
08. Lady 2B3 Shake Dat Ass Mix (Remix produced by Neville Thomas and Pule Pheto for 2B3 Productions; released on U.K. CD Maxi-Single)
09. Brown Sugar Incognito Molasses Remix (released on “She’s Always In My Hair” promotional 12″ single)
10. Me And Those Dreamin’ Eyes Of Mine Dreamy Remix (Remixed by Erick Sermon for Funk Lord Productions; released on promotional 12″ single)
11. Cruisin’ Wet Remix (released on CD single)
12. Brown Sugar Dollar Bag Mix (released on U.K. 12″ single)
13. Cruisin’ God Made Me Funky Remix (released on promotional 12″ single)
14. Brown Sugar CJ Mackintosh Remix (Additional production and Remix by CJ Mackintosh; released on the various artists CD collection Nu Classic Soul)
15. Lady CJ Mackintosh Mix Radio Edit (Additional production and Remix by CJ Mackintosh; released on U.K. CD Maxi-Single)
16. Cruisin’ Who’s Fooling Who Mix (released on promotional 12″ single)
Since 2005, Singersroom has been the voice of R&B around the world. Connect with us via social media below.
