"Brown Sugar" is a song by American recording artist D'Angelo, taken from his debut album of the same name (1995). The song was released as the album's lead single in 1995, through the Cooltempo label. The song was written and produced by D'Angelo and frequent collaborator Ali Shaheed Muhammad.

"Brown Sugar"
Single by D'Angelo
from the album Brown Sugar
Released	June 13, 1995
Recorded	1994
Genre	R&B neo soul
Label	Cooltempo
Songwriter(s)	D'Angelo Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Producer(s)	D'Angelo, Ali Shaheed Muhammad
D'Angelo singles chronology
"Brown Sugar" (1995) "Cruisin'" (1995)
Music video
"Brown Sugar" on YouTube

Composition

Opened by falsetto ad-libs, an organ refrain and pulsating bass lines,[1] the title track "Brown Sugar" features a dark, thick texture and a gutbucket-jazz style and rhythm.[2] The instrumentation throughout the song, highlighted by Jimmy Smith-style organ work, atmospheric percussion and snapping snare drums, has been described by music writers as "organic".[3][4] The song's sound is also similar to the work of funk, soul and jazz musician Roy Ayers,[5] while D'Angelo's soulful tenor-delivery throughout the song's verses is stylistically similar the flow of most emcees at the time.[5]

Misinterpreted as a traditional love song about a femme fatale by most R&B audiences,[5] "Brown Sugar" is an ode to marijuana use through its use of the personification of a brown-skinned woman.[6] This thematic substitution is a conventional lyrical technique in hip hop.[7] Music journalist Peter Shapiro wrote of the song's lyrical content, stating "D'Angelo was extolling the pleasures of pot-fuelled solipsism ('Always down for a ménage à trois/But I think I'ma hit it solo/Hope my niggaz don't mind') and intimating that love, or at least love of the herb, leads to insanity ('Brown sugar babe/I gets high off you love/Don't know how to behave')."[4] Writer and academic Todd Boyd compared the song, along with Dr. Dre's The Chronic (1992) and Styles P's "Good Times" (2002), to Rick James's "Mary Jane" (1978), stating that the song "celebrated his love for gettin' blazed and spawned ... a truly large following."[8]

Critical reception

Gil Robertson IV from Cash Box wrote, "It blends the right mix of down home slow groove funk with a caressing jazz texture that’s bound to get folks out on the dance floor. Produced by Ali from A Tribe Called Quest, this track is loaded with a classic old school led and provides a great introduction for this promising young talent."[9] He also picked it as a standout track of the album.[10]

Credits

• Written by D'Angelo and Ali Shaheed Muhammed
• Produced by D'Angelo and Ali Shaheed Muhammad
• Vocal arrangements by D'Angelo
  All vocals by D'Angelo
• Musical arrangements by D'Angelo
• All instruments by D'Angelo
• Drum programming by Ali Shaheed Muhammad
• Recorded at Battery Studios, NYC
• Additional engineering by Tim Latham at Soundtrack, NYC
• Mixed by Bob Power at Battery Studios, NYC
• Assistant engineer: G-Spot

Charts

References

External links

• "Brown Sugar" Music video on YouTube