It's almost two decades since D'Angelo laced us with 'Brown Sugar' and 14 years since he unleashed 'Voodoo' into the public domain. Now, completely scuppering everyone's end-of-year album lists, the elusive Michael Eugene Archer returns in a timely fashion, with the politically-tinged 'Black Messiah'. Funkadelic's Kendra Foster and Tribe Called Quest's Q Tip co-penned a few tracks, and Questlove, bassist Pino Palladino and drummer James Gadson help form the movement known as the Vanguard. 70's Jazz-Funk production values, entwined with a smooth Neo-Soul swish, and a touch of R&B swagger, this is empowering Soul music in it's truest form. Something sweet for these dystopian times, this album couldn't have appeared at a better time.