D'Angelo Says Objectification of His Body Made Him Feel "Tortured"

If there's one thing that you read today, make sure that it's Amy Wallace’s delicious profile of R&B singer Michael "D’Angelo" Archer in GQ. It's D's first sit-down interview in almost a dozen years and coincides with the near completion of his third studio album—also the first in a dozen years, since the platinum-selling Voodoo.

After the release of the now iconic video of "Untitled (How Does It Feel?)—four minutes and 28 seconds of unabashed objectification of his abs, pecs and lips—the singer says the public obsession with of his body became "torture." This was the beginning of a free-fall which ultimately ended in addiction, several stints in rehab and a string of arrests.

But for many, it was skin, not just music, that helped D cross over from R&B maestro to mainstream sex object. In 2000 he released the smoldering video for "Untitled (How Does It Feel?)," an instant sensation that made fans everywhere, especially women, lose their lustful minds. It's easy to find on YouTube: 26-year-old D'Angelo, naked from the hip bones up, staring straight into the camera, licking his lips and writhing in ecstasy. The video propelled him to superstardom—but it claimed its pound of flesh. D struggled mightily with the way his body threatened to overshadow his music. Then he all but disappeared.

And:

But as D began to fall apart, the video would be the only thing many fans remembered. "The video was the line of demarcation,” says [A&R executive Greg Harris]. "It sent him spinning out of control."…The trouble began right away, at the start of the Voodoo tour in L.A. "It was a week of warm-up gigs at House of Blues just to kick off the tour, draw some attention, break in the band," says Alan Leeds, D’s tour manager then and now. "And from the beginning, it’s 'Take it off!'" …

D’Angelo felt tortured, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson says, by the pressure to give the audience what it wanted. Worried that he didn’t look as cut as he did in the video, he’d delay shows to do stomach crunches. He’d often give in, peeling off his shirt, but he resented being reduced to that. Wasn’t he an artist? Couldn’t the audience hear the power of his music and value him for that? He would explode, Questlove recalls, and throw things. Sometimes he’d have to be coaxed not to cancel shows altogether. When I ask D about this, he downplays his suffering. Watching him pull hard on another Newport, I realize that he finds it far easier to confess his addictions than his insecurities about his corporeal self. Self-destructing with a coke spoon—while ill-advised—has a badass edge. Fretting over what Questlove has called “some Kate Moss shit” seems anything but manly.

How does it feel indeed.

There's also a ROFL anecdote about D'Angelo rebuffing an over-aggressive Madonna. Ouch.

In case you forgt the sensuality of the video, watch it AFTER THE JUMP ...

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Comments

[Brien]

It's only lately I've been able to see how much of a musician he really is!!

[Internet Majestic]

D'Angelo needs to get a grip. His first album is one of the best in history. But, his naked body in the How Does It Feel video made him a star.

[Eric]

WTF !!! He loved us loving and worshipping that video!! To find out that he felt objectified by said video makes me feel nothing but pity. How about he grow a pair"!!! he's weak, how about he give me back the 14.99 for the cd if he feels that bad, I bet he didn't not cash a royalty check from BMI or ASCAP.,

[rc]

Please. He allowed himself to be featured in a video that objectified him in ways that were uncommon to black men, posed for Paper Magazine in a black lacy bikini, then showed up in leather with a visible penis print in many live concerts. He willingly objectified himself and now is crying about it. I wonder if he feels bad about the women he had sex with because of the self-objectification????

[Honut Sinti]

Sophia: "Picture it, the year is 2000. Of camera, during music video shoot for "How Does It Feel?", a company executive stands by with various implements and threatens D'Angelo forcing him to stand naked and croon sexual innuendo. Yeah, pure torture then and painful memories now."