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If you follow me on twitter, you may have read my tweets about a fascinating profile of musician D’Angelo that Amy Wallace wrote for the current GQ. It is one of the most compelling profiles I’ve read in years, definitely worth your time.
D’Angelo may have new material out soon (fingers crossed), that remains to be seen. What Wallace shed light on, is some of what tormented him during his decade long absence from the music scene. It was triggered, in part, by feeling objectified by fans after the wildly popular “Untitled (How Does it Feel?)” video propelled him to sex symbol status.
Wallace writes in GQ:
D’Angelo felt tortured, Questlove 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?…
“One time I got mad when a female threw money at me onstage, and that made me feel f*****-up, and I threw the money back at her,” [D'Angelo] says. “I was like, ‘I’m not a stripper.’ “
To varying degrees, that objectification is something women experience daily. Whether it’s inappropriate comments from perfect strangers, or tabloids ripping women to shreds over their looks for gaining five pounds, women and girls deal with this everyday.
Jezebel puts it this way:
The idea that D’Angelo was subjected to the level of physical scrutiny that’s built into every woman’s life and then immediately went insane is…interesting. I mean this in the most sympathetic way possible—D’Angelo comes across as deeply endearing in Wallace’s profile—but it makes me feel proud of women in a dorky way. Somehow, we handle it without taking an 11-year hiatus from our jobs. We’ve been conditioned to handle it because we have to handle it. And it shouldn’t be that way, but right now it is, and we can deal.
I suspect there are men reading this who think they would welcome the attention, but respectful compliments and objectification to the point of devaluing a person are not the same.
Thoughts?
And anyone want to be the first in line for D’Angelo tickets if he ever tours again? I’m. So. There.
Thoughts?
I hate to be insensitive, but I find it disengenuous when actors and musicians make millions of dollars from a portrayal that they put out there and then, later resent it because they are “so over it”. No one made D’ do that video that way. I’m sure he sold a ton of records and prolly got plenty of other attention because of it. He rode that wave now he has to ride the residuals until he replaces it it with something more compelling. Madonna may be always remembered at “the Material Girl”, but she has also done a lot more work since then and has been seen in many different lights. However, her breakthrough performances will always follow her. Yes, when she’s 60 people will still talk about her Brittnay/Christina kiss (and may ask for a repeat). That’s what happens when you put it out there and profit from it. I can’t feel sorry for D’. I say man up and make some more music if you want your fans together past it. Just know that for some, that’s how they’ll always see you. Sorry, there’s no do over.
Point taken. Having said that, they are still human beings…perhaps they don’t always realize the ramifications of their actions on their lives…until it’s too late.
I read the article. He wanted to receive attention for his music. Music doesn’t seem to be simply a means to make money or gain recognition to him. It’s his gift. It seems to be a spiritual experience when you read about the dreams he had. To be on stage attempting to give what you feel a higher power gave you to an audience of people while some beg for you to remove an article of clothing would be upsetting to anyone I’m guessing. What’s more compelling than how his body looks is his gift. The songs that he writes, the instruments that he plays and the voice he has that delivers those songs. One video should not overtake the great songs that he has made in importance. I fully understand him wondering why that one video made such an imprint in some people’s minds instead of his music. I hope he returns because there has been a void since he left. More than that, I am glad to see that he has gotten his life back together.
Two things came to mind . . . . first, the comparison between race and gender when white people find minor delays intolerable. Oprah’s social experiment having them wait in line and be inconvenienced to show the notions of entitlement associated with white privilege. In other words what women experience all the time, he’s being merely inconvenienced with and finding it also intolerable.
Second, the love hate relationship celebrities maintain with paparazzi. The coverage they receive helps launch their careers and then after they make it, they complain about the attention. He made this attention, he conceived it, advertised it, profitted from it and became famous because of it . . . . I don’t feel sorry for him one bit!
Interesting I love his music and although I loved the video it was his or the labels continued use of his sexuality that kept that vain of attention going. His music spoke for itself it was just raw and honest. When Erykah stripped in her video for Window Seat (although it was now nearly as sexual) she quickly moved on from that image and returned fully clothed. Choices and your team can make a big difference.
But beyond that its interesting to hear of his issue and insecurities with body image as i really only thought of it from the destructive self talk that goes on in a woman’s head propelled by external imagery and marketing. Opened my mind to some things.
@ Michael the only issue with your statement is black start back then rarely got attention from the paparazzi. So most likely the pressure came from his label and his own personal demons. I find it incredible that DG even covered it considering he is not on the hot today list.
I think it was Clapton who said that it’s too bad that musicians now have to take off their clothes and do a sex routine on stage to “make it” in the business. They can’t go by their talent alone. I miss the days of talented rock and roll musicians who only cared about the music. I feel that it goes both ways for men and women. If being portrayed as an object is hurtful and demeaning, then it doesn’t matter what gender you are.
I wish someone would call me a sex object. lol
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