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Tomorrow's Top 40 Contenders Today
1| D'ANGELO
A true R&B anomaly: a great singer who doesn't run
scales, a lady-killer who barely moves, and a hip-hop realist with some
real songs he'd like to sing for you. D'Angelo made windshields across
the country fog up with his caramelized swoon on 1995's Brown Sugar
and "She's Always in My Mind," a single on the Scream 2 soundtrack.
Though D'Angelo has been musically homeless since his label, EMI, folded
last year, he's got a brand-new record ready to go as soon as he signs on
the dotted line.
(Sasha Frere-Jones)