# D'Angelo — Brown Sugar

D'Angelo’s Brown Sugar (1995) appears on 2 of our lists — Neo-Soul and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred, highest at No. 1 in Neo-Soul. Every verdict, in full.

- **Released:** 1995
- **Label:** EMI
- **On:** Neo-Soul and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Artist:** [D'Angelo](https://waxonia.com/artist/dangelo/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/dangelo--brown-sugar/

## What 2 lists say

### No. 1 in [Neo-Soul](https://waxonia.com/genre/neo-soul/)

The record that announced the whole project: a Rhodes, a hip-hop drum feel and a vocal arrangement borrowed from Marvin Gaye. Nothing on radio in 1995 sounded this unhurried.

### Picked by [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/)

A Rhodes, a hip-hop drum feel and a vocal arrangement borrowed from Marvin Gaye. Nothing on radio in 1995 sounded this unhurried, and a movement followed it.

## Analysis

7 sections, the first drop of 3 at 0:56, 21% of the way in.

- **Tempo:** 80.8 BPM — the pulse reads at half this too — counted the way the genre counts it
- **Dynamic range:** 5.8 dB — moderate range, typical of a modern master
- **Length:** 4:34

- `0:00` A · **intro** (bar -1), sung — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: vocals
- `0:30` B · **breakdown** (bar 20), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning
- `0:42` B · **build** (bar 28), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: bass
- `0:57` C · **peak** (bar 38), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals
- `1:26` D · **peak** (bar 57), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals
- `2:48` C · **peak** (bar 112), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `3:03` D · **outro** (bar 122), instrumental — the closing fall — playing: drums, bass, vocals

**Drops** at 0:56 (bar 37), 2:05 (bar 83), 3:04 (bar 123). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/D'Angelo%20Brown%20Sugar) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=H_WzjiTzZBA)

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