Recording
Brown Sugar
D'Angelo
Independently chosen for2 of our lists. Here is what each of them said.
- Released
- 1995
- Label
- EMI
- On
- Neo-Soul and The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred
- Updated
- 2026-08-29
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
- measured from the YouTube master
The record, end to end
Click the track to jump · ← → move between sections
- 0:00Aintrobar -1
- 0:30Bbreakdownbar 20
- 0:42Bbuildbar 28
- 0:57Cpeakbar 38
- 1:26Dpeakbar 57
- 2:48Cpeakbar 112
- 3:03Doutrobar 122
Drops at 0:56 (bar 37), 2:05 (bar 83), 3:04 (bar 123). A drop is a moment, not a stretch — marked on the track above rather than shaded across it.
0:00 · A · intro
opens the record below its own average energy · sung
- Lasts
- 0:30
- Energy
- 33
- Brightness
- 15
- Density
- 96
- drums
- bass
- vocals
- other
energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning · instrumental · one of 2 stretches of the same music (B)
- Lasts
- 0:12
- Energy
- 0
- Brightness
- 100
- Density
- 0
- drums
- bass
- vocals
- other
energy and brightness climbing without a break · instrumental · one of 2 stretches of the same music (B)
- Lasts
- 0:15
- Energy
- 30
- Brightness
- 53
- Density
- 63
- drums
- bass
- vocals
- other
sits at the top of this record's range · sung · one of 2 stretches of the same music (C)
- Lasts
- 0:29
- Energy
- 100
- Brightness
- 13
- Density
- 100
- drums
- bass
- vocals
- other
sits at the top of this record's range · sung · one of 2 stretches of the same music (D)
- Lasts
- 1:22
- Energy
- 99
- Brightness
- 8
- Density
- 85
- drums
- bass
- vocals
- other
sits at the top of this record's range · instrumental · one of 2 stretches of the same music (C)
- Lasts
- 0:15
- Energy
- 91
- Brightness
- 0
- Density
- 75
- drums
- bass
- vocals
- other
the closing fall · instrumental · one of 2 stretches of the same music (D)
- Lasts
- 1:31
- Energy
- 89
- Brightness
- 29
- Density
- 76
- drums
- bass
- vocals
- other
Brightness and density are scored against this record's own sections, not against music in general — they say how its parts differ from each other, and nothing about how it compares to anything else.
- 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
Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.
- intro
- opens the record below its own average energy
- breakdown
- energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning
- build
- energy and brightness climbing without a break
- peak
- sits at the top of this record's range
- outro
- the closing fall
Measured from the YouTube master on . Section labels describe how the energy of the recording moves, not its musical form — a machine can see loudness climb and jump, it cannot hear a chorus arrive. Anything we were not confident enough to state is left out rather than shown with a caveat.
Ranked No. 1 in 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
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.