Great news for music fans across the globe, D'Angelo's long-awaited follow-up to 2000's 'Voodoo,' 'James River,' may finally see the light of day before next January. And despite previous reports of the crooner setting a 2010 release date in the past, this time around appears to be pretty certain.
Earlier this week long time D'Angelo collaborator and Roots member, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson confirmed via Twitter that the Grammy Award-winner is back in the studio crafting tracks. "Most people use midnight as a time to sleep. Others are working on their 11 year follow-up. This of course being hour number one," he wrote during a July 12 studio session with the singer.
To go along with the previous rumored release dates, D'Angelo has also been reported to collaborating with the likes of Prince, John Mayer, Raphael Saadiq, Cee Lo, and Mark Ronson. However, it has not been confirmed as to whether the tracks will end up on the forthcoming opus.
Last year the reclusive singer appeared on Ronson's September released compilation, 'Record Collection.' Ronson spoke with 'MTV News' on what it was like recording with the Virginia native. "A year ago I got a call from someone and they said, 'Listen, we're working with D'Angelo for his new record and the only people who came up in the conversation that he said he would like to work with is you and Cee Lo.' And I was just kind of floored by that," he said. "I ended up meeting him, he came to the studio. And like I was saying before, he's sort of like this mysterious figure. It was almost like a mirage when he came in."
According to Billboard, 'James River' is tentatively set for a late 2011, early 2012 release on J Records.