Devil's Pie

Recorded in 1998 at Electric Lady Studios in New York for the Belly soundtrack and later included on Voodoo. D'Angelo made the track with DJ Premier, who produced and programmed the sampled beat while D'Angelo supplied the vocals and other instrumentation. Released by Virgin in 1998, Devil's Pie introduced the darker and more hip-hop-driven side of D'Angelo's Voodoo period. Its anti-materialist lyric and DJ Premier production connected D'Angelo's Soulquarians-era work to late-1990s New York rap production. The track remains one of the defining recordings from Voodoo and one of D'Angelo's most direct links to hip-hop culture. Its dense sample construction and austere groove made it a lasting reference point for later soul and rap listeners.