D'Angelo is sadly known in many circles as the naked dude from the music video for 2000's "Unitled (How Does It Feel)," but his musical prowess runs as deep as the cuts in his washboard abs. "Feel" was purportedly a gushing tribute to Prince from the outset, but now the soul man's  now moved onto laying accolades at the feet of newly innaugurated presidents. In a recent press release to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Mr. D had this to say about Barack Obama:

"Barack Obama is one of the most progressive and dynamic leaders in the world. I believe that even in the face of domestic and global adversity, he will bring about important change."

 "All that's well and good but when do we get to hear and see more of D'Angelo?" you may be asking yourself. The answer is soon, apparently.

This summer sees the release of D'Angelo's highly-anticipated, and much-lauded James River. The musical perfectionist and ab-crunching extraordinaire is putting the shine on the new longplayer and you can listen to a small taste of some new brown sugar with the "buzz" single, "I Found My Smile Again" (available right now on iTunes).  The song is a reworked version of a similarly titled track from the 2008 compilation album, The Best So Far.

Also, D'Angelo is gearing up for a spring tour.  According to his manager, the soul singer will resume stage performances this spring with some European dates and subsequent US performances.