The Afropean.com team is excited to be continuing our Best of…End of Year tradition in 2025. We have a few new names all up in the mix this year, too. Below we have the 2025 selection, as well as a tribute to the late Michael ‘D’Angelo‘ Archer, from one of Afropean.com’s newest recruits, Kahlea Williams. Happy Christmas to all our readers.

De La Soul– Cabin in the Sky 

The album begins with a roll call wherein Dave, whose name is called last, never answers, of course. A gentle way to address the death of longtime De La Soul member David Jolicoeur, who died in February 2023. The album addresses grief, yes, but also tackles controversial subjects, like cheating boyfriends, as in the case of Just How it Is, which makes no political statement per se, but rather attempts to prevent an angry woman, the victim of adultery, from becoming vengeful against all men. En Eff features Black Thought venting about the music industry:  “..I’m sick of following the masses, sick of giving up game to niggas failing classes, sick of half-assed hip-hop flows, sick of passport bros, sick of hoes with the same fat ass and short nose..”. This album is packed with emotional nuance: there’s frustration, there’s grief, but also plenty of joy and wisdom. Thirty-five years have passed since their debut album 3 Feet High and Rising was released, but the magic is still as fresh as ever. 

Jon Batiste – Big Money 

The titular song of Jon Batiste’s latest album is a catchy, jangly blues tune that reminds us of the limitations of material wealth. The first line is ‘You can buy a house, but you can’t buy a home’. The bridge, delivered by soulful gospel chorus vocals, offers a (the?) solution: ‘…Might as well live for something you can feel, might as well live for something real…’I love this line because it flips the argument that money, i.e. material wealth, is worthy of pursuit because it is physical, measurable, something you can feel physically. He challenges the belief that these other more abstract, ethereal things some people live for such as religious values, artistic practice, spirituality, political causes… are less measurable and therefore less real. Jon reminds us with Big Money that spiritual wealth is just as, if not more real, than material wealth. Potent wisdom for these troubled times. 

Mavis Staples – Sad and Beautiful World

Admittedly, my favorite song on this album is a cover of the Kevin Morby song Beautiful Strangers, but Mavis Staples makes it her own with her unmistakable soulful voice. It’s a heartbreakingly beautiful interpretation. Another standout on this album is Everybody Needs Love, which feels like a subtle political message more than a feel-good soul ballad. Either way, Mavis’ voice is like a balm. I highly recommend listening to this in the bathtub when you’re home alone, or perhaps a solo drive on an empty road. Be prepared to cry.  

D’Angelo – Voodoo (2000)

Unfortunately, 2025 was the year we lost many R&B and soul icons such as Roberta Flack, Angie Stone and Jimmy Cliff. Neo-Soul vanguard D’Angelo was among these great losses. Poignantly, this year was the 25th anniversary of the Grammy-award winning Voodoo, D’Angelo’s second album. Voodoo is a masterpiece in funky, Neo-Soul grooves, and has received many accolades over the years certifying its rightful place in music history. 

The album was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, which was host to many of D’Angelo’s creative collaborators throughout the writing and recording process, including Soulaquarian members Erykah Badu and Common, who were each recording their respective albums at Electric Lady during that time. The album was co-produced by Questlove, who was heavily influenced by the distinctive percussion style of Detroit-born producer and artist J Dilla, which is why the album sometimes sounds off-rhythm. This is intentional. D’Angelo and Questlove wanted the album to sound disciplined but imperfect, which lends itself to a more human experience with the music. The imperfections remind us that the music was created by humans, not by machines. Already a warm and smooth experience, these imperfections only heighten the feeling of intimacy when listening to the album, as if D’Angelo and crew are right there in the room with me. Evidence of this deliciously imperfect sound can be found on Untitled (How Does it Feel?) which begins with D’Angelo playing off-beat drums, though not entirely detectable to the untrained ear. The song slowly builds tension as the melody swells and contracts, emotional intensity building with every count, climbing toward what feels like a sunny mountain peak. Then, just as the song reaches crescendo, it ends abruptly, music cutting off as if someone yanked the plug from the speaker. How does it feel? A bit frustrating, but still pretty damn good.