of him through "the buzz on the streets". He had previously managed hip hop group Stetsasonic and formed the artist management-firm Kedar Entertainment in 1991, which he diversified into production, music publishing and publicity. In 1994, his first significant success came in the form of the hit single "U Will Know". D'Angelo co-wrote and co-produced the song for the all-male R&B supergroup Black Men United, which featured R&B singers such as Brian McKnight, Usher, R. Kelly, Boyz II Men, Raphael Saadiq and Gerald Levert. D'Angelo composed the music for "U Will Know", while his brother, Luther Archer, wrote the lyrics. Originally featured on the soundtrack to the film Jason's Lyric (1994), the single peaked at number 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video for "U Will Know" featured D'Angelo as the group's choir director; he reprised the role for the live performance of the song at the Soul Train Music Awards. That same year, he wrote and produced the song "Overjoyed" for the Boys Choir of Harlem, which appeared on their studio album The Sound of Hope (1994). The success of "U Will Know" helped build the buzz surrounding D'Angelo, which was followed by a number of highly promoted performance showcases, and added to the buzz among music industry insiders. Recording and production After his successful performance with his group Precise at the Apollo Theater in 1991, D'Angelo received a US$ 500 check for his work at the venue and used most of it to purchase a four-track recorder and a keyboard. At his mother's house in Richmond, he began writing and recording most of the material that would constitute Brown Sugar during 1991 and 1992. Recording for the album took place during 1994 and 1995 at Battery Studios and RPM Studios in New York City, and at the Pookie Lab studio in Sacramento, California, which served as the personal recording studio of R&B musician and record producer Raphael Saadiq. Additional recording took place at Back Pocket Studios in New York City for the track "Cruisin'". In contrast to the production style of contemporary R&B at the time, which featured predominant casting of well-known record producers for an artist's project, D'Angelo handled most of the album's production, as well as contributing all of the vocals. While most of the production was handled by D'Angelo, other producers contributed as