Honestly, if you were around in December 2014, you remember the collective gasp the internet took.
D’Angelo didn't just drop an album; he basically resurfaced from a decade-long hibernation with Black Messiah. And right at the heart of that masterpiece sat Really Love. It wasn't the aggressive, distorted funk of "1000 Deaths" or the playful swing of "Sugah Daddy." It was something else. Something warmer.
But here is the thing: most people think it's just a straightforward, "honey-sweet" love song. They hear the acoustic guitar and that buttery falsetto and think, Oh, D's back to his 'Untitled' vibes. They’re wrong.
The Mystery of the Spanish Intro
The song starts with a lush, orchestral swell that feels like a vintage film score. Then, a woman starts speaking in Spanish. If you don't speak the language, it sounds romantic—dreamy, even. But if you actually listen to what Gina Figueroa is saying, it’s not a Hallmark card.
She’s basically calling him out. She talks about how he’s "fucking up her life," how he’s too possessive, and how she’s a free spirit who can’t be owned. It’s a messy, turbulent monologue that stands in total contrast to the "I’m in really love with you" hook that follows.
💡 You might also like: Apple TV+ Movies New: What’s Actually Worth Your Weekend
This isn't an accident.
Gina Figueroa isn't just a random voice actor, either. She was D'Angelo's partner during the Voodoo era. She actually co-wrote the song and was the inspiration for the legendary "Spanish Joint." The fact that D'Angelo Really Love includes her voice—recorded years after their initial romance—adds a layer of bittersweet reality. It’s a song about a love that is deep, yes, but also heavy with history and scars.
Why the Sound is So "Real"
We live in an era of 808s and quantized MIDI tracks. There's nothing wrong with that, but "Really Love" feels like it was pulled out of a time capsule from 1974.
That’s because it basically was.
Russell Elevado, the engineer who has been D'Angelo's right hand for decades, recorded this using almost entirely analog equipment. We're talking 2-inch tape, vintage consoles, and zero digital shortcuts. When you hear the hiss in the background? That’s the soul of the machine.
🔗 Read more: Mo Safari Sex Tape 02: What Really Happened with the Viral Rumors
- The Guitar: That’s Isaiah Sharkey on the acoustic. His playing is incredibly intricate, blending flamenco-style flourishes with a relaxed R&B pocket.
- The Bass: Pino Palladino. The man is a legend for a reason. He plays behind the beat, creating that "D'Angelo swing" that makes you want to nod your head but also slightly confuses your internal clock.
- The Strings: Arranged by Brent Fischer, they provide a cinematic scale that makes the song feel bigger than just a bedroom ballad.
Most artists today record a vocal in twenty minutes, slap some Auto-Tune on it, and call it a day. D'Angelo? He spent years—literally over a decade—obsessing over these textures. Questlove famously leaked a demo of this song to an Australian radio station way back in 2007. The version we eventually got in 2014 was the result of a man who wouldn't let a song go until the "vibe" was surgically perfect.
D’Angelo Really Love: Not Just a "Sex Symbol" Track
For a long time, D'Angelo was trapped by the "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" video. He became a reluctant sex symbol, a role that actually contributed to his 14-year disappearance from the industry. He hated that people were looking at his abs instead of listening to his chord progressions.
"Really Love" feels like his reclamation of his artistry.
It’s sexy, sure. But it’s a mature kind of sexy. It’s the sound of a man who has lived through some stuff—addiction, car accidents, public scrutiny—and has come out the other side valuing the connection more than the physical act.
He’s not "licking instead of biting," as some critics put it. He’s acknowledging the complexity of being in "really love." It’s a verb, not just a feeling.
Actionable Insights for the Deep Listener
If you want to actually appreciate the depth of this track, stop playing it through your phone speakers while you're washing dishes. You’re missing 60% of the song.
- Listen on Vinyl or High-End Headphones: Because this was recorded to tape, the "warmth" is in the lower-mid frequencies. Digital compression kills the nuances of Pino’s bass and the grit in D'Angelo's vocal layers.
- Compare it to "Spanish Joint": Listen to the two songs back-to-back. "Spanish Joint" is the frantic, upbeat energy of a new, fiery romance. "Really Love" is the sunset of that same story. It's the same muse (Gina), but a completely different perspective.
- Read the Credits: Look up Kendra Foster. She was a key collaborator on the lyrics for the whole Black Messiah project. Her input helped D'Angelo move away from the more simplistic "love" tropes of his earlier work into something more poetic and abstract.
- Watch the Brussels 2015 Live Version: If you think the studio version is good, find the live footage from his European tour. The Vanguard (his band) turns the song into a sprawling, improvisational jam that proves D'Angelo is a bandleader on the level of Prince or James Brown.
At the end of the day, D'Angelo Really Love is a reminder that great art takes time. Sometimes it takes fourteen years. But when the result is a song that feels this human, this flawed, and this beautiful, it's hard to argue with the process.
Go back and listen to the intro again. This time, knowing who Gina is and what she’s saying. It changes everything.