D'Angelo's expertise and ability to play various instruments, including drums, saxophone, guitar, bass, and keyboards, aided him in the recording of "Brown Sugar", as most of the album's instrumentation and production were credited to his name. In a 1995 interview, he discussed the influence that musician Prince had on his approach to recording the album, stating "I was one of those guys who read the album credits and I realized that Prince was a true artist. He wrote, produced, and performed, and that's the way I wanted to do it." For the album, D'Angelo and the production personnel utilized antiquated, vintage equipment, including Wurlitzer musical instruments and dated effects boxes, as well as modern electronic devices such as drum machines and computers. Notable instruments used by D'Angelo were the Fender Rhodes electric piano and the Hammond organ. The album was later mastered by engineer Herb Powers Jr. at The Hit Factory mastering studio in New York City.