D’Angelo, the Grammy-winning R&B singer acknowledged by his raspy but easy voice and for garnering mainstream consideration with the shirtless “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” music video, has died. He was 51.
The singer, whose actual identify was Michael Eugene Archer, died Tuesday after a protracted bout with most cancers, his household stated in a press release.
It referred to as him “a shining star of our family and has dimmed his light for us in this life,” including that they’re “eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind.”
In his music, D’Angelo blended hip-hop grit, emphatic soul and gospel-rooted emotion right into a sound that helped spearhead the neo-soul motion of the Nineteen Nineties. Earlier this 12 months, the Virginia native celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of his debut studio album “Brown Sugar,” a platinum-selling providing that produced signature hits like “Lady” and the title observe. The 1995 album earned him a number of Grammy nominations and cemented him as one among R&B’s most authentic new voices.
D’Angelo’s sultry vocal fashion — a mixture of raspy texture and church-bred fluidity — set him other than his friends. That voice turned inseparable from the placing visuals of his 2000 single “Untitled (How Does It Feel).” The minimalist, shirtless music video turned a cultural touchstone, igniting conversations round artistry, sexuality and vulnerability in Black male illustration. The music earned him a Grammy for finest male R&B vocal efficiency and propelled his sophomore album “Voodoo.” topping the Billboard 200 chart and profitable the Grammy for finest R&B album.
With an idiosyncratic spirit not not like Prince, D’Angelo’s devotion was at all times to the craft — not the equipment round it. In a 2000 interview with The Related Press, he spoke candidly about the price of chasing industrial success.
“(Musicians) have gotten trapped into that mode of thinking marketable and commercial. That destroys art, that destroys the essence of what it is about,” he stated. “You cannot, you cannot work like that. You cannot make music like that. That’s not what this is about.”
That very same 12 months, D’Angelo mirrored on his want for solitude amid fame: “I used to hang out a lot, but now I’ve become more of a recluse,” he advised AP. “I long for just peace and silence.”
Past his personal catalog, D’Angelo’s artistry shined in collaborations. He memorably duetted with Lauryn Hill on the soulful ballad “Nothing Even Matters,” a spotlight of her landmark 1998 album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” He additionally contributed to The Roots’ 1996 album “Illadelph Halflife” and was a part of the supergroup Black Males United, which yielded one music: “U Will Know,” which D’Angelo wrote and co-produced, for the movie “Jason’s Lyric” in 1994.
“I remember hearing your music for the first time… I said to myself damn whoever this is they are anointed,” Jamie Foxx stated on social media. “Then when I finally got a chance to see you… Like everyone when they saw the most incredible music video of our time… I was blown away… I thought to myself I have to see this person in concert… I had my chance to see you at the house of blues… You came out and got right down to business… Your voice was silky and flawless… I was graciously envious of your style and your swag…”
Years earlier than stepping again from public view, D’Angelo’s life and music have been intently intertwined with Grammy-nominated R&B singer Angie Stone within the ’90s. The pair met whereas he was ending “Brown Sugar” and bonded over their shared Southern roots and deep church upbringing. Stone contributed to the album and later collaborated with him on “Everyday,” a music from her 1999 debut album, “Black Diamond.”
Stone as soon as described D’Angelo as her “musical soul mate,” to the AP in 1999, including that their working relationship was “’like milk and cereal …. Musically, it was magic. It’s something that I have not been able to do with any other producer or musician.” That they had a son collectively, the artist Swayvo Twain, born Michael Archer Jr.
Stone died earlier this 12 months in a automotive crash. She was 63.
D’Angelo additionally has a daughter, Imani Archer, who can be a music artist.
Within the years that adopted, D’Angelo’s life turned as outlined by absence as by acclaim. After “Voodoo,” he withdrew from the highlight for greater than a decade, fueling hypothesis about private struggles and inventive battles. His long-awaited return got here in 2014 with “Black Messiah,” credited to D’Angelo and The Vanguard. The pressing and politically charged album that arrived amid nationwide protests and helped usher in a wave of activist music responding to police killings of Black People and the rise of the Black Lives Matter motion.
The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart and received him a Grammy for finest R&B album, reaffirming his stature as a generational voice. Its standout single, “Really Love,” earned him one other Grammy for finest R&B music and earned a nomination for document of the 12 months.
In Could, D’Angelo withdrew from being a headliner for the 2025 Roots Picnic in Philadelphia as a result of “an unforeseen medical delay regarding surgery (he) had earlier this year,” the artists shared in a press release. D’Angelo stated he was suggested the efficiency “could further complicate matters.”
Past his largest singles, D’Angelo’s catalog consists of fan favorites like “Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine,” “Cruisin’” and “Devil’s Pie.” His affect stretched far past the charts: he impressed a wave of artists together with Maxwell, Alicia Keys and Frank Ocean.
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AP Music Author Maria Sherman contributed to this story.
