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\n\tD\u2019Angelo, the neo-soul trailblazer and modern visionary whose three albums were widely acclaimed as masterful works of art, died today. He was 51.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe shining star of our family has dimmed his light for us in this life \u2026 After a prolonged and courageous battle with cancer, we are heartbroken to announce that Michael D\u2019Angelo Archer,\u00a0known to his fans around the world as D\u2019Angelo, has been called home, departing this life\u00a0today, October 14th, 2025,\u201d his family said in a statement.\u00a0\u201cWe are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family,\u00a0but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music\u00a0he leaves behind.\u00a0 We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time but invite you all join us in mourning his passing while also celebrating the gift of song that he has left for the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tDJ Premier mourned the singer on X, writing, \u201cSuch a sad loss to the passing of D\u2019angelo. We have so many great times. Gonna miss you so much. Sleep Peacefully D\u2019 Love You KING.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tD\u2019Angelo was one of the most widely revered artists of the past 30 years. He began his career as a songwriter for other artists, but he quickly asserted himself as a solo star with his 1995 debut, Brown Sugar<\/em>. A key part of the Soulquarians, a loose collective of musicians, singers, and producers \u2014 Questlove, Erykah Badu, J Dilla, Q-Tip, to name a few \u2014 he was at the forefront of a movement that charted new paths in soul, R&B, and hip-hop while maintaining a deep admiration for the past.<\/p>\n \n\tHis three solo albums \u2014 Brown Sugar<\/em>, 2000\u2019s Voodoo<\/em>, and 2014\u2019s Black Messiah<\/em> \u2014 all earned critical acclaim and cracked the Top 10 of the Billboard <\/em>200 albums chart, with Voodoo <\/em>reaching Number One. His biggest Hot 100 charter was \u201cLady,\u201d but it was \u201cUntitled (How Does it Feel),\u201d with its memorable one-shot video of a naked D\u2019Angelo belting the track, that arguably became his signature song.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tNominated for 14 Grammys over the course of his career, D\u2019Angelo won four awards, including Best R&B Album twice for Voodoo <\/em>and Black Messiah<\/em>. He also won Best R&B Vocal Performance for \u201cUntitled (How Does It Feel)\u201d and Best R&B Song for Black Messiah<\/em>\u2019s \u201cReally Love.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n \n\tD\u2019Angelo\u2019s small but spellbinding output was borne from a process rooted in committed perfectionism. Speaking with Rolling Stone<\/em> in 2000, Questlove, D\u2019Angelo\u2019s key collaborator on Voodoo<\/em>, joked that they might\u2019ve finished the album two years earlier had the drummer not kept \u201cbringin\u2019 treats every week\u201d \u2014 a reference to the copious concert videos and bootleg tapes they consumed and studied while working on the album. During the 14 years between Voodoo <\/em>and Black Messiah<\/em>, D\u2019Angelo set out to master the electric guitar, with the results of all that hard work coursing through the celebrated LP.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tBut D\u2019Angelo was also often dogged by label issues, writer\u2019s block, and struggles with cocaine and alcohol. He was hit with drug possession charges in early 2005, with the leaked mugshots raising concerns about his health. Later that year, not long after he was given a three-year suspended sentence on a cocaine possession charge, D\u2019Angelo was injured in a car crash.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tSpeaking with Rolling Stone<\/em> <\/em>in 2015 after the long-awaited release of Black Messiah<\/em>, D\u2019Angelo acknowledged that \u201cthe shit that happened in my personal life\u201d hadn\u2019t helped his creative process, but neither did changes on the industry side of things.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n \n\t\u201cThe music business is a crazy game, especially for somebody like me who is really a purist about the art,\u201d he said. \u201cTrying to balance the pressures of commercialism, it\u2019s a tightrope. It\u2019s a fine line between sticking to your guns and insanity.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThis story is developing \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" D\u2019Angelo, the neo-soul trailblazer and modern visionary whose three albums were widely acclaimed as masterful works of art, died today. He was 51. \u201cThe shining star of our family has dimmed his light for us in this life \u2026 After a prolonged and courageous battle with cancer, we are heartbroken to announce that Michael D\u2019Angelo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[16671,1596,4129,1778,6810],"class_list":{"0":"post-27995","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-dangelo","9":"tag-dead","10":"tag-modern","11":"tag-souls","12":"tag-visionary"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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