D’Angelo, Beloved Soul Singer, Has Passed Away

D’Angelo has passed away. The Richmond-born singer, songwriter, and producer, of the most talented and revered musicians of his generation, passed away after a private battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 51.

“The shining star of our family has dimmed his light for us in this life,” D’Angelo’s family said in a statement. “After a prolonged and courageous battle with cancer, we are heartbroken to announce that Michael D’Angelo Archer, known to his fans around the world as D’Angelo, has been called home, departing this life today, October 14th, 2025. We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind. 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.”

D’Angelo burst into the public consciousness in the mid-1990s as one of the leading lights of the neo-soul movement. At a time when R&B had been moving in a sleeker, poppier direction, he brought a classic, organic feel to the genre while still interacting with hip-hop. After teaming with Brian McKnight and a slate of R&B stars as Black Men United for the Jason’s Lyric soundtrack hit “U Will Know” in 1994, he unveiled his debut album Brown Sugar in 1995. The album was widely received as a landmark release. It spun off the Billboard top 10 single “Lady” and other hits including “Brown Sugar,” “Cruisin’,” and “Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine.”

After several more hits from movie soundtracks and noteworthy collaborations with the likes of Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Angie Stone, he returned in 2000 with sophomore album Voodoo. Another masterpiece, the album is best known for “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” a slow-build R&B epic with an iconic music video. It also included hits like “Devil’s Pie” and the Method Man & Redman collab “Left & Right.”

Looser and groovier than Brown Sugar, Voodoo went down as one of the crowning achievements of the Soulquarians, a collective of likeminded hip-hop and R&B artists that included D’Angelo alongside Questlove, Badu, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, James Poyser, and Mos Def. It was honored as Best R&B Album at the 2001 Grammys, with “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” taking home Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

D’Angelo left the public eye for years after the Voodoo era but came back at the end of 2014 with the surprise release of Black Messiah, his third and final album. It was another astonishing record, an instant classic that boasted luxuriant slow jams like “Really Love” and spoke to the tumult that informed the emerging Black Lives Matter movement through tracks like “1000 Deaths” and “The Charade.” Black Messiah won D’Angelo two more Grammys, Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song for “Really Love.” He was greeted as a conquering hero upon the album’s release, a status he will no doubt maintain in perpetuity.