SINGER D’ANGELO PASSES AWAY AT 51 AFTER LENGTHY BATTLE WITH CANCER
Rolling Stone reports that D’Angelo, the neo-soul pioneer and visionary artist born Michael D’Angelo Archer, passed away on October 14, 2025, at age 51 after a prolonged battle with cancer, as announced by his family in a heartfelt statement expressing heartbreak while celebrating his enduring musical legacy and requesting privacy.
Renowned for his perfectionist approach and profound influence over the past three decades, D’Angelo rose from songwriting for others to solo stardom with his 1995 debut album Brown Sugar, becoming a central figure in the Soulquarians collective alongside talents like Questlove, Erykah Badu, J Dilla, and Q-Tip, blending soul, R&B, and hip-hop with reverence for musical history.
His three acclaimed albums—Brown Sugar, the chart-topping Voodoo (2000), and Black Messiah (2014)—all reached the Billboard 200 Top 10, earning him 14 Grammy nominations and four wins, including Best R&B Album for Voodoo and Black Messiah, with signature tracks like “Lady” and the iconic “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” defined by its groundbreaking video. Collaborators like Questlove highlighted his meticulous process, involving deep study of influences during recording, while the 14-year gap between Voodoo and Black Messiah saw him mastering guitar amid personal struggles.
Despite battles with label pressures, writer’s block, substance abuse—including a 2005 drug possession charge and car crash—D’Angelo viewed the music industry as a “tightrope” between artistry and commercialism, leaving behind a spellbinding, if sparse, body of work that continues to inspire, with tributes like DJ Premier’s pouring in to mourn the loss of a true king of soul.
