D’Angelo, Pioneering โNeo-Soulโฃ Artist, Dies at 51
October 14, 2025 – Michael โEugen Archer, known โprofessionally as D’Angelo, has died, his representatives confirmed today.โ Heโฃ was 51 yearsโฃ old. The โcauseโ of death has not been disclosed.
News โof D’Angelo’s passing sparkedโค an outpouring of โฃgrief from fans and fellow musicians across social media. Rapper Doja Cat hailedโ him as “a true voice of soul and inspiration โขto manyโ brilliant artists of our generation and โgenerations to come.”
D’Angelo โฃrose to prominenceโฃ inโ the 1990s with his 1995โ debut album,โค Brown Sugar, which โreached number four on the Billboard R&B and Hip Hop โฃchart.โ Theโ album was later recognized as a seminal work, earning a place on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the greatest albums of โฃall time in 2020. rolling Stone described Brown Sugar โas “Soul 70’s visionary connection. Years withโ R&B from the โค90s, which trampled the path of Neo Soul.”
D’Angelo isโฃ widely creditedโ with shaping and โคpopularizingโค the Neo-Soul genre – a style blending soul music with elements of R&B, jazz, โคhip hop, funk, and pop. Alongside artistsโค like Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill, โand โlater Macy Gray,โค Joss Stone, and Corinne Bailey Rae, he defined aโ generation of music.
Throughout โhis career, D’Angelo released two further studioโค albums: Voodoo (2000) and โ Black Messiah โค (2014). He โalso collaborated with Lauryn Hill โon her โcritically โacclaimed 1998 debut album,โฃ The Miseducation of Lauryn โHill.
D’Angelo garnered 14 Grammy โnominations, winning four. โHe also gained recognition for his striking visual aesthetic, notably the provocativeโ music video for “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” in 2000,โ in which he appeared โpartially nude.
His death โcomes just months after the passing of singer and actress Angie Stone, with whom he โshared โขa son. D’Angelo โisโ survived byโข three children.
