D’Angelo, the groundbreaking R&B artist who helped define the neo-soul movement across decades despite his reclusive nature, has died, reports The New York Times. D’Angelo’s family cited the cause as cancer. He was 51. This story is being updated.
D’Angelo’s family shared a statement with Variety mourning the late star: “The shining star of our family has dimmed his light for us in this life…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.”
The Virginia-born singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer only sporadically released music, but all three of his studio albums shaped the landscape of R&B. His 1995 solo debut, Brown Sugar, pushed neo-soul into the broader consciousness when he was just 21 years old. He returned in 2000 with Voodoo, incorporating funk into his repertoire to further enliven the genre with both an old-school timeless feel and the energy of a new class.
After a period of personal strain, including struggles with alcoholism, D’Angelo returned in 2014 with the surprise release of Black Messiah. It had originally been due out the following year, but D’Angelo brought forward the release in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, which was surging amid nationwide protests over police killings of Black men. After a grand jury failed to indict a police officer for fatally shooting Michael Brown, D’Angelo told his manager, Alan Leeds, “I want to speak out,” Leeds told The New York Times.
The album was a phenomenon. Its playful spins on psychedelic funk and R&B belie lyrics that cut to the bone of D’angelo’s personal and political soul. In his quiet period, D’Angelo had taught himself to play guitar, and he played alongside an elite suite of musicians including drummer Questlove, bassist Pino Palladino, guitarist Isaiah Sharkey, and horn player Roy Hargrove. Palladino and Sharkey were credited as members of the Vanguard, the band D’Angelo took on the road that year.
“This is a very powerful medium that we are involved in,” D’Angelo told GQ in 2014. “I learned at an early age that what we were doing in the choir was just as important as the preacher. It was a ministry in itself. We could stir the pot, you know? The stage is our pulpit, and you can use all of that energy and that music and the lights and the colors and the sound. But you know, you’ve got to be careful.”
Since Black Messiah, D’Angelo has released one single under his own name, “Unshaken,” for the video game Red Dead Redemption 2. After joining GZA on Rapsody’s “IBTIHAJ” in 2019, D’Angelo made a guest appearance on Slingbaum’s “Behoove” with Erykah Badu in early 2020. He also led a VERZUZ battle from the Apollo Theater against a lineup of friends.
Endless collaborators, friends, and fellow artists shared tributes after learning of D’Angelo’s death, including DJ Premier, Bootsy Collins, the Alchemist, Tyler, the Creator, Jill Scott, Flavor Flav, Aminé, Mick Jenkins, Cadence Weapon, KeiyaA, and Bartees Strange. Erick Sermon, who hopped on the Def Squad remix of “Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine” with Redman, wrote, “RIP king. It was a pleasure knowing you and working with you. This is so hard to believe that you are gone. The world just loss a true iconic fugure. I play ur music soo much still .. rest on.”
