Grammy-winning R&B singer D’Angelo blended hip-hop grit, emphatic soul and gospel-rooted emotion into a sound that helped spearhead the neo-soul movement of the 1990s. The singer, whose real name was Michael Eugene Archer, was raised in Virginia. A precocious musician, he appeared with his school group at the Apollo Theatre’s famed amateurs’ night. Encouraged, and having signed a publishing deal on the strength of a demo with rap group IDU, D’Angelo moved to New York aged 18 to pursue a career in music. He signed his first recording contract in 1993, breaking through with
U Will Know, a song he wrote and produced for Black Men United. His debut studio album, 1995’s
Brown Sugar, went platinum and earned him multiple Grammy nominations. His sultry vocal style — a mix of raspy texture and church-bred fluidity — set him apart from his peers. Follow-up album,
Voodoo, took five years to make, but topped the Billboard chart and won the Grammy for best R&B album. After
Voodoo D’Angelo withdrew from the spotlight for more than a decade. His long-awaited 2014 return,
Black Messiah, was an urgent and politically charged album that debuted at No 5 and won its maker another Grammy for best R&B album. D’Angelo was also acclaimed for his collaborations, notably with Lauryn Hill and Angie Stone, with whom he had a son. In May, D’Angelo withdrew from being a headliner for the 2025 Roots Picnic in Philadelphia due to "an unforeseen medical delay regarding surgery [he] had earlier this year". He had been battling cancer for some time, and died on October 14 aged 51 — Agencies/Allied Media
