ALBAWABA - Grammy-winning R&B singer and musician D'Angelo died Tuesday after a private fight with cancer, according to his family. He helped start the neo-soul movement. He was 51 years old.
His family told several news sites, "The shining star of our family has dimmed his light for us in this life." "We are very sad to say that Michael D'Angelo Archer, better known to his fans around the world as D'Angelo, has been called home and has left this life today after a long and brave battle with cancer."
"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," the statement said. "Please respect our privacy during this sad time. Everyone is welcome to join us in mourning his death and celebrating the gift of song that he gave the world."
D'Angelo (Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP)
His full name was Michael Eugene Archer, and he was born in Richmond, Virginia. He was the youngest of a Pentecostal preacher's three boys. He and his bigger brother, Luther Archer, played music together when they were kids. They helped write and produce the song "U Will Know" for the R&B supergroup Black Men United in 1994. The group also included Brian McKnight, Usher, R. Kelly, Boyz II Men, and Raphael Saadiq.
The next year, D'Angelo released Brown Sugar, his well-reviewed first record. Voodoo, his second record, came out in 2000 and is seen as a landmark in blending genres.
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album went to this album. D'Angelo won a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for the sultry single "United (How Does It Feel)." The music video for the song, which shows D'Angelo singing in a slow jam, made him an unintentional sex icon. A critic named Robert Christgau once said that D'Angelo was "R&B Jesus" and a better singer than Marvin Gaye.
It also kept him out of the public eye, which led to drinking too much and then going to rehab. Dominique Trenier, D'Angelo's former manager, told Spin magazine in 2008 that the singer didn't like being a sex icon at all.
Trenier said, "I'm glad the video did what it did." "But he and I were both let down because, to this day, most people still remember him as the naked guy."
It wasn't until 2014's Black Messiah, which was political and won the Grammy for Best R&B record, that he put out another studio record after Voodoo.
"We are deeply saddened by the death of D'Angelo," his longtime record label, RCA Records, said in a statement. "He was a peerless visionary who effortlessly blended the classic sounds of soul, funk, gospel, R&B, and jazz with a hip hop sensibility."
As a member of the Soulquarians, D'Angelo worked with many R&B and hip-hop artists, such as the Roots, Common, J. Dilla, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and his then-girlfriend Angie Stone, with whom he had a son, Michael Archer Jr., who is a hip-hop artist who goes by the name Swayvo Twain.
"I am thankful for your thoughts and prayers during these very hard times. This has been a very sad and hard year for me," Michael Archer Jr. told People magazine on Tuesday. "Please keep me in your thoughts because things will not be easy. But one thing my parents taught me was to be strong, and I plan to do just that."
He also has a daughter named Imani Archer, who is a singer, and another boy named Morocco Archer.
D'Angelo abruptly canceled a planned headline show at the Roots Picnic in Philadelphia in May, claiming "an unforeseen" medical issue related to a recent surgery.
The singer-songwriter said, "It is with the deepest regret that I must cancel my performance at the Roots Picnic in Philadelphia." D'Angelo said this in an Instagram post for the event. "But because of an unplanned medical delay with surgery I had earlier this year, my team of specialists has told me that this weekend's performance could make things even more difficult."
He thanked his fans for their “continued support” and added, “Currently in the lab & can’t wait to serve up what’s in the pot! I love all of you and will see you soon!
