by Erik Pedersen | Deadline
D’Angelo, the influential four-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and producer who had several big R&B hits including “Lady,” “Brown Sugar” and “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” and two Top 5 albums, died today of pancreatic cancer. He was 51.
His family confirmed the news in a statement, writing: “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.”
His small discography is revered among fans, critics and fellow musicians. Rolling Stone ranked him No. 75 on its 2023 list of the Greatest Singers of All Time.
Born Michael Eugene Archer on February 11, 1974, D’Angelo was 18 when he was part of an R&B group that won the famed amateur night competition at New York’s Apollo Theater for three weeks in a row. His first chart success was as co-writer and producer of “U Will Know,” a Top 5 R&B hit for the one-off supergroup Black Men United in 1994 from the movie Jason’s Lyric. It also made the pop Top 25.
The following year, he released his debut disc Brown Sugar, debuting at No. 6 on the Billboard R&B album chart and spawning hit singles with its title track, “Cruisin’” and “Lady.” All three made the R&B Top 5, with the slow-grooving “Lady” crossing over to the pop Top 10. Watch the video here:
Brown Sugar would spend more than a year on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at No. 22 and going platinum in early 1996. It earned a Grammy nom for R&B Album of the Year, two more for the song “Brown Sugar” and another for “Lady.” He made his Grammy stage debut in 1996 as part of a Stevie Wonder tribute with Tony Rich and ultimately scored 14 Grammy noms during his career.
But D’Angelo would suffer from self-admitted writer’s block in its aftermath and didn’t release his follow-up album for five years.
But when he did, Voodoo was a smash.
The album scored rave reviews and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It won D’Angelo his first two Grammys, for Best R&B Album and Male R&B Performance for “(Untitled) How Does It Feel,” which also was nominated for Best R&B Song and featured a steamy music video (watch it below) that cemented his status as a sex symbol. It earned three MTV Video Music Awards noms including Video of the Year.
The singer launched a world tour but began to struggle with substance abuse and other personal troubles that would delay his next record for more than a decade. Along the way, he would be a featured artist on several other acts’ songs, including Raphael Saadiq’s “Be Here,” for which D’Angelo earned two more Grammy noms.
The singer made a stunning return to the spotlight at the the BET Awards in 2012. In his first TV appearance in more than 10 years, D’Angelo sang “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” before segueing into a new song “Sugar Daddy, co-written with Q-Tip.
You can watch the crowd’s reaction as they see him walk onstage below.
That came just months after the singer made his first live U.S. appearance in 12 years, when he joined Amir “Questlove” Thompson’s Superjam session at Bonnaroo.
In 2014, he released Black Messiah — credited to D’Angelo and the Vanguard — which debuted in the pop Top 5 and again was well-received by critics. It would score D’Angelo his third and fourth Grammys, for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song for “Really Love,” which also was up Record of the Year.
D’Angelo was said to be working on a new album last year.