D’Angelo, the neo-soul icon known for albums including Brown Sugar and Black Messiah, is dead at 51 from pancreatic cancer. “The shining star of our family has dimmed his light for us in this life,” the R&B singer’s family said in a statement. “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.”
In May 2025, the singer canceled a planned appearance at the Roots Picnic Festival due to an “unforeseen medical delay,” per a post from the festival’s Instagram. “I’ve been advised by my team of specialists that the performance this weekend could further complicate matters,” the famously private artist wrote in the post. “It is nearly impossible to express how disappointed I am not to be able to play with my brothers The Roots. And even more disappointed not to see all of you.”
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Michael D’Angelo Archer was born in 1974 to a pentecostal preacher father, Luther Archer Sr. When he was 18, D’Angelo won the amateur talent competition at the Apollo Theater for three consecutive nights, per AllMusic. In 1995, he released his first studio album, Brown Sugar, considered one of the first major records in the neo-soul genre. “Brown Sugar is a reminder of where R&B has been and, if the genre is to resurrect its creative relevance like a phoenix rising from the ashes, where it needs to go,” Rolling Stone wrote when the album came out. The album ultimately lodged three top-ten hits on the R&B charts: the title track, “Cruisin,’” and “Lady.”
D’Angelo’s next studio album, Voodoo, wasn’t released until 2000, and it included his most successful track, “Untitled (How Does It Feel).” The music video for the song, of D’Angelo shirtless, remains one of the most memorable music videos of all time, but the ensuing pressure of being a sex symbol made the artist retreat from public life, per a Believer magazine interview with producer Ahmir Thompson. D’Angelo didn’t release another record until 2014’s Black Messiah with the Vanguard. The avant-soul album is considered a masterpiece, with Pitchfork ranking it the ninth-best album of the 2010s.
