Entertainment
Grammy-Winning R&B Legend Passes Away At 51
The world of entertainment lost a giant of the R&B genre on Tuesday with the passing of D’Angelo, a Grammy-award winning singer who became a reluctant sex symbol and later a recluse who shunned the spotlight in the second half of his career.
He was 51.
The artist, born Michael Eugene Archer, died of cancer, his family announced in a statement.
He was “a shining star of our family and has dimmed his light for us in this life,” they said, adding they are “eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind.”
With a voice that could strike the tenor of Prince and the raspiness of James Brown, D’Angelo helped bring R&B into the 21st century with his hit single “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” from the album “Brown Sugar.” His rise within the neo-soul movement turned meteoric with the release of the video for his Grammy-winning song where D’Angelo bared all in a demonstration of both vulnerability and sex appeal.
His second album, “Voodoo,” built off the success of “Brown Sugar” and landed in the Billboard Top 200 before winning the Grammy for Best Album of the Year.
Speaking with the AP in 2000, D’Angelo offered candid insight into the cost of his success.
“(Musicians) have gotten trapped into that mode of thinking marketable and commercial. That destroys art, that destroys the essence of what it is about,” he said. “You cannot, you cannot work like that. You cannot make music like that. That’s not what this is about.”
He responded to the global attention by withdrawing to focus on crafting his own sound sans the distraction of touring and media interviews, he said later that year.
“I used to hang out a lot, but now I’ve become more of a recluse,” he told AP. “I long for just peace and silence.”
Actor Jamie Foxx paid tribute to D’Angelo, whom he said left him “blown away” with the first live performance he was fortunate enough to see.
“I remember hearing your music for the first time… I said to myself damn whoever this is they are anointed,” Jamie Foxx said on social media. “Then when I finally got a chance to see you… Like everyone when they saw the most incredible music video of our time… I was blown away… I thought to myself I have to see this person in concert… I had my chance to see you at the house of blues… You came out and got right down to business… Your voice was silky and flawless… I was graciously envious of your style and your swag…”
Angie Stone, the R&B singer whose 1990s success intertwined with a brief romantic relationship with D’Angelo, previously described the singer as her “musical soul mate” and favorite collaborator.
Their duets were like “’like milk and cereal,” she told the outlet in 1999. “Musically, it was magic. It’s something that I have not been able to do with any other producer or musician.”
The couple shared a son together the artist Swayvo Twain, born Michael Archer Jr. Stone died earlier this year in a car crash; she was 63.
