Born Michael Eugene Archer on February 11, 1974 in Richmond, Virginia, neo-soul icon D’Angelo passed away on October 14 at Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City after a battle with pancreatic cancer. The four-time Grammy Award winner’s family issued the following statement to Variety:
“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, departing this life today, October 14, 2025. We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with the family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinary moving music he leaves behind.”
The son and grandson of ministers, D’Angelo began showing his musical talent as a child. Aside from his melodious voice as a singer, he played piano, keyboards, drums, and the guitar. His first foray onto the music scene was when he wrote the single “U Will Know” for Black Men United, an R&B supergroup which included Brian McKnight, Usher, R. Kelly, Boyz II Men, Raphael Saadiq, and Gerald Levert. The track was featured in the 1994 film, “Jason’s Lyric.” In 1995, his debut studio album, Brown Sugar, was certified platinum and is renowned for starting the neo-soul movement. His album Voodoo came out in 2000, and his final album, Black Messiah, in 2014. D’Angelo’s last song in 2024, “I Want You Forever,” was a collaboration with Jay-Z and Jeymes Samuel for Samuel’s film “The Book of Clarence.”
D’Angelo never married, but was the father of three children. He had his eldest son, Michael D’Angelo Archer II, in 1998 with former girlfriend Angie Stone, with whom he collaborated with on music. She preceded him in death on March 1, 2025, in a car crash near Montgomery, Alabama. Their son performs under the name Swayvo Twain. D’Angelo had two other children, a daughter born in 1999 and a son in 2010.
Renowned journalist Marc Lamont Hill remembered D’Angelo in a statement on X, formerly Twitter: “My sources tell me that D’Angelo has passed. Wow, I have no words. May he rest in perfect peace.”