D'angelo

D'Angelo, born Michael Eugene Archer on February 11, 1974, didn't just make soul records, he rebuilt the whole machine from the parts up. A singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who played guitar and piano, he first got noticed in 1994 for co-writing and co-producing "U Will Know" for the R&B supergroup Black Men United. Then came Brown Sugar in 1995, a smoky, slow-rolling debut that went platinum and is credited with kicking off the neo-soul movement. The title track oozes, his take on Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin" melts, and "Lady" climbed into the top ten of the Hot 100.

He worked with Angie Stone, Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill, joining her on "Nothing Even Matters" in 1998, and then dropped Voodoo in 2000. It went straight to number one on the Billboard 200, went platinum, and won Best R&B Album at the Grammys, while "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" and its striking video earned him Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. "Playa Playa" sets the album's mood: loose, murky funk that seems to stretch time itself.

He grew uneasy with being sold as a sex symbol, and depression, drug addiction and alcoholism kept his output thin for years. Black Messiah finally arrived in 2014, debuted in the top five and won Best R&B Album at the 58th Grammys, with "Really Love" taking Best R&B Song. He was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2025, and he died of pancreatic cancer on October 14, 2025, while working on a fourth album.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.