D’Angelo, Neo-Soul Visionary and ‘Untitled (How Does It Feel)’ Singer, Dies at 51

Image via Justin de Nooijer / Flickr

D’Angelo, the singer, songwriter, and producer who helped shape the sound of modern R&B and ushered in the era of neo-soul, has died at 51. His family confirmed that the artist, born Michael Eugene Archer, passed away on October 14, 2025, following a prolonged battle with cancer.

In a statement shared with Variety, his family wrote: “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 has been called home.”

Emerging in the mid-1990s, D’Angelo became one of the genre’s most influential figures. His 1995 debut Brown Sugar introduced a new generation to soul music through a fresh, hip-hop-infused lens. Five years later, his sophomore album Voodoo; created alongside Questlove, J Dilla, and the Soulquarians collective; redefined R&B’s possibilities, fusing raw grooves and spiritual emotion into a timeless body of work.

The single Untitled (How Does It Feel), propelled by its now-iconic video, made him a global sensation and reluctant sex symbol; a label he never embraced. D’Angelo’s relationship with fame grew complicated in the years that followed, and after the Voodoo tour, he largely withdrew from public life.

He resurfaced 14 years later with 2014’s Black Messiah, an album praised for its political urgency and spiritual depth. The record earned him renewed acclaim and solidified his place as one of soul music’s most introspective and uncompromising artists.

Throughout his career, D’Angelo won four Grammy Awards and influenced artists across genres; from Erykah Badu and Maxwell to Frank Ocean and Anderson .Paak. His collaborations with Lauryn Hill, Common, and The Roots remain landmarks in modern soul history.

Questlove, his longtime friend and collaborator, once described him as “a chosen one; someone who didn’t ask for the weight of genius, but carried it anyway.”

D’Angelo’s music, a blend of vulnerability, sensuality, and resistance, will continue to echo through generations of artists who found themselves in his sound.