Award winning R&B singer, Micheal Archer, popularly known as D’angelo, has died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
D’Angelo succumbed to the ailment and died at 51, as informed by his family who announced his demise emotionally, causing a huge shock to music fans over the world.
“The shining star of our family has dimmed his light for us in this life leaving behind a legacy of extraordinarily moving music,” a statement from the family reads in extract.
The singer, known for pioneering neo-soul, a genre blending R&B with other types of music, including hip-hop and jazz had a short musical spree but released three albums which scooped four Grammy Awards.
D’Angelo, who died on Tuesday, began his career as a songwriter and eventually rose to stardom in 1990 with his debut album title, Brown sugar.
His song, Lady, from the album reached the No. 10 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in 1996 and eventually earned him multiple Grammy nominations and secured his spot in the music scene.
His 2000 album, Voodoo, won him two Grammys but he later infamously struggled with alcoholism and nearly died behind the wheel in a car crash in 2005.
He returned to music in 2014 with Black Messiah, an album in the works for years which he finished after watching the national unrest prompted by protests over the failure to convict police officers in the deaths of the unarmed black men Michael Brown and Eric Garner. It went on to win the Grammy for best R&B album in February 2016.
Among those paying tribute were hip-hop legend DJ Premier, who produced D’Angelo’s song Devil’s Pie, who said, “Such a sad loss. We have so many great times. Gonna miss you so much. Sleep Peacefully D’ Love You KING.”
