American soul and R&B singer, four-time Grammy Award winner D’Angelo has passed away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 51. In a statement, his family said he left the world with an “incredibly infectious musical legacy” and hoped people would remember his life and music in a celebratory spirit.
D’Angelo was one of the leading figures of Neo-soul, known for blending R&B, hip-hop, funk, and jazz into his own creative style, bringing new energy to the music scene of the 1990s. In his lifetime, he released three studio albums, accumulated four Grammy Awards, and made a profound impact on contemporary soul music.
D’Angelo was born in Richmond, Virginia, USA. His father was a Pentecostal preacher. He showed musical talent from an early age, started playing piano at age 3, and became active in local bands as a teenager. At 18, he won the amateur singing contest at Harlem's Apollo Theater for three consecutive weeks, after which he signed with EMI and began his professional music career.
In 1995, D’Angelo released his debut album “Brown Sugar,” with the single “Lady” breaking into the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, establishing him as a new R&B star. His second album “Voodoo,” released in 2000, won two Grammys and was ranked 28th on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “Greatest Albums of All Time.”
However, at the height of his career, he temporarily left the music industry due to alcohol problems and a serious car accident in 2005. After years away from the spotlight, he made a strong comeback in 2014 with “Black Messiah,” an album inspired by social issues, winning another Grammy for Best R&B Album.
Source: United Daily News