My introduction to D’Angelo was his Brown Sugar single released in 1995 from his Brown Sugar album. I was very young, so my awareness of music was minimal, and I have no idea what the actual sound of music was like compared to someone much older than I. Word on the street, D’Angelo was the first of his kind. Blending Funk, R&B, Soul, and Jazz to create this sound now called “neo-soul” (D’Angelo didn’t like that term by the way, saying it put the music into a box). But to D’Angelo, it was a blend of all these things, and he called it BLACK MUSIC.

Brown Sugar gave us the chart-topping singles “Lady”, “Cruisin”, and “Brown Sugar”, and then he followed up with his critically acclaimed album Voodoo in 2000, which ended up charting at #1, with Untitled (How Does It Feel) as its leading single. Between Brown Sugar and Voodoo, D’Angelo collaborated with numerous artists, including Lauryn Hill on “Nothing Even Matters” and Method Man on “Break Ups 2 Make Ups.” Everyone respected D’Angelo’s artistry, but one artist in particular seemed to have made a significant impact on him and his art, and that was Prince. And it makes a lot of sense - you can hear Prince in a lot of D’Angelo’s music, and especially in the album Voodoo.

What came out of Voodoo was special. If I had to choose, my favorite tracks are Send It On, The Root, Untitled (How Does It Feel), and Africa. But it’s hard to settle on a few when the album is really gold from top to bottom. It feels like a complete work of art, and it gives the feel of a live session. If Brown Sugar didn’t do it, Voodoo did. And IT is the transformation of what Black funk, soul music should sound like. D’Angelo broke many barriers with Voodoo, not just sonically but also visually. Untitled (How Does It Feel) is still listed as one of the greatest music videos of all time, but what came after was something D’Angelo wasn’t expecting.

Stills from the Untitled (How Does It Feel) video

I remember watching Untitled and was curious because I had never seen a body look like that before, let alone a Black man’s body. I was 8 years old and had no idea that a man singing with his shirt off was going to turn the world upside down. And it did! D’Angelo was heavily sexualized after this, which led him to become even more of a recluse, and he turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with the rapid fame change. He also struggled with keeping up this image as a sex icon. D’Angelo was naturally a heavier build, so he continued to push himself to try to keep up with the sex image standard that his label, management, and world held against him.

8 year old me: Why is he naked?

16 year old me: I hope my husband looks like that (fantasizes that he IS my husband).

25 year old me: He was fine, chile.

33 year old me: The industry is trash. What a great body, I wonder what the workout routine was. I hate that he didn’t like this.

Not only was D’Angelo sexualized, and he hated it, but he was also in an inappropriate relationship with Angie Stone. He was 19 when they got together, and she was 30. They had one son, whom the song Send It On from the album Voodoo is about, for which Angie is a co-writer. Regardless of Angie and D’Angelo being okay with their own relationship, you can’t help but wonder what someone with that big of an age gap would want from someone much younger than them. Angie states she didn’t know D’Angelo’s age when he approached her and thought he was much older because he had an “old soul”. I’ve heard that line too many times in my lifetime. They dated for 4 years and broke up due to some infidelity on D’Angelo’s part (he had a child with another woman). I often wondered how this relationship affected D’Angelo and Angie. Publicly, Angie took a lot of heat because the consensus was that she “knew better” and was so much older than him. People also tried to say she wasn’t good enough for him once he entered the spotlight. Angie and D’Angelo continue to support each other in their careers, with her calling it a “love-hate relationship”.

Sadly, Angie Stone died in a fatal car crash earlier this year.

After a 14-year hiatus, D’Angelo returned with his latest project, Black Messiah, in December 2014, and once again transcended the sound of music. Black Messiah sounds like Voodoo on steroids, with his voice sounding so much richer and seasoned. With a little bit more funk and instrumentation and bringing his band, the Vanguard, along, D’Angelo became a household name again. Really Love is the single from this album, and D’Angelo performed the song on SNL. Since then, D’Angelo has done plenty of performances and interviews and even blessed us when we were all cooped inside our homes in 2020, with a Verzuz. With 14 Grammy nominations and 4 wins, D’Angelo continued to give us music we all needed to hear.

October 14, 2025.

D’Angelo transitioned after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 51 years young. His death came as a shock to most of us, although I do remember him having to cancel a show due to a health reason. I had no idea what he was battling with at the time. D’Angelo is an artist I wish I had taken time to see perform at least once, but his music will forever live on within me and my household. I wish nothing but strength and peace for his son, daughter, and his entire family.

D’Angelo, you were an angel on earth in its purest form, and you gave us the purest feeling of love through music. You gave us a sound that is often imitated but never duplicated. You are a light in BLACK MUSIC, and your sound and energy will remain until the end of time.

Rest in Soul, D’Angelo.

Until we can hear your voice again,

God Bless.

Remembering D’Angelo