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Michael Eugene Archer, the award-winning R&B singer known professionally as D'Angelo, has died at the age of 51 following a battle with cancer, his family announced. In a statement, they celebrated the artist's "legacy of extraordinarily moving music" and encouraged fans to remember "the gift of song that he has left for the world." D'Angelo was a highly influential figure known for his pioneering work in neo-soul, a genre blending R&B with elements of hip-hop and jazz.
His three albums won him four Grammy Awards. The music video for his hit song Untitled (How Does It Feel) became notorious for its smouldering, single-shot performance, where D'Angelo appeared to be performing naked.
D’Angelo began his career as a songwriter, and worked alongside big names in music like Lauryn Hill and The Roots. He rose to fame in the 1990s with his debut album Brown Sugar. His song, Lady, from that album reached the No. 10 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in 1996. That song earned him multiple Grammy nominations and secured his spot in the music scene.
The son of a Pentecostal minister, D'Angelo was born in Richmond, Virginia, and taught himself to play piano at the age of three. Throughout his adolescence, he performed locally in groups including Three of a Kind, Michael Archer and Precise, and Intelligent, Deadly but Unique (I.D.U.).
When he was 18, he won the amateur talent competition at Harlem's Apollo Theater for three consecutive weeks; and was quickly signed to a publishing deal with EMI. He established himself as a commercial force with his 1995 debut album, also called Brown Sugar, and won two Grammys for the 2000 follow-up, Voodoo. However, he subsequently 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.
"Such a sad loss," he wrote on social media. "We have so many great times. Gonna miss you so much. Sleep Peacefully D' Love You KING."
