R&B singer D’Angelo passed away yesterday aged just 51. But he leaves behind him a legacy of influential tracks – here are six of his best ones.
As soon as the announcement that R&B and soul singer D’Angelo had passed away aged just 51 after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis was made, there was an outpouring of tributes from fellow musicians and fans alike.
The family of D’Angelo – whose real name was Michael Eugene Archer – released a statement that said he left behind a “legacy of extraordinarily moving music” and asked fans to celebrate the songs that he has left to the world.
D’Angelo only released three studio albums during his career, which spanned 30 years, but they were all hugely successful – he won four Grammys – and his influence on R&B and soul music is widely acknowledged.
This was shown as many musicians, including Beyonce, Nile Rogers and Lauryn Hill, quickly paid heartfelt tributes to him. Beyonce posted a tribute on her website saying: “You were the pioneer of neo-soul, and that changed and transformed rhythm and blues forever. We will never forget you.”
To celebrate the life and work of D’Angelo, here are six of his best and most influential tracks from across his career.
Brown Sugar (1995)
Taken from the debut album of the same name, Brown Sugar was an international hit and cemented him as one of R&B’s rising stars at the time. While the brown sugar of the title actually referred to marijuana, many took it to be referring to a person. But then that ambiguity was part of the point – in an interview with Vibe in 1995, D’Angelo talked about wanting the listener to use their imagination about what a track means.
Lady (1995)
This track, written with Raphael Saadiq, was D’Angelo’s biggest hit, reaching number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995. It was also his biggest UK hit, peaking at 21 in the Top 40. The track, which celebrates a special person, was also one of the centrepieces of the Brown Sugar album.
Untitled (How Does It Feel) (2000)
Accompanied by a suitably teasing video, Untitled was D’Angelo at his most sensual on this track, and has become a favourite when couples look to set a mood, with his vocals, in the classic soul tradition, soar over the rhythm section.
Really Love (2014)
The first single from D’Angelo’s third – and, as it turned out, final – studio album, Black Messiah, coming more than a decade after his second long player, was a fitting comeback for the star. The slow-burn track, featuring strings and guest vocals in Spanish from Gina Figueroa, tells of a deep love for a partner. It won Best R&B Song at the 2016 Grammys.
Nothing Even Matters (with Lauryn Hill) (1998)
This duet featured on Lauryn Hill’s debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which is regarded now as a classic. Both singers were on top of their game at the time, and while they initially planned to swap tracks for each other’s projects, they decided to collaborate and the track came together quickly. Indeed, it took D’Angelo just an hour to lay down his vocals for it in the studio, according to an interview he gave to Rolling Stone.
The Charade (2014)
When D’Angelo re-emerged onto the music scene, he retained a sense of purpose, and this track, with its call for justice and understanding, is indicative of this. This track was taken as an anthem for the Black Lives Matters movement, although as D’Angelo admitted, its roots go much further back than that – showing how long people have been protesting this.
