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Across three timeless studio albums, D’Angelo found all the right words to sing in the smoothest, most affecting notes. Those who were influenced, inspired, and shaped by the neo-soul legend’s work are searching for words of their own to honor and remember the musician, who died on Oct. 14 at the age of 51.
Beyoncé honored D’Angelo on her website, writing: “We thank you for your beautiful music, your voice, your proficiency on the piano, your artistry. You were the pioneer of Neo-soul and that changed and transformed rhythm & blues forever. We will never forget you.”
“My friend Gary Harris brought this musician named D’Angelo over to my NYC apt,” Nile Rodgers recalled on Instagram; Rodgers and D’Angelo later collaborated on Fela Kuti cover “Water Get No Enemy” in 2002. “He was trying to figure out what to do with the music he’d brought with him. I listened to every cut…not just out of respect but because it was smoking. At the end of the encounter he asked me, ‘What should I do with it?’ I remember this as if it were yesterday. I said, ‘Put it out. It’s perfect!’ Being the #artist he is, I guess he had to explore some ways to make it better.”
Rodgers recalled hearing one of those songs on the radio a year later. “It was #genius and it was exactly what he had played for me,” he continued. “I know…I still have the original cassette.”
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea remembered D’Angelo for his “inimitable approach” to songwriting and his voice. “One of my all time favorites whose records I went to again and again. Noone did anything funkier over the last 30 years. I never knew him but humbled myself before his music,” the bassist wrote on Instagram. “What a rare and beautiful voice and an inimitable approach to songwriting. What a musician!!! He changed the course of popular music. Fly free with the angels D’angelo, we will listen to you forever and always be moved. I drop to my knees and pray.”
“Rest Peacefully D’Angelo,” Missy Elliott wrote on social platform X. “No parent want to see their children go but it’s painful for children to see their parents go to so send prayers up for his son who also lost his mom this year for strength.” D’Angelo is survived by his son, Michael Archer, whom he welcomed with neo-soul singer Angie Stone in 1998. Stone died in March 2025.
The Roots’ Black Thought, who was closely linked with D’Angelo through the Soulquarians, wrote on Instagram: “We came up together- young, gifted, Black, and full of fire. Today I lost a brother, a kindred spirit, a genius whose light changed music and changed me. Rest in power, D. This world will never sound the same.”
Fellow Soulquarian Bilal tells Rolling Stone, “He was my friend and he mentored me. He was generous with himself and his knowledge. He’s one of the finest piano players and all around musicians I’ve gotten to work with. The first band I was ever in was D’Angelo’s, and this was during my 2nd year of college. I learned so much with him and that band. He and Ahmir were the ones that championed me and pushed me to pursue my own career and a record deal. We talked a lot. I also watched him in the studio and learned from him there. I respected him a lot. It’s hit me hard.”
Talib Kweli, another Soulquarians member, shared a photo of the collective on Bluesky along with a video of D’Angelo jamming out on set for at GQ shoot. “Today is D day. Rest in power my brother,” he shared. “You brought SO much beauty in to the world. RIP D’Angelo.”
Former President Barack Obama, who sometimes featured D’Angelo on his popular playlists, said, “D’Angelo was one of a kind. As a pioneer in neo-soul, he inspired a generation of singers, and helped shape music today. Michelle and I are thinking of his family, and all those who loved and admired him.”
On X, rapper Aminé recalled his earliest encounter with D’Angelo as a teenager during a drive. “I was 15 when my older cousin took me on a roadtrip to the bay and played me all of Brown Sugar and Voodoo for the very first time,” he wrote. “My life changed that day and I was obsessed. Rest in paradise D’angelo. U really meant so much to me and my family.”
Tyler, the Creator was met with a flood of memories, one of which took him back to his ninth birthday, he recalled on Instagram. “March 6, 2000, I landed at Sam Goody at the South Bay Galleria. I had $20 in birthday money and my eyes set on leaving with one thing. VOODOO by D’Angelo,” he wrote. ” Citas World had ‘Left&Right’ on loop; Brown Sugar became a staple at home and nothing even matters by ms.hill was on repeat, so i had no doubt that Voodoo would deliver. I had no idea that would help shape my musical DNA.”
Running through his favorite tracks, the rapper recalled writing raps to “Booty,” mirroring D’Angelo on “Send It On,” and more. “ONE MO’GIN still puts me in the same trance as it did when i first heard it. That dragging sway of tempo that sounds like a porch sitting rocking chair. That grumpy but loose bassline,” he said, noting that it inspired “Ring Ring Ring” from his latest album. “I couldn’t understand how someone could write something so simple but personal but broad but genius. That’s how special he was. A savant. A true alien. We are so lucky to have been alive to enjoy his art. My musical DNA was helped shaped by this man. Forever grateful. Safe travels.”
Brown Sugar arrived in 1995 as a blazing debut that cemented D’Angelo as a leading musical force. He’d already built the foundation as a member of the Soulquarians (a loose musical collective that included Questlove, Erykah Badu, J Dilla, Q-Tip, and more) and as a songwriter penning records for other musicians and projects, such as Black Men United’s “U Will Know” from the 1994 film Jason’s Lyric.
“Rest in peace D’angelo,” Doja Cat wrote on X. “My thoughts, love and prayers go out to his family and friends. A true voice of soul and inspiration to many brilliant artists of our generation and generations to come.”
While D’Angelo’s influence transcends genre, it cannot be understated how extensively R&B and neo-soul, in particular, were shaped by his music. “Totally speechless,” R&B musician Kehlani wrote in an Instagram Story, sharing an image of D’Angelo. “Thank you for all you gave us. I don’t even know what to say.”
Other artists have found themselves at a similar loss for words. Destin Conrad and Flavor Flav also shared photos, with captions that included “Nah I’m so fucking sad” and “R.I.P. ICON,” respectively. 6LACK praised D’Angelo’s discography, writing, “Brown Sugar, Voodoo, and Black Messiah forever & ever.” Maxwell, another influential neo-soul figure, wrote on Instagram, “Because u were, we are all because.”
Voodoo arrived in 2000, five years after Brown Sugar and 14 years before Black Messiah. The record dismantled the boundaries of genre for the young musician, who was only 26 at the time. The album expanded the horizon of sonic possibility, blending the influences of artists such as Prince, Lauryn Hill, and Marvin Gaye with Erykah Badu, Pink Floyd, and Stevie Wonder — and it was all filtered through the soul and spirit of D’Angelo.
Producers Alchemist, Kenny Beats, and DJ Premier paid tribute on social media with photos and notes. “Such a sad loss to the passing of D’angelo,” Premier wrote on X. “We have so many great times. Gonna miss you so much. Sleep Peacefully D’. Love You KING.”
Jill Scott reacted to D’Angelo’s death on X just hours after she shared a post that showed love to her favorite musicians. It coincidentally began with “I love you D’Angelo.” “I told you a long time ago – You ain’t gon understand everything & everything ain’t meant 4 U, nor I, to understand,” she said. “I never met D’Angelo but I love him, respect him, admire his gift. This loss HURTS!! Love to my family that are family to him. I’m so sorry. R.I.P. GENIUS.”
“This really hurts! We lost a true original today,” Jennifer Hudson wrote on X. “It just doesn’t seem real!! It can’t be. D’Angelo, your voice will live on forever. Rest well, King!!!”
“There was no one like him,” said James Poyser in a statement to Rolling Stone. The producer and musician featured in 2000’sVoodoo and was part of the Soulquarians, a collective that included the likes of D’Angelo, Questlove, Erykah Badu, J Dilla, and Q-Tip, among others. “I mean there’s a lot of people inspired and influenced by him, but he was thee original, one of one. I’m blessed that I was on this planet at the same time as him…blessed to call him a friend, no: a brother…blessed to have created with him, jammed in the studio & on stage with him…blessed to have learned so much from him and be inspired by him also.”
Hill, who met D’Angelo when recording The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill track, “Nothing Even Matters, penned a letter to the musician. “Your undeniable beauty and talent were not of this world, and a presence not of this world needs protection in a world that covets light and the anointing of God,” she wrote. “You sir, moved us, stirred us, inspired and even intimidated others to action with your genius.”
Justin Timberlake shared how the visionary’s work impacted his own musical journey and helped him define his own voice. “I’ll never forget hearingBrown Sugarfor the first time. It changed me. You changed me,” wrote Timberlake on social media, calling the record the “most pivotal moment in establishing confidence in my own voice.”
Mark Ronson also shared a tribute to D’Angelo, who he might on a few occasions and nearly collaborated with in the past. “I was never fully myself around D. Too starstruck around this genius,” the producer wrote:
Amaarae shared hear almost ritualistic relationship with D’Angelo’s music on X, writing, “For the last 2 decades of my life I listen to a song from Voodoo everyday.” As a kid, she remembered, she would steal her uncle’s Voodoo CD, not knowing “a word he was saying,” but knowing she loved what she was hearing.
“Then I turned 19 and some of the lyrics about love & pain started to make sense & every year since then the more I go through life, the more the lessons behind the poems on Voodoo reveal themselves,” she continued. “RIP to one of the greatest to ever do it! D’Angelo!!!!!! Your music changed my life and help me get through it all at the same time! A lot of what I loved about music and wanted to emulate started with you!!!! Your absence will be felt but the legacy you left behind will continue to reign SUPREME!”
