The music world is mourning the death of singer D’Angelo.
The singer who famously blended soul and R&B passed away on Tuesday after a private fight with cancer.
D’Angelo is credited for being a pioneer for the neo-soul movement, which ushered in talents like Maxwell, Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill.
Maxwell acknowledged this in an online tribute to the singer, writing: “Because u were, we are all because.”
Jamie Foxx praised D’Angelo by calling his talent “anointed.”
“God put you here for a reason, and we were all lucky enough to see what God had made,” the singer and actor wrote on Instagram. “That’s why today real tears run down my face… to hear the news that God has taken one of his special creations home… I know God doesn’t make mistakes… But this one hurts like hell… rest up, my friend… You will be missed forever… But your music and your impression will be felt for generations to come…. REST IN POWER AND BEAUTIFUL MUSIC….. You are one of one.”
Famed music producer Nile Rodgers took to X to share a personal story about how he first met the singer.
“My friend Gary Harris brought this musician named D’Angelo over to my NYC apt. 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. About a year later, I heard one of those songs on the radio. It was #genius and it was exactly what he had played for me. I know…I still have the original cassette,” he wrote.
On Instagram, Jennifer Hudson wrote, “This really hurts! We lost a true original today. It just doesn’t seem real!! It can’t be. D’Angelo, your voice will live on forever. Rest well, King!!”
“The light of your music will always shine in our hearts and minds and be a spark of light and inspiration to the world. We so love and appreciate you D’Angelo,” wrote RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan.
Rapper Tyler, the Creator recalled when he purchased the four-time Grammy award winner’s 2000 album “Voodoo” on his ninth birthday.
“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 on Instagram. “‘Citas World’ had ‘Left & Right’ on loop; ‘Brown Sugar’ became a staple at home, and ‘Nothing Even Matters’ by Ms. (Lauryn) Hill was on repeat, so I had no doubt that ‘Voodoo’ would deliver. I had no idea that would help shape my musical DNA. The amount of raps I’ve wrote to ‘Booty’ on the front porch that year, the amount of times I’ve tried to mimic vocal phrasing from ‘Send It On,’ the scratches the disc ended up with from repeating ‘The Root’……too many.”
The Los Angeles native said that he was “so lucky” to have gotten his copy of the Grammy-winning album at that young age. “We are so lucky to have been alive to enjoy his art. My musical DNA was helped shaped by this man. Forever grateful,” he ended his note before wishing the singer “safe travels” in the afterlife.
“Rest Peacefully D’Angelo,” wrote Missy Elliot on 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 passed away at 51. He leaves behind three children.