What Happened to R&B Singer D’Angelo?

D’Angelo was a musical prodigy 

D’Angelo grew up in the Pentecostal church in Richmond, Va. His brother, Luther, came home from school one day and found a toddler-aged D’Angelo playing a Prince song on the piano. Luther told Red Bull Music Academy, “It was just one of those amazing type of things.”

According to a GQ article, D’Angelo was five years old when his parents split up. Since his mom was struggling, he and his brothers lived with his father, who was a preacher. When he turned nine, his dad began “battling his own demons.” So D’Angelo and his siblings packed up and moved back in with their mom.

He grew up playing in the church

He played music in his father’s church up until he turned 12 and he started playing in his grandfather’s church as well. When he became a teenager, he formed different music groups, including Michael Archer and Precise, which had success on the Amateur Night competition at the Apollo Theater.

Linking up with I.D.U.

The ‘90s signaled the start of the golden era of rap music. D’Angelo became affiliated with a hip-hop group called I.D.U., and he dropped out of high school to focus on his music career.

In 1992, I.D.U. had a meeting with record executives. But the bigwigs weren’t interested in the entire group. They were more amazed by D’Angelo’s background vocals.

Experiencing instant success

According to Greensboro.com, he signed with a publishing company that eventually became Midnight Music and later got a record deal from the now-defunct EMI. His first major success came in 1994 when he co-wrote and co-produced “U Will Know” for the supergroup Black Men United. That single helped create the buzz for his iconic studio album, Brown Sugar.

Brown Sugar sold 300,000 copies within the first few months of its release. He went on tour for two years to promote the album, and in the end, he said he was left with writer’s block. For the next few years, he took a break from writing and released cover versions and remakes of songs to keep his fans satisfied.

The birth of his son with R&B singer Angie Stone

During that same time, he and his girlfriend, singer Angie Stone, who was thirteen years older than him, had a son together named Michael Archer Jr. D’Angelo told GQ it was the birth of his son that partially compelled him to record his follow-up album.

He made a brief comeback

In 2000, he finally released Voodoo. The album was called a “masterpiece” by music critics as it landed at the number one spot on the Billboard charts. It sold more than a million units in five weeks and D’Angelo won two Grammy awards for all his hard work.

The video for “Untitled: How Does It Feel” completely changed the game for the entire music video industry. Set against a black background and shot from the hips up, D’Angelo’s glistening muscles will be ingrained in our minds forever.

The success of his follow-up album came at a cost. At the start of the Voodoo tour, he began to crack. His tour’s bandleader, Questlove, told GQ that fans were screaming “Take it off” every time D’Angelo appeared on stage, and the singer began to panic. He was worried he wouldn’t look as chiseled and in shape, as he did in the “How Does It Feel” music video.

Questlove said D’Angelo would become so frustrated that his fans were treating him like a piece of meat. One time, a fan threw money at him onstage, and he threw it right back at her in a rage. Questlove said sometimes they would have to beg him not to cancel shows altogether.

The end of his relationship with Angie Stone

On the last day of the tour, D’Angelo told Questlove, “I cannot wait until this f*****g tour is over. I’m going to go in the woods, drink some hooch, grow a beard, and get fat.” Questlove thought he was playing around, but he wasn’t.

When the tour ended, D’Angelo attempted to go back to his normal life, but that wasn’t possible with the fame he had acquired.

By that time, his relationship with Angie was over. She told Essence that she began dating him when he was just 19. He was short, wore glasses, and had low self-esteem. She helped build up his confidence and told him that one day people would fall in love with his beautiful lips and his eyes.

After garnering attention in the public eye, suddenly everyone began telling D’Angelo he was too good-looking to be with her. She told Essence magazine that he fathered a daughter with another woman, and he rarely made time to see the son he shared with Angie.

Angie said D’Angelo was too focused on his life and trying to get his career back on track. And the singer confirmed to GQ that after his Voodoo tour, everything fell apart. He lost a few people who were close to him, including his Uncle CC and his beloved grandmother. He was still working in the studio, but he also began partying and dabbling in substances.

In trouble with the law

In 2005, singer John Mayer wrote an open letter in Esquire magazine, begging D’Angelo to release a new album. But the singer had other things on his agenda.

That same year, he was pulled over in Richmond and was charged with disturbing the peace, driving under the influence, driving without a license, and possession of cocaine and marijuana. When his mugshot hit the internet, his manager, Dominique Trenier borrowed a tour bus, drove out from California to Richmond, picked up D’Angelo, and drove him back to a California recovery center.

A horrific accident

But treatment didn’t help. He said the moment he left, he went straight to the liquor store. Months later, he was driving his 2003 Hummer on a suspended license when his vehicle crossed the roadway and struck a fence.

D’Angelo, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the car. Another person in the vehicle, a woman named Lynne Sellers, was also injured.

Following the accident, he released a statement to the Associated Press (via Today), saying he banged up his ribs but was fine and was excited to return to the studio.

Many believed the accident would be his wake-up call, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t until rapper J Dilla passed away in February 2006 at the age of 32 from cardiac arrest that D’Angelo decided it was time to get help.

A kind stranger paid for rehab

He wanted to check into Eric Clapton’s Crossroads treatment center in Antigua, but it would cost him $40,000, which he didn’t have. So his good friend and A&R executive at EMI Music, Gary Harris, contacted celebrity personal manager Irving Azoff. Irving didn’t know D’Angelo at all, but he knew of his music. So he agreed to cut a check to help him out.

It was a challenge getting D’Angelo to the Antigua treatment center because he didn’t have a driver’s license nor did he have a passport. And after practically begging for the intervention, his interest in going to treatment began to fade as the days passed by.

Gary Harris paid him a surprise visit at his Richmond home and finally got the singer on a plane to Puerto Rico, but then it took him an additional two days to get D’Angelo out of the hotel and onto another flight to Antigua. Once he made it to the rehab center, he remained there for an entire month.

Another arrest & a shocking mugshot

He signed a deal with J Records in 2007, but there was more trouble happening in his private life. On March 6, 2010, he was locked up for soliciting an undercover NYPD police officer $40 for her…um… services.

In the end, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, according to Billboard. What does that have to do with soliciting an undercover cop in a sting operation? We have no idea, but it sounds like someone caught a break.

Motivated to lose weight & the release of ‘Black Messiah’

His time away from the spotlight wasn’t all bad though. He fathered a third child and he reportedly mastered the guitar by practicing the instrument for six hours a day. His weight reached 300 pounds. So he started a diet of fish and green apples and headed back to the gym to trim his five-foot-seven-inch frame.

After management changes, record company changes, and a bunch of personal issues, he released Black Messiah in 2014 and took home two Grammy awards.

In June 2015, he told Rolling Stone that he was working on more material for a new album, calling it “a companion piece” to Black Messiah.

D’Angelo’s triumphant came crashing down

In 2018, he announced a European tour on his official Facebook page. Sadly, three months after the announced, it was revealed the tour was canceled.

A statement was released on the singer’s behalf via Onsmash.com:

“With great reluctance and disappointment, D’Angelo must cancel his June-July European tour. […] A pre-tour check-up with his physician revealed a medical condition that will require continued evaluation. As a result, D’Angelo has been told not to undergo touring or any physically taxing activities for at least six months.”

Is D’Angelo releasing a new album?

For those who are still asking: where is R&B singer D’Angelo? We have some good news. During the April 27, 2019 premiere of his documentary, Devil’s Pie, at the Tribeca Film Festival (via Billboard), it was revealed that D’Angelo is working on new music.

In a Q&A following the premiere, director Carine Bijlsma stated, “He was in the studio these past weeks. He has big plans for the future, so you’ll definitely be seeing more of him.”

That means the follow-up to Black Messiah might be dropping sooner than expected!

What are your thoughts on what happened to D’Angelo’s career?  You can also head over to our YouTube comments section to chat with some of our subscribers about D’Angelo. Or, if you’re curious about some other R&B favorites, find out what really happened to Amerie next!