D'Angelo, the visionary R&B singer who helped pioneer the neo soul sub genre, has died following a battle with cancer, according to a statement from his family published by multiple outlets. He was 51.

The songwriter and producer, born Michael Eugene Archer on February 11, 1974 in Richmond, Va., spent much of his career wrestling with the scrutiny of his outsized genius. The son of a Pentecostal preacher and a devotee of Prince, a young D'Angelo started a group with two of his cousins called Three of a Kind. At 16, he scored mic time on the coveted rising star showcase Amateur Night at the Apollo ; on his second attempt, he won. He took the $500 prize money and bought a four-track, and recorded the majority of the songs that would make up his debut. Two years later, he signed a record d

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