RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Bill McGee, a friend and mentor of D’Angelo joined 12 On Your Side+ on Tuesday for a live interview.

D’Angelo, a Grammy-award-winning R&B artist and Chesterfield native, died Tuesday at age 51 .

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE:

According to a statement from his family, D’Angelo died from a “long and courageous battle” with cancer.

McGee says he was working as a band director in the late 1980s when he first met D’Angelo, who was in junior high school.

He says when he saw D’Angelo performing, he saw how talented he was, and with the permission of D’Angelo’s mother, he would perform with McGee by his side for many years after that.

D’Angelo’s debut album “Brown Sugar” sold over two million copies with songs like “Lady,” “Cruisin’,” and the title track “Brown Sug

See Full Page