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Music

Playboi Carti Brings Out Kendrick Lamar & A$AP Rocky at L.A. Show

by jummy84 October 15, 2025

written by jummy84

Playboi Carti turned the Los Angeles stop of the Antagonist 2.0 Tour into a star-studded affair with A$AP Rocky and Kendrick Lamar joining King Vamp on stage.

Carti and Opium crew took over Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night (Oct. 14). Rocky, who signed Carti to AWGE, invaded the stage to turn the party up while the Atlanta native performed “Long Time” from his 2018 Die Lit album.

Kendrick brought Playboi Carti out during the Atlanta stop of his Grand National Tour in April, and Carti returned the favor on Tuesday, surprising fans with a Lamar guest appearance during “GOOD CREDIT,” which sent the crowd into a frenzy.

“You know what this is/ The vamps and the boogies/ We jugg through the party,” Lamar raps in front of a sea of moshing fans and iPhone flashlights.

The Cardo-produced Music standout reached No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and cracked the top 10 of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Kendrick doesn’t pop out much, so it typically has to be a special occasion to catch him outside. He’s currently on a break from the Grand National Tour, which will head to Australia in December.

As for Carti, the Antagonist 2.0 Tour with Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely kicked off earlier this month, and is slated to hit Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver, St. Paul, Brooklyn, Chicago, Detroit, Philly, Nashville and wrap up with a hometown performance in Atlanta in December.

On the music side, Playboi Carti has continued to tease his Baby Boi album, which remains without a release date. Back in April, DJ Swamp Izzo confirmed the project was “done.”

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October 15, 2025 0 comments

Music

Why Crime Shows Like Law & Order: SVU Are Comfort Viewing

by jummy84 October 15, 2025

written by jummy84

Everyone has their own definition of comfort viewing — the TV shows one might watch after a long hard day, or right before bed. The familiar rhythms of a 30 Rock long since memorized, the latest soapy installment of Grey’s Anatomy, or… a show about rape and murder, like Law and Order: SVU.

Watching a dark crime drama as relaxation might seem counterintuitive to a good night’s sleep. Yet it makes sense to a wide range of experts who study the ways pop culture impacts the way we see reality. As Dr. Lisa Kort-Butler tells Consequence, “It’s a grim universe. Some folks want to escape from that in some way. Comedy does that, but some of us want to know there’s something steady in the world. These crime shows, although they are grim, are steady on the side of right.”

As a sociologist who studies media representations of crime and justice, Kort-Butler has observed that a big factor in the comfort we associate with these shows comes from their inherent formula, one that “is comforting because you know the story. It’s the same reason kids watch the same things over and over and over again, because they know what to expect out of it.”

That basic formula is something University of Florida professor Dr. Andrew Selepak describes in terms those aforementioned kids can understand: “We like the fact that within an hour there’s a crime, and by the end they catch the criminal. The bad guys usually get caught and the good guys win. The classic white hat cowboy defeats the black hat cowboy. That, in a way, is comforting — as opposed to real life, where the majority of murders in a city like Chicago don’t even get solved.”

A show like SVU goes beyond that bad-guy-good-guy narrative as well, as the rhythms of the investigation — a crime is committed, the cops investigate, a suspect is identified, “dun dun” — remain overall very similar. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Susan Hatters-Friedman says, “It’s comforting because we know how it’s going to end up, and you feel mastery over that.” The result is that the viewer ends up “feeling safe in this potentially traumatizing environment by watching those shows. Even though every episode is different, there is this pattern of how they’re presented.”

Dr. Sharon Lauricella is a communication and digital media studies scholar who has specifically studied the impact of watching crime procedurals on viewers, and says that 25 years ago, research in this area was largely focused on the impact of crime procedurals on the audience: “Do they make people more paranoid? Do they make people feel unsafe? And then most of the research found that it didn’t really make people feel unsafe. It didn’t give people paranoia, locking their doors, things like that. So then the focus of media research changed to, well, why do people watch these things anyway?”

In Lauricella’s research, she found that half the participants in her study population said they watched crime procedurals because of curiosity: “How do the police work? What are the steps in figuring out a crime? How does the legal system work? Things like that.”

Accordingly, there is legitimate reason to worry that people accept what they see on TV as reality. Hatters-Friedman mentions “the CSI effect,” named after the 2000-2015 series and its spinoffs, which refers to how real-life juries today “are so used to all the evidence they bring to court [on TV shows] to prove someone’s guilty. It’s all this pseudoscientific stuff — like they come back with a DNA test the next day, whereas in real life, it takes time. That’s not how the real world works.”

Along similar lines, when people watch crime procedurals, it’s not that they don’t understand it isn’t real, but Hatters-Friedman says that “they take away these lessons from it, as if this is how it is and how quickly you can solve it. Anecdotally, working in forensics, people will ask me things that are just impossible things. But they just presume it would easily happen because they saw it on TV.”

October 15, 2025 0 comments

Music

Beyoncé, Tyler, Missy Pay Tribute To D’Angelo

by jummy84 October 15, 2025

written by jummy84

Luminaries from throughout the music world are paying tribute to R&B icon D’Angelo, who died yesterday (Oct. 14) at the age of 51 after battling prostate cancer. The artist had played only two proper concerts since 2016 but was reportedly deep into working on a new album.

”We thank you for your beautiful music, your voice, your proficiency on the piano, your artistry,” Beyoncé wrote. “You were the pioneer of neo-soul and that changed and transformed rhythm and blues forever. We will never forget you.”

“Rest peacefully, D’Angelo,” said Missy Elliott. “No parent want to see their children go but it’s painful for children to see their parents go too, so send prayers up for his son, who also lost his mom this year, for strength.” The mother of D’Angelo’s son, Angie Stone, died in a car crash in March.

Tyler, the Creator relayed a story about spending $20 given to him for his ninth birthday on a copy of D’Angelo’s acclaimed 2000 album Voodoo at South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach, Ca. “I had no idea that would help shape my musical DNA,” he said. “The amount of raps I’ve wrote to ‘Botty’ 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. I am so lucky to have gotten my copy of Voodoo when i did. We are so lucky to have been alive to enjoy his art.”

“My friend Gary Harris brought this musician named D’Angelo over to my NYC apartment,” recalled Nile Rodgers. “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 was exactly what he had played for me. I know — I still have the original cassette.”

“One of my all time favorites whose records I went to again and again,” said Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. “No one did anything funkier over the last 30 years. I never knew him but humbled myself before his music. 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 in peace, D’Angelo,” opined Doja Cat. “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.”

“I never met D’Angelo but I love him, respect him, admire his gift,” wrote Jill Scott. “This loss HURTS!! Love to my family that are family to him. I’m so sorry. R.I.P. GENIUS.”

October 15, 2025 0 comments

Music

Killer Mike, J.I.D. Inducting OutKast Into Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

by jummy84 October 15, 2025

written by jummy84

OutKast will receive one of the highest honors in music next month when they are inducted into the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Killer Mike, J.I.D., and Sleepy Brown will be in the building to properly cement the momentous occasion.

The official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Instagram account announced that all three Atlanta artists will be at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Nov. 8, and the specific “take the stage” language suggests that the trio will be performing as well.

Each artist also has a unique relationship with the legendary duo. Mike was part of the Dungeon Family, home to OutKast and Future, and appeared on their albums Stankonia and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. J.I.D. has called the “Roses” artists one of his biggest influences, and worked alongside Big Boi on Masego’s “Garden Party.” Sleepy Brown helped to craft their iconic sound and contributed to their albums ATLiens and Aquemini.

OutKast’s inductee class includes Salt-N-Pepa, The White Stripes, Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Cyndi Lauper, Joe Cocker, Soundgarden, Warren Zevon, Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins, Carol Kaye, and Lenny Waronker. They will mark the 13th Hip-Hop act added to the prestigious club, joining the likes of JAY-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, Eminem, Missy Elliott, and A Tribe Called Quest. The ceremony will stream live on Disney+.

The duo has primarily operated as solo acts in recent years. Big Boi appeared on “High Rise” with Sleepy Brown, Akeem Ali, and Organized Noize earlier in 2025. He also collaborated with Brown on Big Sleepover, a 15-song joint project in 2021.

André 3000 famously released a full flute album, New Blue Sun, in 2023. He also joined Killer Mike on “Scientists & Engineers” from his 2023 LP Michael. Most recently, 3K shared the seven-track EP, 7 Piano Sketches. Listen to the project below.

October 15, 2025 0 comments

Music

Amber Mark: Pretty Idea Album Review

by jummy84 October 15, 2025

written by jummy84

The album is loosely structured as a wayward path to self-acceptance. Mark begins with poise, vowing on “By the End of the Night” to rebound on the dancefloor. She’s quickly swooning, swathing a new paramour in her perfume on the buoyant “ooo” and going “weak in the knees” on the sprung “Sweet Serotonin.” “Too Much” features a nifty interpolation of Usher’s “My Boo” as she second-guesses her enthusiasm. “Is it too much if I’m thinking about you daily?” she sings coyly, more to herself than her crush. By the album’s end, she’s removed enough from the doomed relationship to consider her own role in its demise. “Your touch when I’m coming home/It’s a pretty idea, a pretty idea,” she croons on the title track. “Who’s the one that did you wrong?/Maybe I did, maybe I did.”

Mark doesn’t really tell stories in her songs; she lives the turmoil, her lithe vocals tracing the flutters of the heart. Survival anthem “Problems” showcases her range, her voice variously a coo, a wail, and a feathery prayer as she tries to will away stress. Folk ballad “Cherry Reds” clings to a warm memory like an heirloom: “Smoking Cherry Reds/In the trees,” Mark trills in her smooth upper register, stretching the last word into four wounded syllables. She’s just as pained on “Let Me Love You,” where her background vocals become increasingly distressed. The sticky hook—“Why won’t you let me love you?”—is an exclamation by the song’s end.

The open spaces and pained harmonies of quiet storm are the go-to style for R&B singers working through such dark nights of the soul, but that’s one tradition Pretty Idea breaks from. The core producers—Mark, One Direction songwriters Julian Bunetta and John Ryan, and duo Two Fresh—supply a dense, full-band sound. The arrangements are shimmery and lush, every little crevice filled with (at minimum) keys, synths, rhythm guitar, and background vocals. It’s as if they’ve spackled all the negative space that defined Three Dimensions Deep. When the drums drop out on “Sweet Serotonin” and “Too Much,” finger snaps reminiscent of the days when T-Pain and The-Dream ran urban radio subtly keep the meter. And on duet “Different Places,” which channels the warped funk of For All We Know, guitar melodies swell and recede as Mark and John Ryan trade woes. “You and I/Have we fallen out of love yet?/Doing all these circles/Round around the subject,” Mark sings. These songs are retro, but they’re not stagnant.

That’s a hard balance to strike. The past goes for cheap, in spirit if not actual cost (chill, JNCO). What if all the best things have already happened? What if all the sweet serotonin your brain struggles to produce because you’re too pumped full of dread and cortisol could be solved by Alien:Earth or Supreme Clientele 2 or Toy Story 5? Pretty Idea is an album about boys, of course. But I admire its regular relationship to the past. Mark presents R&B’s archives not as sacred texts or exotic loot but as context, precedent, pearls from grandma’s attic that can look nice if you style them just so. This customization is what pushes her music past pastiche. Mark’s boys are all hers.

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October 15, 2025 0 comments

Music

Kylie Jenner makes official music debut as King Kylie

by jummy84 October 15, 2025

written by jummy84

Kylie Jenner has made her official music debut as King Kylie. Check it out below.

Anticipation for Jenner’s first foray into music has been building since 2016, when she launched a campaign for a new range of lip glosses from her beauty brand, Kylie Cosmetics.

In the ad, she played a getaway driver in a Spring Breakers-style scenario, in which three gun-yielding young women cheat some gangsters out of a bag of money in the middle of the desert.

The commercial made headlines for the song used in the background, which was ‘3 Strikes’ – a debut single from a pop group called Terror Jr. At the time, there was little information about the band, leading fans to speculate that the singer was actually Jenner.

Later, it was revealed that the group was actually comprised of former The Cataracs band members David “Campa” Benjamin Singer-Vine, Lisa Vitale, and Felix Snow.

Now, Jenner has teamed up with the group to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Kylie Cosmetics, this time featuring on the track.

A new campaign sees the story continue, with Jenner in an interrogation room being grilled by detectives. “We’ve got you on multiple counts of being the baddest bitch on Earth, slaying 24/7, just being an all-around impressive young lady,” they tell her.

Later, she’s released, and her mother, Kris Jenner, is waiting to pick her up in a Rolls-Royce with a glove compartment full of the upcoming Kylie Cosmetics lip gloss launch.

The film is soundtracked by ‘Fourth Strike’, a new song by Jenner and Terror Jr. Jenner performs only on the bridge of the track, singing: “One strike, two strike, let me get the mood right / I just wanna tell you, ‘I’m sorry’ / Touch me, baby, tell me I’m your baby. Write your name all over my body / Cross the line, I might do it again / Do it on purpose just to see how it ends / King Kylie.”

Watch it below.

Jenner has now set up profiles on Spotify and Apple Music as King Kylie – her famous moniker from the 2010s.

It marks the first official music release from Jenner, though in 2016 she did make a brief cameo on the track ‘Beautiful Day’ from producer Burberry Perry.

October 15, 2025 0 comments

Music

Justin Timberlake Thanks D’Angelo for Helping Him Find His Sound

by jummy84 October 15, 2025

written by jummy84

Justin Timberlake has paid tribute to D’Angelo, whose three solo albums — his debut Brown Sugar, 2000’s Voodoo, and 2014’s Black Messiah — reshaped the landscape of soul music and helped ignite a new era. Following D’Angelo’s passing on Oct. 14 at 51, Timberlake shared how the visionary’s work impacted his own musical journey and how he had the opportunity to meet him backstage at Radio City Music Hall.

“I’ll never forget hearing Brown Sugar for the first time. It changed me. You changed me,” wrote Timberlake in his letter posted to Instagram Stories, calling the record the “most pivotal moment in establishing confidence in my own voice.”

“For the first time, I heard a sound that reflected the sounds I grew up with – early R&B but *now* it was intertwined with a modern edge,” he continued. “The chords and arrangement carried a mixture of church/jazz/funk, the harmonies delicately dancing with one another. It sat in my spirit and always will.”

Timberlake went on to praise Voodoo as his “favorite mixed album of all time.” He added, “The legendary players and collaborators. The sounds, the way it made colors dance around my head. It grabbed me. It shook me. I was changed once again.”

The “Selfish” singer also said that the Voodoo tour stop at Radio City was “one of the best concerts” of his life. “You. Quest. Pino. Poyser. And everyone on that stage had just ripped the faces off that crowd,” Timberlake reminisced. “And then I was lucky enough to grab a sacred moment with you backstage. And tell you how in awe of you I was.” The singer said that his previously posted photo of him and D’Angelo was taken at that exact moment and when they met, he was “kind, under-spoken.” Timberlake added, “I will never forget that.”

While Timberlake said he could go on about D’Angelo’s breadth of work including his “favorite Lauryn collab,” to “put it the way I know best in this moment: you took R&B and put it in all capitals.”

“Your contribution will always be remembered. Sending love and prayers to your family. You will be missed deeply. 1 of 1. Rip trailblazer,” wrote Timberlake before signing off, “With love. One of your biggest fans.”

Timberlake joins a flood of artists across genres that have honored D’Angelo in tributes including Lauryn Hill, Beyoncé, Nile Rodgers, Missy Elliott, and more.

October 15, 2025 0 comments

Music

Spotify Teams With Netflix on Podcasts, Touts Audiobook Listener Gains

by jummy84 October 15, 2025

written by jummy84

Spotify has announced two new developments in its push into non-music content: a video podcast deal with Netflix and statistics that show subscribers are quickly adopting audiobooks on the platform.

Starting in the U.S. in early 2026, podcasts from Spotify Studios and The Ringer, a media company founded by sportswriter Bill Simmons that was acquired by Spotify in 2020, will be available on Netflix, the streaming giant announced Tuesday (Oct. 14). Among the shows that will be available at the partnership’s onset are The Bill Simmons Show, the basketball oriented The Zach Lowe Show, true crime titles Conspiracy Theories and Serial Killers, and pop culture podcasts The Rewatchables and The Big Picture.

For Netflix, video podcasts provide an additional way to reach viewers, explained Lauren Smith, Netflix vp of content licensing and programming strategy. “As video podcasts continue to grow in popularity, our partnership with Spotify allows us to bring full video versions of these top shows to both Netflix and Spotify audiences,” she said in a statement. “From pop culture and lifestyle to true crime and sports, this curated selection of video podcasts adds fresh voices and new perspectives to Netflix, making our entertainment lineup more exciting than ever.”

Spotify also announced a slew of audiobook statistics that show the company is making progress in its ambition to advance the size of the audiobook market. Of subscribers who are eligible to stream audiobooks on Spotify, more than half have done so, the company revealed Tuesday. Audiobook listeners are up 36% year over year, and listening hours are up 37% year over year.

Spotify made audiobooks available for streaming in the U.K. and Australia in October 2023, followed by the U.S. a month later. Subscribers to the Premier tier are given 15 hours of listening per month and can purchase additional time. Audiobooks are currently available to Spotify subscribers in 14 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, France, Australia, the Netherlands and Ireland. Approximately 500,000 titles are available in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.

In the year since audiobooks launched in France and Benelux, French and Dutch listening hours are up 10% month over month, Spotify reported. In the six months since launching in Germany, audiobook listeners are up over 9% month over month.

Spotify entered the audiobook market with the intention of taking on the entrenched leader in the market, Amazon-owned Audible. The goal, CEO Daniel Ek explained in Feb. 2024, is to “grow the pie for the publishing industry and expand the interest in audiobooks to an entirely new set of listeners.” That required raising prices, however, and Spotify increased its monthly fee in the U.S. to $11.99 for individuals in June 2024. Audiobook-free options are available for existing Spotify subscribers for $10.99 per month.

Audiobooks can also help Spotify’s bottom line. Ek said in 2023 that offering the long-form audio content “will increase engagement on Spotify, which will then…reduce churn,” or the percentage of subscribers who lapse in a month. Churn results in additional costs to re-acquire the lapsed subscribers and customer acquisition costs to recruit new subscribers. As Billboard reported in 2021, Citi analyst Jason Bazinet estimated that Spotify’s churn rate fell from 7.7% in 2015 to 4% in 2020, due primarily to family plans that kept people subscribing longer and raised customers’ lifetime value.

October 15, 2025 0 comments

Music

Fender Unveils New American Professional Classic Guitars

by jummy84 October 15, 2025

written by jummy84

Fender has officially unveiled the American Professional Classic, a new line of guitars and basses, with the help of hardcore heroes Turnstile.

Featuring some of the most recognizable Fender silhouettes and body styles, the American Professional Classic emphasizes vintage aesthetics and modern playability. The new line features Stratocaster, Jaguar, Telecaster, Precision Bass, and Mustang Bass models, each with overwound vintage-style pickups and modern performance-enhancing aspects, such as a modern “C”-shaped neck.

Get Turnstile Tickets Here

“These are road-worthy, ready-for-the-stage guitars that you can grab right off the hook of a store and go right to a gig and play,” Allen Abbassi, Fender’s Director of Product Management tells Consequence. “The pickups are actually based on our American Vintage II pickups, a line of reissue guitars that are made exactly like [guitars from] the ’50s and ’60s. These pickups are borrowed from that series, but they’re slightly modified. They’re overwound, so they have a touch more warmth and output.”

D’Angelo Dies At 51 After Cancer Battle

by jummy84 October 15, 2025

written by jummy84

Beloved R&B singer D’Angelo has died at the age of 51 after battling prostate cancer, according to his family. The musician, whose real name was Michael Archer, had backed out of a June performance at the Roots Picnic in Philadelphia “due to a longer-than-expected surgical recovery” without revealing specifics.

“We are heartbroken to announce that ‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌Michael D’Angelo Archer‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌, known to his fans around the world as D’Angelo, has been called home,” said a family statement. “We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind. We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time but invite you all join us in mourning his passing while also celebrating the gift of song that he has left to the world.”‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‌‍‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‍‌‌‍‍‌‌

“Such a sad loss to the passing of D’Angelo,” DJ Premier wrote on X. “We [had] so many great times. Gonna miss you so much. Sleep peacefully.”

Raised in Richamond, Va., as the son of a Pentecostal preacher, D’Angelo struggled to reconcile his sexed-up musical persona with deeply embedded religious convictions. His 1995 debut, Brown Sugar, was an ode to weed and women, whose organic, throwback grooves owed more to the progressive mindset of late-’80s/early ’90s Native Tongues hip-hop than to the slick, digitized R&B of the day made by Boyz II Men and Keith Sweat.

Led by the provocative, nearly nude video for “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” 2000’s Voodoo was a very different story. It evolved from more than three years’ worth of sessions, mainly at New York’s Electric Lady Studios, and featured an impressive roster of soul, funk, and jazz players such as Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, who became D’Angelo’s musical copilot, keyboardist James Poyser, guitarist Charlie Hunter and trumpeter Roy Hargrove.

“What was cool about it,” Thompson told SPIN in 2008, “was D had the A room [of the studio] on lockdown, and Common had the B room. Then Common brought [producer] Jay Dee inside, and next thing you know, both camps are working in each other’s studio.” Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli and Mos Def visited frequently, creating a ground zero for what Thompson called “a left-of-center” black music renaissance.”

The Roots Picnic set was to have been only D’Angelo’s second full concert since 2016. “Due to an unforeseen medical delay regarding surgery I had earlier this year, I’ve been advised by my team of specialist[s] that the performance this weekend could further complicate matters,” he wrote on Instagram at the time. “It is nearly impossible to express how disappointed I am not to be able to play with my brothers the Roots. And even more disappointed not to see all of you.”

“I’m so thankful to my beautiful fans for continuing to rock with me and I thank you for your continued support,” he added. “I’m currently in the lab and I can’t wait to serve up what’s in the pot.”

Thompson was instrumental in coaxing D’Angelo to release the 2014 album Black Messiah after a nearly 15-year hiatus. The path to that project, and the aftermath of the success of Voodoo, were chronicled in the 2019 documentary Devil’s Pie: D’Angelo, directed by Dutch filmmaker Carine Bijlsma. It also addressed the artist’s struggles with substance abuse, the loss of family members, fame and his recovery from a major car accident.

“Black Messiah is both ancient and fresh — a surging mass of old blues and new soul built from classic thought and rebel spirit, unending angst and beautiful struggle, sunshine and moonlight and cynicism and sex and fighting and loving and losing and praying and cussing and hating and hoping,” SPIN wrote in its contemporary review of the album.

D’Angelo’s only on-stage appearances since concluding promo work behind Black Messiah were at a 2021 Verzuz show at New York’s Apollo Theater and at that year’s Tribeca Film Festival, plus an April 2022 cameo with Questlove and Raphael Saadiq while covering Sly & the Family Stone’s “Babies Makin’ Babies” during the Netflix Is a Joke festival at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

Saadiq previously told Rolling Stone that D’Angelo was actively working on new music, but nothing has come to light beyond “I Want You Forever,” his Jay-Z-assisted contribution to last year’s The Book of Clarence soundtrack.

D’Angelo is survived by three children. The mother of his first son, fellow R&B singer Angie Stone, died in a car accident in March.

October 15, 2025 0 comments

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