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\n\tThe music world is reeling from the devastating news early Tuesday afternoon that soul legend D\u2019Angelo died at age 51 following a battle with cancer.<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe 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,\u201d his family said in a statement. \u201cWe 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 for the world.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMichael D\u2019Angelo Archer released a mere three albums throughout the course of his long career \u2014 1995\u2019s Brown Sugar,<\/em> 2000\u2019s Voodoo,<\/em> and 2014\u2019s Black Messiah<\/em> \u2014 but they were all groundbreaking works that earned him 14 Grammy nominations, and more critical praise than just about any other artist of his era.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cD\u2019Angelo is cut from a heavier cloth than the majority of his New Jack brethren: He\u2019s a singer\/songwriter with a mellifluous, sturdy voice that can coo and growl with equal conviction,\u201d wrote Rolling Stone\u2019<\/em>s Theo H. Coker in a four-star review of Brown Sugar.<\/em><\/a> \u201cNo matter how delicate or dusty sounding a track may be, D\u2019Angelo flips the script with B-boy savoir-faire: He makes the nasty rhythms bubbling underneath his multilayered love songs seem old and new at the same time \u2026 Brown Sugar is a reminder of where R&B has been and, if the genre is to resurrect its creative relevance like a phoenix rising from the ashes, where it needs to go.\u201d<\/p>\n