Remembering D’Angelo: Words From Those Who Knew Him
Join us Wednesday, October 14, for D’Angelo Day at NMAAM
One year ago, on October 14, 2025, we lost Michael Archer, the artist the world knew as D’Angelo. A preacher’s son from Richmond, Virginia, he carried the church, the blues, funk and hip hop into a sound entirely his own, and generations of musicians are still learning from it.
This Wednesday, the National Museum of African American Music marks one year since his passing with D’Angelo Day. All day in Amplify, our museum store, visitors can experience:
- Remember The Sound: On the Feeling of D’Angelo, the audio documentary by Dr. Wesley J. Watkins, IV
- The public debut of ANOTHER LIFE: The Enduring Art of Michael Archer, a tribute film by Brennan “Will Coloan” Williams and Lisa R. Mabry Pulley, featuring never-before-seen family photographs
- Items from D’Angelo’s life, along with his Homegoing program
- A family scavenger hunt through our galleries
His music will play all day on NMAAM Radio, alongside messages of love from his band, collaborators and friends. The museum galleries will be open as usual from 10 AM to 5 PM. At 7 PM, Orchestra Noir closes the day with The Culture 2000 Tour II: An Inside Look, free and open to all.
In the spirit of the day, we’re sharing words from writers who knew D’Angelo and documented his genius, shared with their blessing.
In Remembrance of a Black Prince
By Keith Murphy, journalist and author of D’Angelo’s obituary
A year ago when I was asked by the legendary Dyana Williams to write the obituary for Michael Archer’s Home Going, I was both honored and unimaginably terrified. The gifted minister’s son the world knew and loved as D’Angelo was a comet that blazed a trail on his own prodigious terms. He was the last soul man who understood that Black music was WORLD MUSIC. Michael was at times maddening, mercurial and wasn’t one to cater to what we wanted. And that’s what made the man majestic… a true original. Thank you, Mr. Archer. See you in the next life.
From Wax Poetics: How D’Angelo’s Organic Sweet Soul Shook Up Modern R&B
By Michael A. Gonzales, originally published in Wax Poetics, Issue 42
In this classic feature, Michael A. Gonzales goes inside the making of D’Angelo’s early music, exploring how he worked with producers Raphael Saadiq, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Bob Power to create soul songs that became instant classics. What comes through is an artist who trusted feel over polish from the very beginning.
As D’Angelo told Gonzales: “People forget that music should be artful. There is a difference between artists and stars.”
And on what mattered most: “For me, what comes first is the music. I want to make dope music.”
Read the full story at Wax Poetics →
From VIBE: D’Angelo: The Last Soul Man
By Keith Murphy, originally published in VIBE, December 12, 2025
Nearly 20 years in the making, Keith Murphy’s VIBE digital cover story traces D’Angelo’s journey from child prodigy at his father’s church in Richmond to the artist who changed the course of soul music, with Blackness at the center of it all. It features the voices of Questlove, Erykah Badu, Anthony Hamilton and others who knew and loved him.
As Murphy writes: “D’Angelo was the last soul man standing.”
Remember the Sound With Us
D’Angelo once said the music comes first. On Wednesday, we let it. Visit us in Amplify, tune in to NMAAM Radio on the web or our iOS app, and stay for Orchestra Noir at 7 PM.
With gratitude to the Archer family, to NMAAM founding board member, Dyana Williams, and to every writer, filmmaker, scholar and musician who helped us honor Michael this week.
