The American R&B singer and songwriter D’Angelo, who has died aged 51 of pancreatic cancer, was a pioneer of what came to be known as “neo-soul” – forward-looking music that incorporated elements of funk, jazz and hip-hop.
Despite releasing just three albums over two decades from 1995 to 2014, he was influential well beyond the boundaries of the new musical style he helped to create, with a series of Top 40 single hits in the UK and US that included Brown Sugar, the title track of his debut album. His second long-player, Voodoo, reached No 1 in the US and his third and final album, Black Messiah, also made it into the Top 10, with both releases winning two of his four Grammys.
