As I reflected on writing this tribute to Flowers For D'Angelo, I considered removing myself from the narrative. But a tribute is a connection—a moment where experiences intersects with the impact of a person.
So I will start with I ...
I didn’t realize how much of a D'Angelo fan I was until Atlanta aired the episode featuring Earn's quest to find him. During the episode, my anticipation matched Earn’s. Each turn of a doorknob and crawl space echoed my excitement. It wasn’t just me—The Culture was waiting to see D’Angelo, to, in Earn’s words, “Experience D’Angelo.”
Here is Why:
Before D’Angelo moved away from the spotlight, he became the Founding Father of Neo-soul in 1995 with the release of Brown Sugar. Back then, a Black male artist who wanted radio play was often seen as either Hip-Hop or R&B. D’Angelo’s songs like Brown Sugar, Lady, and his rendition of Cruisin weren’t just R&B. They were defined as Neo-Soul because his music hit the soul—the foundation and the orchestra of the warm feeling you get when your crush finally says, “Hey.” That is what D’Angelo gives us on his first album, Brown Sugar.
Five years after Brown Sugar, D’Angelo released Voodoo. "Untitled" became one of its standout tracks, with a video where D’Angelo invites the audience in with striking candor. This video sparked questions about whether fans appreciated his art or appearance. According to former manager Dominique Trenier (Andaloro, 2025), D’Angelo struggled with this shift. Despite winning a Grammy for R&B Album of the Year and accolades for "Untitled (How Does It Feel)", D’Angelo still wrestled with self-doubt. This struggle prompted his withdrawal from the spotlight and the recurring question: "Where is D’Angelo?"
Although D’Angelo wasn’t in front of a camera or microphone until 2014, Black male Neo-soul artists like Musiq Soulchild, Glenn Lewis, Raheem DeVaughn, Dwele, and Anthony Anderson pushed the Neo-soul movement that he founded in 1995.
In 2014, D’Angelo released Black Messiah, showcasing his evolving skills as both a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. "Send It On," co-written with Angie Stone for his son, communicates love even without lyrics. This album felt like a gift to fans willing to truly listen. There was no video, but D’Angelo performed "Really Love" on Saturday Night Live. Black Messiah later won Best R&B Album at the Grammys in 2016.
Seven years later, D’Angelo performed D’Angelo and Friends at the Apollo Theatre as a part of Verzuz. We watched from social media, two-stepping and feeling that warm sensation in our souls. We were reminded that Neo-Soul is still present, with all the feelings D’Angelo’s effortless falsetto brings. By the end of Verzuz, we hoped D’Angelo could feel all the flowers, virtual hugs, and love we sent his way.
After Verzuz, I believe that anything that D’Angelo gave to us, we treasured, and we realized how much he contributed to music in three albums and features. We became open to the fact that an artist is still an artist even when they are not entertaining us. In the episode of Atlanta, Earn says, “Let me experience D’Angelo.”
That’s why fans were so eager for Earn to meet D’Angelo: we wanted to truly experience what makes him special. D’Angelo’s music is more than just a gift—it’s something we can always enjoy. Even though he is no longer here, we can still relive the D’Angelo experience by simply playing his songs.
