Thank you D'Angelo

An op-ed piece by Imran Mirza

I'm currently writing this while sat in a waiting room as my father completes his twentieth and final radiotherapy session in four weeks for prostate cancer.  Lung cancer coincidentally took my mother exactly four years ago.

Cancer seems to always find a way to take.  From all of us as everyone sadly has some direct or indirect run-in with the disease at some time.

For soul music fans, the disease delivered a notably cruel blow yesterday by claiming the life of Michael "D'Angelo" Archer at the age of 51.

The impact of D'Angelo's music on a generation of soul music fans couldn't really be overstated - while the genre's lineage has undeniably been defined by the music of Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield and Smokey Robinson, amongst an array of other heroes, D'Angelo ushered in an era of contemporary soul music for the hip-hop generation.  A fusion of styles that found just as much inspiration from the music of A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and Public Enemy as it did the aforementioned luminaries.

'Brown Sugar', released in 1995, birthed an incredible and glorious new era by way of a masterpiece that still finds a litany of bootleg remixes generated in homage to the album's timeless greatness.  Spearheaded by the singles 'Brown Sugar', 'Lady', 'Me and Those Dreamin Eyes of Mine' and 'Cruisin', D'Angelo's uncompromising vision opened the door for future stars including Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Bilal, Musiq and Anthony Hamilton.  And while 'Brown Sugar' would create the template for what was neo-soul, 'Voodoo' (2000) ingeniously sought to destroy its very ideology and reconstruct the genre all over again.

Neo-soul was a dirty word for a long time as some people felt the term was a marketing ploy but, for me, I loved it as it represented me.  I didn't grow up with the classics of Minnie Riperton, Stevie Wonder and Donnie Hathaway as the soundtrack to my childhood - I had to discover these classics in later years.  'Brown Sugar', 'Voodoo' and neo-soul was represented my time, my generation and came at a time when my burgeoning musical fandom needed it most.

As illusive as he was iconic, D'Angelo would only release three studio albums over the course of thirty years.  Yes, it's a comparatively small number for an artist who garnered so much acclaim but it's only now that I realise he didn't need more.

In the time it's taken me to write this, my father has completed his session.  It's customary to ring a bell that they have set up in reception to announce the end of your treatment - it's usually a nice moment as everyone claps in celebration but he always said he wasn't going to do it as he doesn't know what the future holds in regards to his diagnosis.

There's a poignancy in that but also a reminder for us all that we should celebrate all that we can when we can.

Thank you D'Angelo - I imagine that's gratitude expressed by millions whose lives have been soundtracked by your music over the years...  We always wanted more but always held dear what you gave.